Kevin Harvick has been facing questions all season as to
whether this would be a lame-duck season for the driver of the No. 29 car. Harvick will be moving over to Stewart-Haas
Racing in 2014, but he showed everyone Saturday night that he still has some
winning left to do at Richard Childress Racing after he won the Toyota Owners
400 at Richmond International Raceway.
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| Harvick celebrates his victory at Richmond (Justin Edmonds/Getty Images) |
Matt Kenseth won the pole for the Toyota Owners 400, and he
was able to beat Brian Vickers out of Turn 2 to take the lead. Kenseth led until lap 37, when Clint Bowyer
caught him in lapped traffic to take the lead.
The caution came out on lap 40 for a spin by Josh Wise. Under the caution, the leaders made pit
stops, and Kenseth was able to beat Bowyer off pit road to regain the lead.
The restart came on lap 47, and Kenseth was able to beat Bowyer through Turn 1 to take the lead. Halfway through the run, Kenseth began to complain about something that may have broken in the rear-end housing, but he was able to continue without any more problems.
On lap 110, the caution came out for Marcos Ambrose. Ambrose was experiencing engine issues, and he coasted to pit road. The leaders came down pit road, and Bowyer and Vickers were able to beat Kenseth out of the pits.
The race restarted on lap 116, and Bowyer was able to jump out ahead of Vickers for the lead. Kenseth was able to take second place away from Vickers.
The third caution of the day came out on lap 147 for debris. The field came down pit road, and Bowyer won the race off.
Bowyer led the field back to the green flag on lap 154. Kenseth spun his tires on the restart, and Bowyer was able to get the lead going into Turn 1.
The caution came back out on lap 157 for Brad Keselowski, who blew a right-front tire going into Turn 1. Under the caution, one of the track's sprinklers started going off, causing the caution to go longer than anticipated.
Bowyer led the field back to the green on lap 158, and he was able to clear Kenseth for the lead coming out of Turn 2. On lap 219, Kenseth was able to work his way around Bowyer for the lead. Bowyer lost the handling on his car, and he quickly dropped to fifth place.
On lap 232, Greg Biffle brought out the caution when he spun down the frontstretch after getting loose off Turn 4. The field came down to pit, and Kenseth was able to beat Kurt Busch off pit road.
Kenseth led the field to the green flag on lap 240, and he was able to clear Kurt Busch coming off Turn 2. After racing side-by-side, Kyle Busch was able to take second away from his brother.
On lap 254, Kyle Busch was able to pass Kenseth for the lead after following closely behind for a handful of laps.
The caution came out on lap 293 after Travis Kvapil got into the wall. The field came down pit road, and Kurt Busch was able to beat Kyle Busch off pit road for the lead.
The race restarted on lap 297, and Kurt Busch was able to get a good run into Turn 1 to take the lead. Kurt brought Carl Edwards with him, and Edwards took second away from Kyle Busch.
Edwards got alongside Kurt Busch for the lead, but he wasn't able to complete the pass. On lap 309, Kvapil blew his engine, and his car briefly caught on fire. Under the caution, Kurt Busch, Edwards, and Kenseth stayed out while the rest of the field came down to make pit stops.
Kyle Busch was penalized for a pit line violation, and he had to go to the back of the pack. He was set to restart 28th, but after review, NASCAR said he was legal, and they rescinded the penalty. Busch was able to restart sixth.
On lap 320, Kurt Busch was able to beat Edwards through Turn 1 to take the lead on the restart. Kyle Busch quickly began falling back through the pack, and he ran into the back of Jimmie Johnson, pushing in the front of Busch's car.
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| Johnson (48) and Stewart (14) spin (Patrick Smith/Getty Images) |
On lap 327, the caution came out for a spin between Tony Stewart and
Johnson. As Johnson spun down the
racetrack, Kyle Busch got into the front of Johnson's car. Under the caution, the field came down pit road,
and Kurt Busch was able to win the race off.
The green flag came back out on lap 333, and the first six cars stayed out, and Juan Pablo Montoya was the leader. He and Harvick raced side-by-side for a lap, but Montoya was able to win the race for the lead.
On lap 338, Kasey Kahne got into Mark Martin coming off Turn 2, and they both spun, bringing out the caution. As Martin's car spun down the track, Vickers made hard contact with Martin's car.
The race restarted on lap 343, and Montoya was able to beat Martin Truex Jr. down into Turn 1 for the lead. The caution came back out on lap 345 after Kurt Busch spun Truex going into Turn 3.
The race restarted with 51 laps to go, and Montoya was able to clear Kurt Busch for the lead. With 19 laps to go, Harvick was able to get around Busch for second place going into Turn 1. With only 6 laps to go, Vickers got into the outside wall to bring out the caution, pushing the race to a green-white-checkered finish.
Jeff Burton stayed out under the caution, and he was able to beat everyone into Turn 1. Coming out of Turn 4, Harvick was able to pass his teammate for the lead. Bowyer got around Burton for second, but he wasn't able to catch Harvick.
After the race, Kurt Busch got together with Matt Kenseth and Tony Stewart. On the restart, Busch got into Stewart, sending Stewart out of the groove and it caused Stewart to lose a lot of spots. Coming to the checkered flag, Kenseth gave Busch a bump, causing Busch to lose 2 spots coming to the finish.
The green flag came back out on lap 333, and the first six cars stayed out, and Juan Pablo Montoya was the leader. He and Harvick raced side-by-side for a lap, but Montoya was able to win the race for the lead.
On lap 338, Kasey Kahne got into Mark Martin coming off Turn 2, and they both spun, bringing out the caution. As Martin's car spun down the track, Vickers made hard contact with Martin's car.
The race restarted on lap 343, and Montoya was able to beat Martin Truex Jr. down into Turn 1 for the lead. The caution came back out on lap 345 after Kurt Busch spun Truex going into Turn 3.
The race restarted with 51 laps to go, and Montoya was able to clear Kurt Busch for the lead. With 19 laps to go, Harvick was able to get around Busch for second place going into Turn 1. With only 6 laps to go, Vickers got into the outside wall to bring out the caution, pushing the race to a green-white-checkered finish.
Jeff Burton stayed out under the caution, and he was able to beat everyone into Turn 1. Coming out of Turn 4, Harvick was able to pass his teammate for the lead. Bowyer got around Burton for second, but he wasn't able to catch Harvick.
After the race, Kurt Busch got together with Matt Kenseth and Tony Stewart. On the restart, Busch got into Stewart, sending Stewart out of the groove and it caused Stewart to lose a lot of spots. Coming to the checkered flag, Kenseth gave Busch a bump, causing Busch to lose 2 spots coming to the finish.
Here are the unofficial results:
1. Kevin Harvick
2. Clint Bowyer
3. Joey Logano
4. Juan Pablo Montoya
5. Jeff Burton
6. Carl Edwards
7. Matt Kenseth
8. Aric Almirola
9. Kurt Busch
10. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
11. Jeff Gordon
12. Jimmie Johnson
13. Paul Menard
14. AJ Allmendinger
15. Ryan Newman
16. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
17. Martin Truex Jr.
18. Tony Stewart
19. Bobby Labonte
20. David Ragan
21. Kasey Kahne
22. David Reutimann
23. Dave Blaney
24. Kyle Busch
25. Landon Cassill
26. Jamie McMurray
27. David Gilliland
28. Josh Wise
29. Danica Patrick
30. Casey Mears
31. David Stremme
32. J.J. Yeley
33. Brad Keselowski
34. Timmy Hill
35. Brian Vickers
36. Greg Biffle
37. Travis Kvapil
38. Mark Martin
39. Joe Nemechek
40. Brian Keselowski
41. Michael McDowell
42. Marcos Ambrose
43. Mike Bliss
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| Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images |
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