Harvick beats Stewart to Glen win
Kevin Harvick snatched NASCAR Nextel Cup race victory from Tony Stewart with a late race pass at Watkins Glen
Stewart looked almost certain of the win once polesitter and dominant early force Kurt Busch suffered the double blow of a penalty and a trip off the road.
But Harvick fought back and reclaimed the lead from Stewart with four laps remaining, before pulling out just enough of a lead to clinch victory.
The race had got off to an action-packed start as Busch lost his pole advantage with a quick excursion at Turn 1.
That put Kasey Kahne into the lead for a few corners before Ryan Newman took charge. But Busch, who had fallen to sixth, didn't stay down for long - quickly charging back to second, and then retaking the lead back from Newman at the first green flag restart on lap seven.
Stewart pushed Busch for a while, but the winner of yesterday's Busch Series race appeared to have the speed to control the Nextel Cup round as well, and eventually edged clear.
Busch then dominated the middle stages of the race, only to hit trouble when penalised for making his final pit stop before pit lane had been opened during one of many cautions.
To compound this error, Busch then went off the road again at the subsequent restart and fell all the way down to 41st. He charged through the field in the closing laps, only to get involved in a multi-car incident on the final lap and tumble down the order again.
Meanwhile Harvick's strategy had worked out perfectly, putting him up front after Busch's problems, while former second placed man Stewart had to fight back from 13th after the yellows failed to work out right for him.
It didn't take long for Stewart to get back to second, but passing Harvick proved tougher. Stewart made it through on a restart at lap 81, only for Harvick to strike back six laps later. This time, Stewart had no response.
"He did an awesome job," Stewart admitted. "I made a mistake, and he got back past because of it, and he never made a mistake after that - he hit his marks every lap."
Jamie McMurray fended off Robby Gordon for third, ahead of Carl Edwards.
Jeff Gordon looked set for at least a top five finish before getting involved in a tangle on lap 66. He managed to come back through from 39th to 15th in the remaining laps.
Results
Pos Driver Make Laps 1. Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 90 2. Tony Stewart Chevrolet 90 3. Jamie McMurray Ford 90 4. Robby Gordon Chevrolet 90 5. Carl Edwards Ford 90 6. Boris Said Ford 90 7. Scott Pruett Dodge 90 8. Elliott Sadler Ford 90 9. Ryan Newman Dodge 90 10. Ron Fellows Chevrolet 90 11. Kyle Busch Chevrolet 90 12. Denny Hamlin Chevrolet 90 13. Jeff Burton Chevrolet 90 14. Reed Sorenson Dodge 90 15. Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 90 16. Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 90 17. Jeff Green Chevrolet 90 18. Brian Vickers Chevrolet 90 19. Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 90 20. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 90 21. Kurt Busch Dodge 90 22. Mark Martin Ford 90 23. Matt Kenseth Ford 90 24. Kasey Kahne Dodge 90 25. Scott Riggs Dodge 90 26. Bobby Labonte Dodge 90 27. Scott Wimmer Chevrolet 90 28. Dale Jarrett Ford 90 29. Bill Elliott Dodge 90 30. Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet 90 31. Paul Menard Chevrolet 90 32. Kyle Petty Dodge 90 33. J.J. Yeley Chevrolet 89 34. Ken Schrader Ford 89 35. Casey Mears Dodge 89 36. Michael Waltrip Dodge 89 37. Terry Labonte Chevrolet 81 38. Greg Biffle Ford 75 39. Sterling Marlin Chevrolet 64 40. Dave Blaney Dodge 61 41. Brian Simo Chevrolet 61 42. Joe Nemechek Chevrolet 61 43. Marc Goossens Ford 58
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