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Monday, 04 April 2011 02:00 |
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Page 1 of 2  Kevin Harvick won his second Cup event in a row, and in the process may have become the most unpopular man in Virginia after he took the chequered flag for his first win at the Martinsville Speedway to deny Dale Earnhardt Jr. victory with Kyle Busch in third.
After Earnhardt had taken over the lead with 20 laps to go in Sunday's race with a pass on Kyle Busch that brought everyone in the grandstands to their feet, Harvick passed Earnhardt Jr. for the lead in Turn 2 on Lap 497 of 500 and pulled away to win the Goody's Fast Relief 500 Sprint Cup race on Sunday, extending Earnhardt's winless streak to 99 races.
Juan Montoya ran fourth, followed by Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth, pole sitter Jamie McMurray, David Ragan and Clint Bowyer were eighth and ninth, respectively and Mark Martin finished 10th in his 800th race in the Cup Series.
Harvick's pass accounted for the last of a circuit record 31 lead changes, but it was one Harvick knew would be unpopular in some quarters.
Harvick, who ended Denny Hamlin's string of three consecutive victories at Martinsville, and became the first driver other than Hamlin or Jimmie Johnson to win at the 0.526 mile short track since Tony Stewart on the 2nd of April 2006 said: "I hate to be the bad guy here, but we're in it to win it. I could see people going crazy in Turn 2 when he took the lead from Kyle, and I was catching him, and I'm like, 'Man, I'm going to be the bad guy here, but I've got to do what I've got to do.
"To race with Dale Jr. and win the race at Martinsville, I think it's pretty cool. I know the fans want to see him win, I want to see him win. It would be great for the sport, and I think today went a long way to showing how competitive they can be, racing for wins. That's what we need. We all need him to win, but I'm not going to back down."
Dale Earnhardt Jr. said after the race: "We had the opportunity there to win a race, and I'm disappointed that I didn't get the job done. It'll probably bother me more and more as the night goes on, I'll probably think about it a million times, what I could have done differently, but, you know, if I know what's best for me, I should probably have a good attitude about what happened today.
"I'll probably go into the next race and use it as momentum and confidence, as any other good driver would do, instead of worrying about how close we came. I should be thankful and grateful for the opportunity I had today and the opportunity I got to work with the team I'm with, and to even be here competing. Steve's a good crew chief, and he's going to give me more opportunities like this, I feel."
Martinsville Speedway race fast facts provided by NASCAR Statistics
- 62nd Annual Goody's Fast Relief 500 Race Winner: Kevin Harvick Age: 35 Team : #29 - Budweiser Chevrolet Owner: Richard Childress Crew Chief: Gil Martin
- Kevin Harvick won the 62nd Annual Goody's Fast Relief 500, his 16th victory in 364 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.
- This is his second victory and fourth top 10 finish in 2011. This is the second time in his career that Harvick has won consecutive races. The last was September, 2006.
- This is his first victory and ninth top 10 finish in 20 races at Martinsville Speedway. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (second) posted his 12th top 10 finish in 23 races at Martinsville Speedway.
- It is his third top 10 finish in 2011. Kyle Busch (third) posted his seventh top 10 finish in 13 races at Martinsville Speedway.
- There were 31 lead changes, a new track record. The previous record was 25, set 28 September 1980.
Caution Flags:
11 cautions for 72 laps. [Beneficiary in Brackets] 53-61 (Car #34 Accident Frontstretch [66]); 108-114 (Car #36 Stopped On Track [None]); 126-132 (Car #9, 66 Accident Turn 2 [56]); 176-181 (Car #36 Stopped On Track [27]); 205-209 (Car #71 Accident Turn 3 [22]); 222-229 (Car #4, 56 Accident Turn 3 [Red Flag: Lap 223, 24:55] [17]); 232-238 (Car #7, 20, 22, 47, 83 Accident Turn 3 [32]); 242-247 (Car #2, 13, 27, 66 Accident Turn 1 [32]); 353-359 (Car #21 Slow On Track [17]); 372-376 (Car #39 Spin Turn 4 [6]); 467-471 (Car #78 Accident Turn 2 [None]).
Lap Leaders:
31 lead changes among 12 drivers. McMurray 1-31, Kahne 32, Newman 33-34, Hamlin 35-54, Johnson 55-77, Ky. Busch 78-107, Hamlin 108, Johnson 109-123, Hamlin 124-133, Bowyer 134-176, Hamlin 177, Johnson 178-204, Hamlin 205, Bowyer 206-250, J. Gordon 251-256, Bowyer 257-259, Hamlin 260-314, Ky. Busch 315-320, J. Gordon 321-324, Newman 325, Allmendinger 326-331, Edwards 332-334, Harvick 335, Ky. Busch 336-352, Hamlin 353, Ky. Busch 354-364, J. Gordon 365-391, Ky. Busch 392-466, Harvick 467, Ky. Busch 468-479, Earnhardt Jr 480-496, Harvick 497-500.
2011 unofficial Goody's Fast Relief 500 race results
| Pos. |
Started |
N° |
Driver |
Car |
Sponsor |
Pts/Bns |
Laps |
Status |
| 1 |
9 |
29 |
Kevin Harvick |
Chevrolet |
Budweiser |
47/1 |
500 |
Running |
| 2 |
26 |
88 |
Dale Earnhardt Jr. |
Chevrolet |
Amp Energy / National Guard |
43/1 |
500 |
Running |
| 3 |
11 |
18 |
Kyle Busch |
Toyota |
Pedigree |
43/2 |
500 |
Running |
| 4 |
27 |
42 |
Juan Montoya |
Chevrolet |
Target |
40/0 |
500 |
Running |
| 5 |
21 |
24 |
Jeff Gordon |
Chevrolet |
Drive to End Hunger |
40/1 |
500 |
Running |
| 6 |
24 |
17 |
Matt Kenseth |
Ford |
Crown Royal |
38/0 |
500 |
Running |
| 7 |
1 |
1 |
Jamie McMurray |
Chevrolet |
Widia |
38/1 |
500 |
Running |
| 8 |
14 |
6 |
David Ragan |
Ford |
UPS "We Love Logistics" |
36/0 |
500 |
Running |
| 9 |
15 |
33 |
Clint Bowyer |
Chevrolet |
BB&T |
36/1 |
500 |
Running |
| 10 |
12 |
5 |
Mark Martin |
Chevrolet |
Quaker State/ GoDaddy |
34/0 |
500 |
Running |
| 11 |
17 |
48 |
Jimmie Johnson |
Chevrolet |
Lowe's |
34/1 |
500 |
Running |
| 12 |
5 |
11 |
Denny Hamlin |
Toyota |
FedEx Ground |
33/1 |
500 |
Running |
| 13 |
4 |
20 |
Joey Logano |
Toyota |
The Home Depot |
31/0 |
499 |
Running |
| 14 |
6 |
43 |
A.J. Allmendinger |
Ford |
Best Buy |
31/1 |
499 |
Running |
| 15 |
8 |
0 |
David Reutimann |
Toyota |
Aaron's Outdoors Mossy Oak |
29/0 |
499 |
Running |
| 16 |
20 |
22 |
Kurt Busch |
Dodge |
Shell / Pennzoil |
28/0 |
499 |
Running |
| 17 |
13 |
83 |
Brian Vickers |
Toyota |
Red Bull |
27/0 |
499 |
Running |
| 18 |
23 |
99 |
Carl Edwards |
Ford |
Aflac |
27/1 |
499 |
Running |
| 19 |
22 |
2 |
Brad Keselowski |
Dodge |
Miller Lite |
25/0 |
498 |
Running |
| 20 |
2 |
39 |
Ryan Newman |
Chevrolet |
Haas Automation |
25/1 |
498 |
Running |
| 21 |
33 |
16 |
Greg Biffle |
Ford |
3M |
23/0 |
498 |
Running |
| 22 |
39 |
32 |
Ken Schrader |
Ford |
VA Mortgage Center |
22/0 |
497 |
Running |
| 23 |
34 |
7 |
Robby Gordon |
Dodge |
Fast Five / Speed Energy |
22/1 |
497 |
Running |
| 24 |
32 |
31 |
Jeff Burton |
Chevrolet |
Caterpillar |
20/0 |
495 |
Running |
| 25 |
40 |
37 |
Tony Raines |
Ford |
Front Row Motorsports |
19/0 |
493 |
Running |
| 26 |
37 |
9 |
Landon Cassill |
Chevrolet |
Thank A Teacher Today / Security Benefit |
0 |
493 |
Running |
| 27 |
7 |
47 |
Bobby Labonte |
Toyota |
Lance Snacks |
17/0 |
489 |
Running |
| 28 |
42 |
71 |
Hermie Sadler |
Chevrolet |
Super Eco-Fuel Saver |
0 |
488 |
Running |
| 29 |
19 |
9 |
Marcos Ambrose |
Ford |
Dewalt |
15/0 |
487 |
Running |
| 30 |
29 |
36 |
Dave Blaney |
Chevrolet |
All Sport Body Quencher |
14/0 |
486 |
Running |
| 31 |
10 |
78 |
Regan Smith |
Chevrolet |
Furniture Row Companies |
13/0 |
476 |
Running |
| 32 |
35 |
66 |
Michael McDowell |
Toyota |
HP Racing LLC |
12/0 |
470 |
Running |
| 33 |
36 |
34 |
David Gilliland |
Ford |
Taco Bell |
11/0 |
468 |
Running |
| 34 |
28 |
14 |
Tony Stewart |
Chevrolet |
Office Depot / Mobil 1 |
10/0 |
462 |
Running |
| 35 |
25 |
21 |
Trevor Bayne |
Ford |
Motorcraft / Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center |
0 |
460 |
Running |
| 36 |
30 |
13 |
Casey Mears |
Toyota |
GEICO |
8/0 |
457 |
Running |
| 37 |
31 |
38 |
Travis Kvapil |
Ford |
Long John Silver's |
0 |
443 |
Drive Shaft |
| 38 |
16 |
27 |
Paul Menard |
Chevrolet |
NIBCO / Menards |
6/0 |
261 |
Overheating |
| 39 |
3 |
4 |
Kasey Kahne |
Toyota |
Red Bull |
06/1 |
219 |
Accident |
| 40 |
18 |
56 |
Martin Truex Jr. |
Toyota |
NAPA Auto Parts |
4/0 |
219 |
Accident |
| 41 |
41 |
46 |
J.J. Yeley |
Chevrolet |
Red Line Oil |
3/0 |
33 |
Brakes |
| 42 |
38 |
60 |
Mike Skinner |
Toyota |
Big Red |
0 |
31 |
Brakes |
| 43 |
43 |
87 |
Joe Nemechek |
Toyota |
AMFMEnergy.com |
0 |
25 |
Brakes |
*Rookie
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