Harvick Nips Edwards In Wild Finish For 8th Phoenix Win
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AVONDALE, Ariz. (AP) - Kevin Harvick and Carl Edwards twice bumped on the final lap before Harvick inched over the finish line first in an overtime finish Sunday for his record eighth NASCAR Sprint Cup victory at Phoenix International Raceway.
Harvick had the lead on the late restartbefore the charging Edwards made it a side-by-side duel.
"I knew he was better through (Turns) 3 and 4," Harvick said. "That was not the car that I wanted to see behind me."
After the cars banged a second time, Harvick nosed to the line from the outside 0.010 seconds ahead to continue his dominance at the mile oval.
It's the same margin of victory as Denny Hamlin's thrilling win over Martin Truex Jr. last month in the Daytona 500. It was the closest finish in track history.
"I got up too high and wasn't able to stay on the bottom like I wanted to and then he got into me, like he should have," Harvick said. "I needed to get a good run off the corner and I was going to have to get into his door. It worked out, just barely."
Harvick made up for qualifying 18th by shooting toward the front early in the race. His took the lead for good in the No. 4 Chevrolet when he immediately passed Edwards on a restart with 77 laps to go.
Harvick built a lead approaching 3 seconds before Kasey Kahne hit the wall with six laps left to bring out the caution. Harvick had enough fuel for the extra two laps -- and just barely enough to hold off Edwards.
"If we had one more lap, I could have passed him clean," Edwards said. "But it just wasn't going to work without bumping him. So I decided to hit him as hard as I did. I really didn't want to wreck him. I thought I moved him enough to get by, but it's just racing."
It gave NASCAR another thrilling finish with its new downforce and aerodynamic packages. Used for the first time on a mile-track, the package helped produce plenty of passing and only a handful of tire issues after long green-flag runs.
Harvick and Edwards each showed off their driving skills as the cars banged and wobbled through the final turn.
Hamlin recovered from an early pit penalty to finish third. Kyle Busch started from the pole and led the first 77 laps before ending up fourth.
Dale Earnhardt Jr, who ended Harvick's four-race winning streak at Phoenix with a rain-shortened victory in November, was fifth.
Two days after a scary crash in which he pulled off his steering wheel in qualifying, Jimmie Johnson finished 11th.
Harvick has won five of the past six races and six of eight at Phoenix.
"I just like racing here," Harvick said. "It's just one of those places where I feel like I've been here enough times to where I can move around and find something to make our car work."
STEERING WHEEL: Drivers crowded around Johnson backstage before the pre-race introductions as he visually explained how his steering wheel came off before a scary wreck in Friday qualifying.
Johnson was unhurt. Starting 38th in a backup car, Johnson spent most of the race near the front.
NO REPEAT: Brad Keselowski, who won last week at Las Vegas, was running 10th when his right rear tire blew to end his chances. He finished 29th.
THAT'S HOT: Richard Childress Racing drivers Ryan Newman hit the wall in the third turn on the 53rd lap. Teammate Paul Menard did the same 54 laps later. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. wrecked after that. Braking issues leading to melted tire beads caused all three crashes, according to Goodyear.
STEWART'S SUB: Ty Dillon, filling in for the injured Tony Stewart, finished 15th in his second race in the No. 14.
DANICA UPDATE: Danica Patrick never threatened, but her 19th-place finish was her best of the season.
D'OH: Before telling drivers to start their engines, executive Mark Boggess of race sponsor Good Sam told the crowd, "You got an extra night's sleep last night." He meant extra hour's sleep. Only people actually lost an hour's sleep -- except not in the Valley of the Sun. The area doesn't change clocks for daylight saving time.
UP NEXT: The race at Fontana, California, next Sunday concludes NASCAR's three-week Western swing.
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