Harvick wins Busch Series race, Nextel Cup pole

RICHMOND, Va. – Kevin Harvick pulled away from Paul Menard in a two-lap dash to the finish for his third Busch Series win of the season.

Harvick had the dominant car all night but lost the lead during pit stops just past the midpoint of the race. Menard held on until the 217th lap, when Harvick slipped inside him and left Menard, Mark Martin and Matt Kenseth to fight for second.

The victory, completed after a green-white-checker finish in 253 laps because of a caution for debris on lap 250, was Harvick’s 16th in the series and completed a big day for him. Earlier, he won the pole for tonight’s Chevrolet Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway, the last race before the Chase for the championship.

Harvick pulled away on all three restarts once he regained the lead.

“With the lead we had, it would have been nice not to see the cautions,” he said.

Erin Crocker, the 11th woman to drive in the series, lasted 123 laps before she spun and crashed.

Harvick was followed in the Nextel Cup pole qualifying by Greg Biffle at 128.309, rookie Travis Kvapil at 128.163, and Mark Martin at 127.968.