DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Kevin Harvick scored his second consecutive win in the Budweiser Shootout with a wild victory Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway.
Harvick shot around Greg Biffle for the lead with two laps to go and set sail for the checkered flag. When a multi-car accident broke out in turns three and four after Biffle was rammed from behind by Jeff Gordon, the race was declared official and the No. 29 car was in victory lane for the second straight year.
"I knew I needed to go, but I thought I could get by at least one of the guys on old tires there and try to get myself in position," Harvick said. "I was happy Greg (Biffle) chose the outside because he set the pace to start. We were able to get the best restart we had all night and push him out there and were able to just carry that momentum in to turn one."
Biffle's teammates Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth were swept up in the accident which ended the race. Edwards had the dominant car in the early stages of the race after leading two times for 42 laps from the pole.
Harvick hadn't turned a lap behind the wheel of his Shootout car, which was a back-up, until tonight as he was ill earlier in the week. Harvick's Richard Childress Racing teammates Clint Bowyer and Jeff Burton practiced the primary and back-up car on Thursday while he was battling the flu.
"I have to thank my team, they did a great job," Harvick said. "Man that thing was a rocket. The best thing about it was it handled really well."
After a disappointing 2009 season, Harvick wound up leading 21 laps in the first race of 2010.
"When you go through the year that we went through at RCR last year, got to thank my team; they did a great job,” Harvick said.
Kasey Kahne finished second in his first Cup race behind the wheel of a Ford.
“The Roush Yates Ford engine was unbelievable for me,” Kahne said. “I loved it, so I can’t wait for next week.”
Despite staying on track rather than pitting for new tires during the final caution flag of the race Kahne was able to score the runner-up finish.
“I was having a blast, the racing was good," he said. "We were right there. Harvick got in front of me and I was pushing him. I thought, ‘These tires aren’t bad.’”
Jamie McMurray came home third in his first race in the No. 1 Chevrolet for Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing with Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin rounding out the top five.
Besides the closing lap fireworks, Kurt Busch was involved in an incident on lap 33 when his No. 2 Dodge was sent flying through the frontstretch infield grass and into the wall after contact from the No. 5 Chevrolet of Mark Martin, which he took full responsibility for.
“I’m just making more laps in the ambulance than I am on the track,” Busch chuckled. “We still have two good bullets. I thought that I was in the outside lane, crossed into the middle; I was just trying to figure out the draft with the big restrictor plate.”
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series action returns to Daytona on Thursday with the running of the Gatorade Duel to set the field for the Daytona 500.
