Harvick takes eighth season win
Kevin Harvick showed he lost none of his fire after clinching the Busch title two weeks ago, winning today at Memphis his eight season Busch race - his 25th series victory
Harvick beat Richard Childress Racing teammate Clint Bowyer by just 0.261 seconds at the finish line, after the two overtook late leader Carl Edwards in a final six-lap shoot-out to the flag.
"That was good short-track racing," said Harvick. "What more can you ask for, to come down to the last couple of laps."
Formula Formula One driver Juan Pablo Montoya made a respectable debut in NASCAR, finishing his first Busch race in 12th place.
The Colombian, who started from ninth on the grid, was running as high as fifth place in the early stages of the race, but the former McLaren driver was knocked off by Jason Keller midway through through the race, sending Montoya down to 30th.
He then charged through the field to end up 12th - well within his goal of ending within the top 20. Along the way, though, Montoya bumped a few drivers into a spin, a reminder that he is still, after all, a rookie.
"It was pretty wild, to be honest," Montoya said after the race. "I learned today you have to pace yourself.
"I spun a couple of guys around, and I thought, I need to try to stop doing that because I am damaging my car.
"But there are some guys out there who would race like it's the last lap. It feels like kindergarten out there."
Montoya nonetheless drew compliments from race-winner Harvick.
"I'd say he was probably very pleased with the fact that he made all the laps and did what he had to do to gain experience," Harvick said.
"He's going to be good. He's got a really good car control, and he wants to race really bad.
"They didn't really like the way he raced in Formula One, but I think it will fit him just fine here."
Pos Driver Time Laps 1. Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 252 2. Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 252 3. Carl Edwards Ford 252 4. Johnny Sauter Chevrolet 252 5. Shane Huffman Chevrolet 252 6. Denny Hamlin Chevrolet 252 7. Reed Sorenson Dodge 252 8. Danny O'Quinn Jr. Ford 252 9. Kasey Kahne Dodge 252 10. J.J. Yeley Chevrolet 252 11. Jason Keller Ford 252 12. Juan Pablo Montoya Dodge 252 13. Timothy Peters Chevrolet 252 14. Kenny Wallace Ford 252 15. Auggie Vidovich Dodge 252 16. Casey Atwood Ford 252 17. Todd Kluever* Ford 252 18. Stephen Leicht Ford 252 19. Mike Wallace Dodge 252 20. Steve Wallace Dodge 252 21. Paul Menard Chevrolet 251 22. Regan Smith Ford 251 23. Justin Labonte Chevrolet 251 24. Stacy Compton Ford 251 25. Jay Sauter Chevrolet 251 26. Cale Gale Chevrolet 251 27. Willie Allen Dodge 251 28. D.J. Kennington Chevrolet 251 29. Jon Wood Ford 250 30. Justin Diercks Chevrolet 249 31. Tim Sauter Chevrolet 248 32. Dexter Bean Chevrolet 246 33. Peyton Sellers Chevrolet 245 34. Jason Leffler Chevrolet 243 35. John Andretti Ford 243 36. Joey Miller Dodge 198 37. Ashton Lewis Ford 197 38. Burney Lamar Chevrolet 177 39. Carlos Contreras Dodge 135 40. Shelby Howard Chevrolet 128 41. Brad Keselowski Chevrolet 102 42. Jerry Robertson Chevrolet 65 43. Tim Schendel Chevrolet 51
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