MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Kevin Harvick overcame an ill-handling car to charge to the front, pass Dale Earnhardt Jr. for the lead and hold on to win Sunday’s Sprint Cup race at Martinsville Speedway.
Earnhardt had taken over the lead with 20 laps to go with a pass of Kyle Busch that brought everyone in the grandstands to their feet. But Harvick closed quickly, pulled onto Earnhardt’s bumper with four laps to go and made his pass in the second turn.
Earnhardt tried to get the lead back, but conceded as they rounded the fourth turn. Harvick then sailed away for his second consecutive victory.
He also made a late charge last week to beat Busch and Jimmie Johnson in California.
“I hate to be the bad guy here, but winning’s winning,” Harvick said in Victory Lane of denying NASCAR’s most popular driver the win.
Earnhardt had to fight hard to hold off Busch for second, and his losing streak stretched to 99 races. He has not won since Michigan in June 2008.
“I am frustrated. I got close,” Earnhardt said. “I ain’t won in a long time. I was thinking at the end I was meant to win the race.”
Busch led a race-high 151 laps, but was bumped from the lead by Earnhardt. It’s the second consecutive Sprint Cup race he has dominated, only to fade to third.
