Kevin Harvick earned his 16th career NASCAR win, his first at Martinsville after passing Dale Earnhart Jr. with four laps to go. His win today marks the second time in his NASCAR Sprint Cup career that he's earned back to back wins. Today was Harvicks third short track win and the seventh at Martinsville for Richard Childress Racing.
After the race Harvick was asked what kind of statement this sent winning back to back races so early in the season.
"I think it just shows what we're made of" Harvick said, "We crashed, we fell back to the last car on the lead lap just about there and just everybody on this RCR Budweiser Chevrolet team has done a great job. We just keep fighting and we had something left to race there at the end. I didn't believe them when they told me we were faster when we when got up there at the front, so it was pretty cool"
The most exciting battle at the end was for second when Dale Earnhart Jr held off Kyle Busch by less than two one hundredths of a second for second place. Junior, who had led 17 laps and was only passed at the end apologized to his crew as he crossed the finish line. He was asked after the race whether he had any regrets or whether there was anything he could have done different.
"I don't know what I could have done different" Earnhart said, "We didn't have that great of a car, we weren't fast all day. We had a top 10 car, but not a race winning car. We worked on it real hard but we really didn't make any gains really"
He credited the teams' pit strategies for keeping the car in the race.
Kyle Busch took over the Sprint Cup points lead after leading 151 laps and finishing third. Carl Edwards, who finished 18th, fell to second.