Harvick leads 1-2-3 Ford sweep
SONONA, Calif. — Kevin Harvick led a 1-2-3 podium sweep for Ford while proving that veteran experience still counts for something in NASCAR.
Harvick returned to victory lane for the first time this season with a dominating run Sunday on the road course at Sonoma Raceway. The former NASCAR champion came to Sonoma winless in 20 races since Kansas last fall and has been overshadowed in this season of NASCAR’s young new superstars.
But at a track where experience and ability can separate the field, it was Harvick and a bunch of veterans who led the way. It was the first win on the winding wine country road course in 17 tries for the Bakersfield, Calif., driver.
Sonoma was one of just four active tracks where Harvick had never before scored a Cup victory. He did, however, win the K&N Series race at Sonoma on Saturday and it may have given him some inside knowledge.
“It kept me from sitting around and trying to find something to do on Saturday,” Harvick said. “I think that was the biggest thing. I’m sitting around and there’s guys out here making laps and learning things, and I think that’s the most important thing is to never take for granted that you have to try to expand your knowledge and keep an open mind to making things better.
“To finally check this one off the list .... being so close to home and having raced here so much, this was one that was on the top of the list.”
Harvick was on cruise control and conserving fuel in the race that ended under caution after Kasey Kahne had a hard accident on the final lap. Either way, Harvick had a cozy 9-second lead over Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Clint Bowyer before the caution.
Bowyer, now the driver for the entry Tony Stewart used for his final NASCAR victory last year at the track, was second and Brad Keselowski third as Ford cars went 1-2-3.
For Harvick, it was the first victory since Stewart-Haas Racing switched to Ford this season. Harvick had spent 16 years in a Chevrolet.
It was Ford’s seventh victory of the season. Ford won eight Cup races last season, and seven came exclusively from Team Penske drivers. This year, the manufacturer has wins from Penske, Roush-Fenway Racing, The Wood Brothers and SHR.
“I had mixed emotions about how the year was going to go just because of the fact that we had a lot on our plate to switch over,” Harvick said. “It’s just a big undertaking, and one day I think when we get done with this year, I think everybody will actually learn all the details of all the things that it took to get to this particular point. It’s a huge undertaking, and I think it says a lot about our people at Stewart-Haas Racing.”
