Kevin Harvick zoomed to a convincing NASCAR Cup Series victory in overtime Saturday, bypassing Kyle Busch to lead the last 14 laps and prevail in the first race of a weekend doubleheader for the circuit at Michigan International Speedway.
Harvick led a race-best 92 of the 161 laps in the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 Ford. His fifth win of the season was his fourth at Michigan and the 54th of his Cup Series career.
Brad Keselowski corralled second place in the Team Penske No. 2 Ford. Martin Truex Jr. came home third with Ryan Blaney fourth and Busch completing the top five finishers.
Harvick swept both stages, banking two playoff points for use in the 10-race postseason, which begins next month. His final pass for the lead was a close-quarters one with Busch on Lap 148, a move that took the air off the rear of the No. 18 Toyota and nearly forced Busch into the outside wall in Turn 4.
The start was delayed nearly an hour to avoid overlap with the finish of the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Road America. The Xfinity event — won by Team Penske’s Austin Cindric — was halted for roughly 90 minutes because of lightning strikes in the vicinity of the Wisconsin road course.
The Cup Series’ next race is the Consumers Energy 400, scheduled Sunday (4:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM) at the 2-mile Michigan track.
THE FRATERNAL ORDER OF THE GO FAST
We finally have a player who was riding high wide and handsome with the race winner, Freaky Fast Kevin Harvick. For his Harvick loyalty Dan The Numbers Cruncher deposited the max points per race today, 60 big ones. This week it would appear that The Numbers Dude may have under-handedly acquired some insider trading info for Michigan 1. After all, his past track record in the fantasy league has been, dare I say, mid-pack-ish at best over the last couple of years! I am not saying that there is any definitive proof of his covert activities, but I’m just sayin’! This may signify the need for The Redneck Fantasy League Private Investigator be activated and sent to the Central Valley of CA for some investigative work next week and report back to Your Most Humble Sheriff!
THE MOVERS AND THE SHAKERS
Also having a very nice Saturday afternoon/evening was Jim, aka Chiefy. Ol Chiefy very strategically used his Denny Hamlin card for the first Michigan race at a good time to pad his totals. Even though. The Delivernator did not win Michigan 1 today, he was up front all race and in a position to vie for the win. Hamlin ultimately drove home in 6th place when the checkered flag waved and gave Chiefy 48 points.
Meanwhile, the gruesome twosome of Snoopy Dawn and Carlton The Doorman were partnering with Blazingly Bad Brad Keselowski this afternoon. That choice paid very nicely for this pair, putting a very cool 47 points into their 2nd segment tally.
Leon Your Most Humble Sheriff has been totally unimpressive with his race results lately, plummeting out of control. However, Saturday afternoon he rebounded, found some of his dignity, put his money on ol Kylie Busch, and strutted right up to the pay window to collect his 39 points.
Lastly, Linda The Cookie Mom stepped out of the shadows of The Redneck Fantasy League and accepted 38 points from the hard work from That Jones Boy, Erik, who is unemployed at the end of this season. However, if I was a betting man I would say the Joe Gibbs just did Erik a favor. Jones may have just went to the head of the line of those drivers wanting to interview for the vacant HMS No. 48 ride in 2021!
Watch WorkingOnMyRedneck.com for the answer to that and many more NASCAR Silly Season questions!
Last week the bottom one-third of the scoring pylon changed zip codes wit all of its instability, this week it is the top half that changed positions. I guess that turnaround is fair play!
The single biggest mover for Michigan 1 was Dan The Numbers Dude. His max score of 60 big ones catapulted him four (4) positions, which has landed him all the way up to 2nd place late in the 2nd segment season. Looks like he is making a run for some money!
We have a very sad quartet within our ranks Saturday. Carole, aka Rudy, Carlton The Doorman, Jim, aka Chiefy, and Snoopy Dawn all stumbled and fell one spot to now reside in 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th, respectively.
The remaining players, The Cheddar Head, The Bay Area Bandit, The Las Vegas Super Star, Your Most Benevolent Sheriff, The Cookie Mom, and The Coach all remained in their previous places.
STRAIGHT FROM THE CRAPPER
Well, we have another 2-fer this race!
I really almost feel badly, but not quite, that the player who locked up The Crappiest Pick of The Week with a score of 21 points this race gets my wrath. Normally, 21 points is a mid-range score that is a semi-respectable number. Unfortunately, in light of most of the players having a very good race, the 21 points points that Jeremy The Coach added to his totals today gives him this weekly prestigious award!
Because The Coach was the lowest scorer this week he was totally incapable of escaping from The Outhouse. After looking at the 2nd segment score, it is quite apparent that The Coach will be unable to escape during this segment, barring a miracle! He will be stuck in The Outhouse til the end of the this segment which, if you didn’t know its location, is down at end of Lonely Street across the street from The Heartbreak Hotel!
Sunday we get to re-rack and let the dog eat one more time in Michigan!
Check out the results of the FireKeeprs Casino 400 at Michigan.
TIL NEXT TIME, PULL YOUR BELTS TIGHT AND LET’S GO RACIN”!