NASCAR Results From Martinsville: Kevin Harvick Wins After Passing Dale Earnhardt Jr. Late

It almost looked like Dale Earnhardt Jr.‘s day at the Goody’s Fast Relief 500 Martinsville Speedway. Then Kevin Harvick stole his lead and his shine as the race ended, extending Earnhardt’s winless streak for at least one more race.

Harvick took the lead from Earnhardt Jr. at the Martinsville short track with less than ten laps to go, then pulled away from Junior — and Kyle Busch, who briefly passed Earnhardt Jr. for second before being pipped by Junior at the finish line — to win comfortably.

It’s Harvick’s second win in as many weeks: he also claimed the checkered flag at California’s Auto Club Speedway last week.

The victory would have been Earnhardt Jr.‘s first win since a victory at Michigan in June 2008, 98 races ago. And it likely won’t be a race Junior fans soon forget, in any case: Harvick drives a Budweiser-sponsored Chevrolet, and has assumed roles Earnhardt Jr. (Bud’s driver of choice) and his father (Richard Childress Racing’s flagship team) once held.

Those are the sorts of details that smart.

Juan Pablo Montoya and Jeff Gordon completed the top five behind Harvick, Earnhardt Jr., and Busch.

Full results from the Goody’s Fast Relief 500 at Daytona International Speedway are as follows: