Truex holds on to beat Harvick

Second win of the season

Associated Press

Martin Truex Jr. took the lead with 28 laps to go and held off Kevin Harvick on the final restart to win the Southern 500 on Sunday night.

Truex started the summer season by leading 588 of 600 miles to win at Charlotte on Memorial Day weekend. He closed the season by outracing Harvick on Labor Day weekend for his second crown jewel win of the season.

Harvick had the dominant car — he led 214 of 367 laps — but this run was cut short by slow pit stops. At one point, Harvick fell 11 spots from first to 12th after a super-slow 16.6-second stop. He battled back toward the top, but could not chase down Truex.

Last week’s winner at Michigan, Kyle Larson, finished third and Denny Hamlin was fourth. Joey Logano was fifth, followed by Matt Kenseth, Kasey Kahne, Ryan Newman, Brad Keselowski and Chase Elliott.

Truex moved past Newman on lap 339 to take the lead and stayed in front on a final restart.

“This is unbelievable,” Truex said. “I’ve always loved this racetrack. I’ve led a lot of laps here and I feel like something always happens. I’m proud to get to victory lane with this group.”

Truex, who made last year’s championship Chase and is locked in this year, is no surprise — and may have stamped himself a significant contender for the Sprint Cup crown. “It was definitely worth the wait,” he said.

Harvick could not overcome his shoddy pit showing and was frustrated with his team. “We have championship cars and we’re just mediocre on pit road. It’s been that way for a few years,” he said.

STEWART’S LAST RUN