Kevin Harvick held off Matt Kenseth in overtime, by just under one second, to win the Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 Powered By Big Machine Records on Sunday. The win is "The Closer"'s third at Indianapolis Motor Speedway as well as his fourth total in 2020. Harvick also becomes the third driver in NASCAR history to win back-to-back races at The Brickyard, joining current drivers Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch.
Kenseth picks up his first top 5 finish of the season in his twelfth race since coming out of retirement after the end of the 2018 season. Kenseth replaced Kyle Larson who was indefinitely suspended by NASCAR for using a racial slur during an online racing event.
Aric Almirola placed third, his fifth straight top 5 finish in a row, followed by Brad Keselowski and rookie Cole Custer. Kyle Busch, Michael McDowell, rookie Tyler Reddick, Darrell Wallace Jr, and polesitter Joey Logano rounded out the top 10. Almirola, Custer, McDowell, and Reddick achieved career-best finishes at Indy. Justin Allgaier, subbing for Jimmie Johnson who tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday, was involved in a multi-car crash early in the race and finished 37th.
Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron won Stage One, but a right-front tire failure soon after resulted in his number 24 car hitting the wall. The Charlotte, NC native finished 27th, five laps down. Harvick captured the Stage Two win.
Last week's winner Denny Hamlin finished 28th after crashing out of the race while leading with four laps to go. His number 11 car's right-front tire went flat while driving into turn one. Hamlin's Toyota Camry then slammed straight into the outside wall at full-speed causing it to burst into flames. Hamlin walked away under his own power and suffered no injuries in the crash.
The Cup Series travels to Kentucky Speedway next Sunday for the Quaker State 400 on Fox Sports 1, where Kurt Busch is the defending race winner. With Sunday's win, Harvick extends his lead in the championship standings to 85 points over Chase Elliott.
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