Harvick Wins at Bristol in Round 1 Finale

September 19, 2020

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Kevin Harvick won the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race from Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday night for his ninth win of the season.

Harvick raced with Kyle Busch over the final 50 laps, and the two swapped the lead while getting around lapped traffic.

Busch was not able to get to Harvick’s back bumper in the closing laps, but Harvick said he almost gave away the victory while getting around the slower cars.

“To beat Kyle Busch at Bristol, I kind of put myself in a little bit of a ringer there,” Harvick said. “I hit a lapped car and got a hole in my nose.”

“We just kept fighting; we’ve got nothing else to lose. We were here to try and win a race.”

Busch, who is still winless in 2020, said Harvick’s speed throughout the race was just too much to overcome.

“Just didn’t have enough there at the end,” Busch said. “Guys did a great job and gave me a really good piece tonight to contend and at least be up there to be close.”

“Lapped cars were definitely a problem, but it’s part of racing. [Harvick] obviously had the better car.”

Bristol was the final race in the first round of NASCAR’s Playoffs, and four drivers were eliminated from Playoff contention. Following the race on Saturday night, Cole Custer, William Byron, Ryan Blaney and Matt DiBenedetto saw their championship hopes come to an end.

Unofficial results: