Kevin Harvick by a hair at Talladega

The Talladega oval once again offered one of those thrilling finishes of racing Nascar Sprint Cup Series. If success is sometimes built over the length in these races of speed and regularity, it is in the last meters that victory is decided. After 195 laps of an event which saw 29 drivers (!) take turns in the leadership role, an eighth interruption was decisive for Kevin Harvick's victory. Ironically, it was Jimmie Johnson, leader of the general classification of the Sprint Cup Series, who crashed his car and caused this final neutralization.

During the restart, two laps from the finish, Kevin Harvick, third, immediately placed himself in the wheels of Jamie McMurray. The two men ride bumper to bumper and take the opportunity to move away from the peloton, due to the aerodynamic advantage that this configuration brings. And, in these cases, the driver leading the train is often at the mercy of the steering inputs of the second car.

In the last corner of this 499 mile race, Kevin Harvick shifts and goes inside Jamie McMurray, whose car is slightly destabilized following this stall. But, unlike the Keselowski-Edwards duel last year, the jostled car does not make a mistake and can try its luck in the final straight.

But Kevin Harvick took the advantage and overtook Jamie McMurray, to steal victory from the driver of the No. 1 Chevrolet (see video). McMurray, after his victory at Talladega in November 2009, and his success at the start of the season during the Daytona 500, missed out on a third victory on a super oval in less than six months.

On the other hand, Kevin Harvick finally returns to success. Very consistent during the first races of the season, the Richard Childress Racing driver had not won since the 2007 season and his victories during the Daytona 500 and the All-Star race in North Carolina.

« It really worked perfectly for us today., commented Harvick. We planned to stay in ambush and wait until the last 50 laps to attack. » A nice revenge for the driver of the No. 29 Chevrolet, whose team was let go by Shell/Penzoil, who decided to leave the ship at the end of the season. “ It was a difficult week because our sponsor announced that he was leaving us, and the best part is that he is leaving just as we are winning. »