Harvick picks up Chase victory #2, takes Bristol (9-19-20)
By: Becca Cottingham
Headline Photo Credit: NASCAR Twitter Page
We are at The Great Coliseum for a night of racing. Brad Keselowski will lead us to green tonight, but just before the green multiple cars will drop to the back. Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, and Erik Jones all had inspection issues. JJ Yeley will also move to the back due to the change of a driver. Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski battle for the lead at Bristol. Brad gets loose and gives Kevin Harvick a chance to take the lead. Ricky Stenhouse Jr and Jimmie Johnson get together and it sends Ricky spinning out. This brings out the caution and will also be used as the competition caution. Brad Keselowski will get out front and back to the lead. Kyle Busch after getting stuck behind Daniel Suarez on pit road. Ryan Blaney warned people earlier in the week, and he does give Aric Almirola a bump and drives under him to make up ground. The chase drivers are all making multiple moves as this could be their last night in the chase. Brad has had a commanding lead, but his long run race seems to be hurting him. Chase Elliott makes move and got around Brad Keselowski. Kyle Busch has made huge gains and made his way through the field to the second place. This is one of the first glimpses of the normal Kyle Busch. With three to go Chase Elliott is hoping lap traffic will help him win the stage. Lap traffic does slow Kyle Busch down, and Chase Elliott wins stage one.
Kyle Busch’s pit crew got him out first and so far in stage two, he is not looking back. Matt DiBenedetto came in with a huge vibration and this is a huge loss for a green flag pitstop. The right rear was loose and needed to be changed. Kyle Busch continues to lead the way at Bristol in stage two. Kyle Busch seeing Chase Elliot getting closer bumps to lap traffic to get around him. Martin Truex Jr is having an issue with tires as well. Denny Hamlin appears to have gotten into the back of Truex Jr when Martin Truex Jr scrapes the wall. Kevin Harvick got around Chase Elliott for second place. William Byron was involved in an incident on the track and it appears to have gotten the radiator. Christopher Bell appears to have had to check up, and Joey Gase also had to do so and caused Byron to need to check up. This will end William Byron’s night. Ryan Newman has someone get into the back of him and this brought out a caution right before stage two ends. Matt DiBenedetto gets the free pass. Kyle Busch will win stage two.
We will start stage three with Kyle Busch getting a good restart. The battles are happening elsewhere on the field. Matt DiBenedetto with a speeding penalty after getting back on the lead lap. Kevin Harvick gets a big run on the high side and passes Kyle Busch. Brad Keselowski has lost power steering, while Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch battle for the lead. We also see another car with a loose wheel which brings us to three cars with loose wheels. Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick battle it out for almost all of stage three. Kyle Busch got back around for a little bit. Kevin Harvick used lap track to get back around Kyle Busch and was mindful of any possible mistakes afterward. Kyle Busch closed the gap a couple of times, but Kevin Harvick was able to hold off Kyle Busch. Kevin Harvick is our unofficial winner for the ninth time this season.
