Kevin Harvick Wins Wild Charlotte Race

Originally written for CLNS Radio.

Kevin Harvick won the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway to clinch his spot in the Eliminator Round of the Chase.

 

Photo courtesy Christ Trotman/Getty Images

Harvick had a strong car throughout the race, leading 162 of 334 laps.  He said this was the culmination of multiple strong runs by the team.

“Everybody on our team has just continued to build better race cars,” Harvick said.  “We know we’ve had the cars to lead laps and do the things we need to do, but things just hadn’t gone right.”

Harvick now heads to Talladega already locked in to the next round of the Chase.  He said this victory makes his week less stressful.

“This is the night that we needed to win,” Harvick said.  “I thought this was going to be the hardest segment to get through because of Talladega.  Really proud of everyone at Stewart-Haas Racing.”

The race also included fireworks after the checkered flag.  Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski got together after the race, and then Keselowski made contact with Matt Kenseth and Tony Stewart on pit road.  

After many assumed the excitement had died down, Kenseth tussled with Keselowski as they headed towards their haulers.  Both drivers had to be separated by crew members and NASCAR officials.  

Unofficial results:

1. Kevin Harvick

2. Jeff Gordon

3. Jamie McMurray

4. Joey Logano

5. Kyle Busch

6. Kyle Larson

7. Ryan Newman

8. Carl Edwards

9. Denny Hamlin

10. Kasey Kahne

11. Kurt Busch

12. AJ Allmendinger

13. Austin Dillon

14. Martin Truex Jr.

15. Justin Allgaier

16. Brad Keselowski

17. Jimmie Johnson

18. Greg Biffle

19. Matt Kenseth

20. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

21. Tony Stewart

22. Aric Almirola

23. Landon Cassill

24. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

25. Marcos Ambrose

26. Danica Patrick

27. Reed Sorenson

28. Cole Whitt

29. Michael McDowell

30. Alex Bowman

31. Casey Mears

32. David Gilliland

33. Michael Annett

34. David Ragan

35. Corey Lajoie

36. Timmy Hill

37. Brian Vickers

38. J.J. Yeley

39. Blake Koch

40. Brett Moffitt

41. Josh Wise

42. Paul Menard

43. Clint Bowyer

Photo courtesy Sarah Glenn/Getty Images