Daytona ‘Survivor’

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Daytona’s crusty, gray asphalt didn’t go out without a fight.

For one final, steamy July night, it worked its uncanny alchemy.

Cars spun.

Dreams were crushed.

And Kevin Harvick – yes, Kevin Harvick – walked away a happy man from Daytona once again. Harvick won the Coke Zero 400 as a survivor more than anything else, outlasting a field that was nearly cut in half by the end of the race.

“I don’t care about the trophy,” Harvick said in Victory Lane. “I just want a piece of that asphalt at the start/finish line.”

The Sprint Cup points leader held off Kasey Kahne in a wild green-white-checkered finish that pushed the finish of the race into the first hour of the Fourth of July. Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Burton rounded out the top five, after Clint Bowyer spun while racing for the lead on the race’s final lap.

Fireworks, indeed.

“There was a lot going on,” said Kahne, who said he missed the race’s largest wreck by hitting an oil slick and smacking the wall. “I’m happy to run second. It’s a relief to get out of here with a good finish.”

Rainy weather Saturday afternoon delayed the start of this race by nearly an hour and a half, but once it started … wow. A typical Daytona free-for-all ensued and the finish was a memorable one.

The “big one” Kahne missed occurred with 13 laps to go when contact at the front between Kurt Busch, Jeff Burton and Sam Hornish Jr. touched off a chain reaction that left at least 18 cars with damage and forced NASCAR to throw the red flag one lap later.

Mark Martin’s car caught fire and the crew of Jimmie Johnson’s No. 48 team helped pulled NASCAR’s elder statesman to safety.

Following a 19-minute, 34 second red flag, Hornish ensured a green-white-checker finish by making contact with Elliott Sadler and slamming into the wall as the cars were preparing to take the white flag.

NASCAR’s summer showcase at its most famous track started a 1-hour, 24-minute rain delay kept this Sprint Cup event stuck in park.

Rain washed out qualifying for this race Friday afternoon and it began falling again Saturday afternoon, soaking fans at the 1.5-mile superspeedway.

The only thing more resilient than the race track Saturday night was Kyle Busch’s Toyota – at least until Lap 103.

That’s when Busch’s car made contact with Juan Pablo Montoya’s Chevy going into Turn 3 and hitting the outside wall to end his night..

“The replay shows I turned right across the nose of the 42, so apparently I wanted to wreck myself. I don’t know,” Busch said. “… I’m sure it’s somehow my fault.”

Kyle Busch had battled back to take the lead after pitting early in the race to repair a loose wheel.

Busch was also part of the first crash of the night when his Toyota made contact with A.J. Allmendinger’s Ford coming into the tri-oval on Lap 67, sending Allmendinger for a spin.

Several minutes after the crash, Allmendinger got into a heated exchange with team owner Richard Petty in the garage area. They both retreated back into the team’s hauler while repairs continued on the No. 43 Ford.

Busch drove away unscathed, and by lap 86, he found himself back in the lead after his Toyota shot past Sam Hornish Jr.

It was Hornish who seemed to have the strongest car early. Despite starting 30th, Hornish found himself leading after 50 laps with Penske Dodge power, proving that his fastest time during Friday’s washed-out qualifying session was no fluke.

It was the first time ever that the former Indy Racing League and Indy 500 champion had led laps at Daytona.

By the rule book, Kevin Harvick started this race on the pole and Jimmie Johnson started on the outside of row 1, looking to win on NASCAR’s top circuit for the third consecutive week.

NASCAR threw a competition yellow after 15 laps to allow teams to work on their cars. Harvick emerged from the pits as the race leader, followed by Greg Biffle.