Kevin Harvick cruises to victory at Darlington Raceway

For the first time since March 8th, NASCAR returned to live racing with The Real Heroes 400 at Darlington Raceway. It was a different scene, unlike racing fans are used to seeing. Drivers, crew chiefs, pit crews, and reporters were wearing masks while Mike Joy and Jeff Gordon broadcast the race from the FOX Charlotte studios. This race was also seen by many as a step in the right direction for the return of sports. Another pleasant surprise was the return of Ryan Newman, just three months removed from a horrible wreck at Daytona. Newman started in 15th place.

Brad Keselowski and Alex Bowman led the field to the green flag to start The Real Heroes 400. Not even a lap into the race, the caution flag was waved as Ricky Stenhouse Jr. spun and hit the inside wall and was out of the race.

Well, that was not ideal. @StenhouseJr crashes early in #TheRealHeroes 400. pic.twitter.com/sjJfazAZEU — NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 17, 2020

Keselowski remained in the lead when the competition caution came out at lap 30. When the race resumed, Keselowski was in the lead until Alex Bowman passed him to take the lead on lap 45. Bowman led 35 laps before being passed by his teammate Jimmie Johnson. As stage one was coming to a close, Johnson made contact with Chris Buescher, which spun him into the inside wall. He was out of the race and would finish 38th. William Byron would go on to win stage one.

Kevin Harvick beat everyone out of pit road to take the lead as stage two got underway. Seventeen laps later, William Byron had a flat tire and hit the wall to bring out the caution on lap 110. Harvick would once again beat everyone out of pit road to keep the lead once the race resumed. The caution would once again come out on lap 123 when Daniel Suarez spun when he blew a tire. Once again, Harvick’s pit crew gets the job done, and Harvick beat everyone out of pit road to remain in the lead.

The caution would once again come out on lap 154 when pieces of a sponsors logo attached to the concrete outer wall began to peel off after a kiss by Kyle Busch on one of the laps prior. After the piece that was peeled off landed on several cars and caused rises in their temperatures, the yellow flag was thrown. The track crew removed the logo from the wall so the race could resume. Harvick again came out of pit road first and resumed the lead. Harvick led for nineteen laps until Christopher Bell spun and made slight contact with the wall to bring out the caution for the seventh time. Harvick would then lead the field to pit road but would give up the lead coming out seventh as the air gun got stuck in the wheel hub, and Brad Keselowski would leave pit road with the lead. Keselowski led the field on lap 178 to the green flag and would go on to win stage two.

Keselowski led the field to pit road but would come out second as Alex Bowman was the first car out of pit road. Bowman’s lead was short-lived as Keselowski passed Bowman on lap 193 to retake the lead. The caution would once again be waved on lap 212 as Chris Buescher spun on the front stretch. Keselowski led the field down pit road where he would come out second as Kevin Harvick beat him out of pit road at lap 215.

From there, Harvick dominated, leading the last 75 laps and would go on to win his 50th career Cup Series win. He is now tied for twelfth of all-time in wins along with Ned Jarrett and Junior Johnson.

That's 5️⃣0️⃣ for @KevinHarvick! Retweet to congratulate the driver of the No. 4 on his 50th NASCAR Cup Series victory! pic.twitter.com/CPWKDRs022 — NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 17, 2020

Results from the race today. #nascar ⁦@NASCARONFOX⁩ pic.twitter.com/MaMDwyn9xd — Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) May 17, 2020

For over three hours, NASCAR provided fans some exciting racing and a nice distraction, given what has happened over the last couple of months with COVID-19. Harvick will look to make it two in a row as the NASCAR Cup Series will be back at Darlington Raceway on Wednesday at 7:30 pm on FS1. The NASCAR Xfinity Series will resume their season at Darlington Raceway on Tuesday at 7:30 pm on FS1.

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