Start your engines!
Play RPM.ESPN Stock Car Challenge!
Win a Honda S2000!
Play The CART Challenge powered by Honda!
|
|
Sunday, March 11
Harvick holds off Gordon in Atlanta
Associated Press
Results
HAMPTON, Ga. -- The race started with a tribute to Dale
Earnhardt, and Kevin Harvick offered one of his own at the end,
driving The Intimidator's car to victory.
Harvick, a 25-year-old rookie who took over for Earnhardt after
his death in the season-opening Daytona 500, won the first time in
his Winston Cup career, beating Jeff Gordon by inches in the
Cracker Barrel 500.
|  | | Kevin Harvick gets a Gatorade shower in Victory Lane after winning the Cracker Barrel 500. |
The outcome left Richard Childress, Earnhardt's longtime car
owner, in tears and unable to forget their glorious past.
"I just kept praying for Dale to help us out," Childress said.
"He gave us the help we needed."
In the same Chevrolet Earnhardt drove to a second-place finish
here last November, Harvick beat Gordon to the finish line at
Atlanta Motor Speedway by .006 seconds -- the edge of his front
bumper.
"I don't know how you could script it any different," Harvick
said. "None of us expected this so soon, what with the unfortunate
circumstances. All I can say is this one is for Dale."
The finish was eerily similar to the spring race last year, when
Earnhardt beat Bobby Labonte by .010 seconds for his record ninth
victory on Atlanta's 1.5-milve oval.
And the scene afterward was similar to that when Earnhardt won
the 1998 Daytona 500 and crew members from every team lined up
along pit road to congratulate him. As Harvick made his victory
lap, waiving three fingers out the window to symbolize Earnhardt's
No. 3, the other crews gathered to greet him as he came off the
track.
The outcome left his own crew celebrating wildly and Childress
so emotional he could hardly speak.
"I'm just thrilled, just thrilled" said Childress, for whom
Earnhardt had driven since 1984.
The day began with a tribute to Earnhardt on the third lap of
the race.
Most of the 125,000 fans stood silently for the entire lap with
three fingers in the air while track officials released 7,000 black
balloons -- 1,000 for each of Earnhardt's seven series
championships.
Harvick, meanwhile, bided his time throughout the 325-lap race.
He started fifth, in his Chevrolet. But it was painted white,
instead of Earnhardt's trademark black, and was changed to No. 29
while NASCAR observes a one-year moratorium on Earnhardt's No. 3.
Harvick ran up front with the leaders for most of the race, and
even led 12 laps early. But he didn't make his move until the final
10 laps of the event.
Sterling Marlin brought out the eighth caution of the race when
his Dodge blew its engine on lap 300. The race went green five laps
later, and Jerry Nadeau and Dale Jarrett quickly broke away from
Harvick, Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
But the trio closed in on the leaders, and Harvick pulled
alongside Nadeau and Jarrett coming out of Turn 4 of lap 320.
He cleared them coming out of Turn 2 on the next lap and was
running alone up front until Gordon, who won a week earlier in Las
Vegas, caught him in Turn 3 of the last lap. They battled
side-by-side for the last half-mile as they hurtled forward to the
finish line.
The two Chevrolets were practically touching as they crossed the
line, with Harvick nosing ahead for the victory.
The win made Harvick, last year's Busch Series Rookie of the
Year, the fastest ever to win a Winston Cup race, doing it only his
third attempt.
It also gave Chevrolet its fourth victory in as many races. The
first two went to Michael Waltrip and Steve Park, drivers of cars
owned by Earnhardt.
Nadeau, who beat Earnhardt here last November, finished third in
a Chevrolet. Polesitter Jarrett was fourth in a Ford.
Terry Labonte was fifth, followed by Ricky Rudd, Johnny Benson,
Ken Schrader, Mike Skinner and Kurt Busch.
Dale Earnhardt Jr., a teammate to Waltrip and Park, finished
15th after blowing his right front tire with three laps to go.
 Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories
|
|
|
| 
Tributes continue for Earnhardt at Atlanta | | | | 
RPM 2Night
Kevin Harvick is in the RPM 2Night studio to discuss Sunday's emotional victory in Atlanta.
Real: 28.8
Cracker Barrel 500
With three drivers in the top five, Sunday was a great day for owner Rick Hendrick.
Real: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Sunday Conversation
Kevin Harvick sits down for the Sunday Conversation after winning the Cracker Barrel 500 in Dale Earnhardt's car.
Real: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
For No. 3
Drivers were pleased to see The Intimidator's car in Victory Lane again.
Real: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Quick learner
Kevin Harvick had some additional help as he continued RCR's dominance of Atlanta Motor Speedway.
wav: 162 k
Real: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Filling big shoes
Dale Jarrett says Kevin Harvik handled his car very well.
wav: 132 k
Real: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Proud of second place
Jeff Gordon does not mind finishing behind Kevin Harvik on this Sunday.
wav: 106 k
Real: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
| | |
|
