Harvick Wins at Texas, Will Race for Championship at Homestead

Originally written for CLNS Media.

Kevin Harvick won the AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday to lock himself into the championship round of the playoffs.

Martin Truex Jr. had a dominant car throughout the day, but Harvick was able to chase down the 78 to pick up the victory in the closing laps.

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Harvick said he was happy to finally win at Texas.

“It’s been a long time coming…I’m happy to finally get to victory lane here,” Harvick said.  “I knew we had a really good car…to be able to beat the 78 today, for us, is quite an accomplishment.”

Harvick’s victory locked him into the final round of the playoffs, and he said his team has what it takes to win their second championship in two weeks at Homestead.

“Our cars have improved so much since the playoffs have started,” Harvick said.  “To be here in November winning at Texas for the first time, and to have a chance to go to Homestead and race for the championship is really a huge credit to our people.”

“It’s been a lot of work to get to where we are today.  Really proud of everyone at Stewart-Haas for the things they’ve done, and hopefully we can do it again at Homestead.”

Truex finished second on Sunday, but it was enough to lock himself into the final round of the playoffs.

Truex said he believes his team can continue to dominate and that they can win the championship at Homestead.

“It’s been an amazing season; I love this team,” Truex said.  “We’re really excited about Homestead…we had a good test down there.  I look forward to going down there and getting another win.”

Unofficial results:

1. Kevin Harvick

2. Martin Truex Jr.

3. Denny Hamlin

4. Matt Kenseth

5. Brad Keselowski

6. Ryan Blaney

7. Joey Logano

8. Chase Elliott

9. Kurt Busch

10. Erik Jones

11. Kasey Kahne

12. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

13. Austin Dillon

14. Daniel Suarez

15. Aric Almirola

16. AJ Allmendinger

17. Danica Patrick

18. Jamie McMurray

19. Kyle Busch

20. Ryan Newman

21. Michael McDowell

22. Chris Buescher

23. Paul Menard

24. Ty Dillon

25. Matt DiBenedetto

26. Landon Cassill

27. Jimmie Johnson

28. Trevor Bayne

29. Cole Whitt

30. David Ragan

31. Reed Sorenson

32. Joey Gase

33. Jeffrey Earnhardt

34. Ray Black Jr.

35. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

36. Clint Bowyer

37. Kyle Larson

38. David Starr

39. Corey LaJoie

40. Gray Gaulding

Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images