But while Harvick won and Montoya and Busch produced surprising performances, there were some top stars that went home with torn-up cars, hurt feelings and hot tempers.
The winners and losers from the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond:
Winners
Kevin Harvick — Harvick desperately wanted to win to quiet all the talk about his lame-duck status at Richard Childress Racing. After a slow start to the season, he did it at one of his best tracks. Harvick proved that he’s still one of the best on late restarts and once again earned his nickname of “The Closer.” He also climbed into the top 10 in points, putting his team right back in the Chase conversation.
Juan Pablo Montoya — Montoya came oh-so-close to winning his first NASCAR oval-track race. If not for a late caution, he would have pulled off the upset of the season. He finished fourth for his first top-five finish since 2011 and proved that Earnhardt Ganassi Racing has indeed turned things around after two dismal seasons.
Joey Logano — With a crucial appeal hearing coming up this week, Logano showed that Penske Racing is not reeling from the severe penalties it faces for illegal parts at Texas. Logano stayed out of trouble and raced smart for an impressive third-place finish.
Jeff Burton — Like Montoya, Burton just needs a break. He got one when the leaders pitted with five laps remaining and hung on for his first top-five finish of the season. Coupled with Harvick’s win, this could be a sign that RCR is about to turn the corner.
Matt Kenseth — It has been an emotional and troubling week for Kenseth, whose Joe Gibbs team was hit with severe penalties for an illegal engine part at Kansas. But Kenseth and his No. 20 team made another statement Saturday night, leading a race-high 140 laps before finishing seventh. This team clearly is going to fight back and win more races.
Kurt Busch — Busch was as feisty as ever Saturday night and did everything he could to win for his small Furniture Row Racing team. Busch led 36 laps and had a chance to win until late in the race. He then roughed up Tony Stewart on the final restart to salvage a good finish. Busch is building toward an upset victory with his new team.
Carl Edwards — Edwards made a strong bid for the lead late in the race before hanging on to finish sixth. With so many top contenders having trouble, he leaped four spots in the standings to second.
Losers
Tony Stewart — Stewart’s season-long nightmare continued at Richmond, a track where he hoped to turn things around. Instead, he lost control of his car and wrecked Jimmie Johnson, an incident for which he apologized. Then he was battling for a top-10 finish late in the race when Kurt Busch knocked him out of his way, dropping Stewart back to 18th at the finish. Stewart banged into Busch after the race and had some choice words for him in the garage. But his biggest problem is that he was saddled with another poor finish and remains buried in 22nd in the points standings.
Kyle Busch — When Busch took the lead from Kenseth on Lap 254, he looked like he was headed for his fifth straight win in the spring race at Richmond. Then a pit-road penalty — which was later rescinded — set him off, and then he got caught up in the Stewart-Johnson wreck. After two wins and a five-race hot streak, Busch has now finished 38th and 24th in his last two races.
Brad Keselowski — Keselowski desperately wanted to win to send a message after his team also was hit with major penalties for a rules violation two weeks ago. But a flat tire sent him into the wall early, and then a sour engine got him black-flagged. Keselowski wound up 33rd — his worst finish of the season — and fell to sixth in the standings.
Danica Patrick — Patrick had high hopes after her impressive short-track performance at Martinsville three weeks ago. But she struggled all weekend, got lapped four times and finished 29th. So much for having the short tracks figured out. At least she didn’t spend the night complaining about getting roughed up and raced too aggressively.
Jamie McMurray — When Montoya lost his chance to win by pitting late, McMurray, his teammate, was in position to steal the win. After running in the top 10 all night, McMurray was second on the final restart. But somehow he got shuffled back so quickly he wound up finishing 26th — a highly disappointing finish for a driver who has run well all season.
Kasey Kahne — Kahne’s recent hot streak ended when he and Mark Martin tangled late in the race, causing both drivers to crash. Kahne finished 21st — his worst finish in eight weeks — and fell to third in points.
Brian Vickers — Vickers is not making a good accounting of himself while filling in for injured Denny Hamlin. Though he ran well early, he was involved in two wrecks and finished 35th. He has now finished 31st and 35th in his last two Cup races for Joe Gibbs Racing.
source: aol.sportingnews.com
