Kevin Harvick outduels dejected Bubba Wallace at MIS, breaks drought

A collision with 40 laps to go turned the race on its head Sunday at Michigan International Speedway.

Christopher Bell turned in front of Ross Chastain, smacked the frontstretch wall and caused a caution flag right when some cars were pitting for fuel.

It knocked out Bell and Chastain – who had been running in front of Harvick. Denny Hamlin got a speeding penalty on pit road and Harvick cycled into the lead for the first time. He then outdueled Bubba Wallace on the final restart and drove away to victory.

The win puts Harvick in the playoffs – he was on the outside looking in with four races to go – and ends Harvick’s winless drought of nearly two years.

“Everybody who doubted us doesn’t know us,” Harvick said. “We strive in these types of situations.”

Meanwhile, Wallace was dejected with second place. He also needs a win if he wants to qualify for the playoffs.

“I’ll wear this one on my heart for a while,” Wallace said. “I failed everybody.”

Wallace qualified first and led 22 laps. He started alongside Harvick on the final restart, but Joey Logano got by Wallace in the scuffle. Wallace eventually passed back by Logano, but by then Harvick was long gone.

Wallace was emotional after the finish. But the words of encouragement from others were helpful, he said.

“I have enough voices of my own in my head that are telling me otherwise,” Wallace said. “I’m a person who looks at the negatives more than the negatives – I need to change that. But I want to win so bad. And this was the best opportunity.”

This was the eighth consecutive victory for Ford at MIS, which is the home track for the Dearborn automaker. Toyotas showed the most speed all weekend.

Sunday was Harvick’s 777th career start – which tops Kurt Busch for most starts among active drivers. Busch sat out Sunday’s race with concussion-like symptoms after a crash three weeks ago. Ty Gibbs – the winner of Saturday’s race – filled in for Busch and finished 10th.

Harvick had only led 13 laps all season before leading the final 38 on Sunday.

“Today was the 777th start. We rolled triple 7s today,” Harvick said.

Harvick takes daughter for a post-race spin

When Harvick won at MIS in 2018, he gave his son Keelan a ride in the car afterward. Today, he was able to take his younger daughter Piper for a spin.

“Just a really, really cool moment to be able to let her experience a lot of these things that Keelan’s got to experience so many times,” Harvick said. “Hopefully she’s older enough to where she might remember some of it.”

Piper and her dad retrieved the checkered flag together, and she waved it like a pro for the national TV audience.

The win ended a 65-race winless drought for the 46-year-old Harvick. His last win came in September 2020, a year in which he won nine times.

“It’s been awhile,” Harvick said. “Coming to Michigan, this has been a great place for us. I just gotta thank all the fans. They stuck through us through this little dry spell.”

This is Harvick’s 59th career win and sixth at MIS. David Pearson holds the track record with nine wins.

Playoff drama

Sixteen drivers qualify for the NASCAR playoffs, including every driver with a victory plus the next-highest racers in the points.

There have never been 16 or more drivers to win in the regular season since the format started. But Harvick is winner No. 15, with three races to go.

“I know what you’re going to ask. It’s a shame that another car won,” Ryan Blaney said after the race.

Blaney is second in points, but doesn’t have a win. If another driver wins, it knocks him out of the playoffs. Harvick’s win today puts Martin Truex Jr. on the outside of the playoff bubble looking in, despite the fact he’s fourth in points.

The final three races before the playoffs are at Richmond Raceway, Watkins Glen International and Daytona International Speedway.

Heavy rain delays start, but skies clear

Harvick’s winless streak wasn’t the only drought ended Sunday at MIS. The skies opened up 30 minutes before the race, sending fans running for shelter and delaying the start of the race.

While the radar showed more rain on the way, the skies cleared and the sun peaked out. NASCAR was able to dry the track in about an hour and get the race started around 4:30 p.m.

The top finishers

Here’s a look at the top 10 finishers from Sunday’s race at MIS.

Byron native Erik Jones finished eighth on Sunday, while Rochester Hills driver Brad Keselowski finished 15th.

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For an updated list of stories from MIS this NASCAR race weekend, click here.

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