Harvick ends 65-race drought
BROOKLYN, Mich. — Kevin Harvick got his groove back, fittingly, at one of his favorite tracks.
Harvick ended a 65-race winless drought that lasted nearly two years with his sixth victory at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday.
Harvick’s win shakes up the playoff race with just three races remaining in the regular season, leaving little time for drivers to earn a spot in the 16-car postseason, and gives a boost for a veteran that entered the weekend No. 17 in points.
“Everybody that doubted us doesn’t know us,” he said.
NASCAR has had 15 different Cup winners this season. If there are two new winners the last three races, a driver with one win will be eliminated from the 16-car playoff with a tiebreaker based on points. Ryan Blaney and Martin Truex Jr. are top-10 drivers in points, but they are yet to win.
Harvick’s No. 4 Ford pulled away from Bubba Wallace and the rest of the field following a restart with 35 laps to go at the FireKeepers Casino 400. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver took advantage of clean air, helping him coast to his 59th victory, and first since a postseason race on Sept. 19, 2020, at Bristol.
Wallace finished second in his No. 23 Toyota — 2.9 seconds behind Harvick — followed by Denny Hamlin in his No. 11 Toyota.
“Second’s not good enough for the playoffs,” said Wallace, yet to win this season.
Wallace won his first career pole Saturday, becoming the only driver to break 190 miles per hour in the Next Gen car during qualifying this season and went even faster after a 90-minute rain delay.
Wallace stayed out front until he made a pit stop after 21 laps — two shy of his career high. The decision cost him track position due to a crash soon thereafter.
Wallace blamed himself for letting Harvick pull away after the last pivotal restart.
“I’ll wear this one on my heart for a while,” he said, choking back tears.
Austin Cindric, who won the Daytona 500 for his first career victory, started the day No. 15 in points and finished last in the 37-car race after his No. 2 Ford hit the wall headon in a nine-car crash that also knocked Kyle Busch out of the competition.