Truex Jr. holds off Kevin Harvick to win Southern 500

I’ve led a lot of laps here and I feel like something always happens. Fallon driver Rob Grace was second, 2.3 seconds behind. “With the Chase coming, get that confidence up and another win in the pocket”.

Kevin Harvick: Led the 10,000th lap of is career during the race, joining Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth as only active drivers to lead that many. The next race is the season finale on September 17.

Buescher rose up to No. 30 two weeks ago with his fifth-place finish at Bristol, yet finished 35th at MI last Sunday and is just seven points ahead of David Ragan – and falling out of the Chase – headed to Darlington.

The other big news of the week centered around Dale Earnhardt Jr.

It wasn’t long after reaching victory lane that Earnhardt called Sadler with congratulations.

“I slipped under the fence when I came to see my first race, and now, here I’ve got a garage named after me, so it’s great”, Yarborough said. In this one, Busch’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Hamlin, made a late charge and nosed in front two laps from the end. On lap 214, Johnson spun out and slid into the inside wall. “It was frustrating to lead laps here and let a few slip away”. It was also the last time for that kind of speed for quite a while.

“We’re hungry. We’re working hard”, Truex said. “You’ve got to get after it on pit road and do your job”. Smoke was flying, and I thought these guys were going to wreck, and Blaney was going to be the victor.

But that doesn’t mean 11th-place starter Chase Elliott should abandon hope of notching his first career win. Crew chief Rodney Childers told Harvick the airgun was switched on to reverse and knocked all the lugnuts off of the tire with just over 80 laps remaining. Harvick, who has 46 Xfinity wins, has now gone winless in his last 14 series starts dating to a victory at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, in March 2015. “My owner has given me one heck of an opportunity”, Sadler said. Ryan Newman, who finished eighth, drew to within seven points of Jamie McMurray for the 16th and final spot in the Chase, which begins in two weeks.

Just past halfway, Tony Stewart brought out the third caution of the night by spinning Brian Scott, who was involved in a single-car accident earlier in the race. Carl Edwards, the defending champion, will start third.