Harvick ends winless streak
TALLADEGA, Ala. — Kevin Harvick had the last laugh in the best place, Victory Lane, with an overdue but well-timed celebration.
Harvick used a last-second pass of Jamie McMurray to snap a 115-race winless streak Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway, where he closed out a dramatic week for his race team. Shell Oil Company told Richard Childress Racing this week it was moving its sponsorship at the end of the season, pushing the organization into a search for the funding neccessary to sign Harvick to a contract extension.
Harvick, who won the 2007 season-opening Daytona 500 in his first race with Shell, couldn't help but delight at the timing.
"I think it's great karma with everything that has happened this week with the sponsor," he said with a sly smile. "I think it's kind of funny in itself. I think, all in all, it was really good for our team, good for all the cars that have been running well all year and we've been really close to winning races.
"But the karma thing is the best part."
Harvick did it with a sling-shot pass that he devised in conversations over the weekend with crew chief Gil Martin and their RCR team.
Harvick lurked behind in traffic, trying to move his way into second place as the race hit the closing laps. His plan was to set himself up for one attempt at the lead, which he made roughly 500 yards from the finish line by sliding inside of McMurray then drag-racing him to the checkered flag.
"We made a plan, and I'm telling you, every piece of it played out exactly how we wanted to play it," Harvick said. "Coming into the last lap, that's exactly how we planned it out on paper."
The win came in the longest Talladega race in Sprint Cup history. Because NASCAR's new overtime rule allows for three attempts at its version of overtime, the race went 12 laps past the scheduled distance of 188 trips around the 2.66-mile superspeedway.
It covered a record 88 lead changes among a record 29 drivers, and the final pass was the one that had everyone talking.
"I hate to show my age, but that was a tremendous pass just like the old days, like you would have seen Buddy Baker or Cale Yarborough," Martin said. "That was a tremendous pass, and it was timed perfectly."
McMurray, this year's Daytona 500 winner after winning the October race at Talladega, couldn't hide his disappointment at misplaying the final half-lap. Seeking his third consecutive restrictor-plate victory, he stretched his fuel tank to the bitter end while racing wide-open to the finish line.
