Wild finish gets NASCAR season off on right foot
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Thrilling finish, dramatic wrecks and a record number of lead changes.
It was just what NASCAR wanted - and needed.
Kevin Harvick boldly passed Jamie McMurray on the last lap of the exhibition Budweiser Shootout to give a sparse Saturday night crowd at Daytona International Speedway reason to want more.
"There's nobody who can leave today and say they didn't see an exciting race," third-place finisher Tony Stewart said.
NASCAR has taken a beating in the three months since last season's finale, as the economic crisis forced teams to slash budgets, lay off employees and even cease operations. Unemployed crew members are scouring the garage for work, sponsorships are hard to come by and everyone in NASCAR knows 2009 may be its toughest season ever.
"With the economy the way it is and the amount of layoffs - it's almost depressing right now to turn the news on," second-place finisher McMurray said. "I get up at 6 a.m., I turn the news on and the headline is how many people are getting laid off from major corporations. I think it will be a tough year for us to sell tickets."
Harvick and McMurray did their part to promote next week's season-opening Daytona 500.
"For the fans, the price of admission was well worth it," winning car owner Richard Childress said.
When the crash-plagued Shootout finally became a shootout, Harvick used a huge push from Denny Hamlin to grab a come-from-nowhere victory that mimicked his Daytona 500 win two years ago.
"That was some wild racing," Harvick said from Victory Lane. "What a race. That was wild as heck there at the end."
Wild, indeed.
"That was a lot of built-up race-car drivers really looking to hang something out on the edge," Harvick said of the record eight cautions and 23 lead changes.
It was Harvick's first victory in 71 races, dating to the non-points all-star race in May 2007. The only other event he won that year was the season-opening 500, when he nipped Mark Martin in a photo finish.
Harvick started 23rd in the Shootout, spent most of the race in the back dodging wrecks, then slowly worked his way toward the front. McMurray seemed headed for the win until a late wreck between Greg Biffle and David Stremme set up a two-lap overtime sprint to the finish.
Harvick was fourth on the restart, and didn't seem to have anything for McMurray until getting the big push on the outside.
"It will be a long night," McMurray said. "I'll think about what maybe I should have done different."
Harvick coasted to the win as Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch and Brian Vickers all crashed behind him.
McMurray knew holding on for the win would be difficult when he restarted in the lead.
"It's just honestly the leader is kind of a sitting duck," McMurray said. "It's cool because you can pass him."