Kevin Harvick pulled away from the field during an overtime restart to win the AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, earning his eighth victory of the year and a guaranteed spot in the Championship 4 final round of NASCAR’s playoffs.
The win put Harvick back in the winner’s circle for the first time since August, when he won at Michigan Motor Speedway.
Harvick Pulls Away in Overtime
Harvick dueled Ryan Blaney late in the race, with Blaney taking the lead for about seven laps after a restart on Lap 311. After Harvick regained the lead, he held it until a late caution forced a two-lap overtime session. Choosing to take the higher lane, he pulled away from Blaney and was never seriously challenged for first place.
“That last restart I knew I needed to pick the top,” Harvick said after the race. “I thought if I could keep him from finishing the corner, I could drive back by him. It all worked out.”
The conditions in Texas led to a race that was more about strategy and position than pure speed or driver ability, a fact that frustrated some of the drivers.
“I don’t know what genius decided to pave this place or take the banking out of [Turns] 1 and 2,” Chase Elliot told reporters. “Not a good move for the entertainment factor, in my opinion.”
Two Championship Spots Still Up for Grabs
With the win, Harvick joined Joey Logano in having clinched spots into the Championship 4. For Harvick, that was the goal all along, even if he was likely to qualify based on points without a win in this round.
“The expectations are to win,” Harvick told reporters. “We don’t count our fingers and our toes trying to figure out how to make it in. Today we earned our way in, and we’re going to race again next week and try to win another race and then see what we can do at Homestead.”
Currently, the third and fourth spots in the playoff race belong to Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr., with Truex holding a 25-point lead over Kurt Busch for fourth place. However, any of the eight remaining playoff drivers can qualify for the final four by winning next week at Phoenix, giving Kurt Busch, Elliott, Aric Almirola, and Clint Bowyer a fighting chance of breaking through and eliminating one of the “Big Three” that have dominated the NASCAR season.
Neither Truex nor Kyle Busch had a great race on Sunday, though they salvaged reasonable results to stay well above the playoff cut line.
Truex was forced to start at the back of the field because of a late engine change. He then recovered from a pass-through penalty and a loose tire, managing to fight his way back to a ninth place finish.
“We got a little bit of luck on our side after that to be able to get back on the lead lap,” Truex told reporters. “To start exactly where we were I think is a decent day. The only difference is there’s one less spot available.”
Kyle Busch ran into similar difficulties, dealing with a speeding penalty early in the race, following with an unscheduled pit stop due to a loose wheel later on. He would ultimately finish in 17th place.
