Harvick Wins It His Way

JOLIET, Ill. —  An aggressive move by Kevin Harvick set the stage for his first win in a year.

It also brought a new round of criticism for NASCAR’s bad boy, but only after a late-race gamble on gas by crew chief Gil Martin paid off.

Harvick was told to stay on the track while most of the other leaders pitted, and that earned him a victory Sunday in the Tropicana 400 at Chicagoland Speedway.

The hard-charging Harvick listened to his crew chief and barely made it. He had to walk to victory lane after running out of gas as he tried to do some celebratory tire-smoking doughnuts.

Harvick’s big break came on the 197th of 267 laps when he went to the bottom of the slightly banked track on the main straightaway trying to pass Kurt Busch.

He lost control and skidded through the paved apron area below the white line in the first turn. On some tracks, that is considered out of bounds. Not at Chicagoland.

Harvick was able to regain control and pit after several drivers, including Jimmy Spencer, spun or crashed in his wake.

That allowed Harvick to make what turned out to be his final pit stop with 68 laps remaining.

Harvick has been criticized for rough driving, spent time on probation and was banned for one Winston Cup race earlier this year after hitting Coy Gibbs during a Craftsman Truck Series race.

Jeff Gordon, who finished second, called Harvick’s move onto the apron “stupid.”

Said Spencer: “We had a car that could have been in the top 10,” he said. “Harvick drove on the apron and it caused an accident and we got in it and it took us out. It was uncalled for.

“He still drives like an idiot, but what are you going to do? NASCAR said there’s no out of bounds, but if there’s out of bounds at Daytona, there should be out of bounds here.”

When told of Gordon’s remark, Harvick said, “Jeff Gordon got second. Maybe if he had been a little braver, he might have won. He thinks it’s a stupid move. I think it was cool.”