Multi-car accident sweeps up contenders

AVONDALE, Ariz. -- Just two weeks ago, it appeared that Kevin Harvick was a shoo-in to finish second in the standings.

	The wreck dropped Kevin Harvick from championship contention.

But Harvick was caught up in someone else's mess at Phoenix. And he'll have to rally to make the top five with only two races to go.

The mess that sank Harvick was an accident in Turn 2 at Phoenix International Raceway, which sent Harvick to sixth in the standings.

It was a bitter pill for Harvick to swallow.

All weekend, he had entertained thoughts of a hat trick at Phoenix. He won the Craftsman Truck Series race on Friday and nearly won the Busch Series event on Saturday.

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It all came down on lap 230, when Rusty Wallace appeared to bump Tony Stewart heading out of Turn 2, sending both cars sliding into the fence.

Harvick and Bobby Labonte tried to miss the accident on the outside, but both plowed into the wreckage.

Harvick, who entered Phoenix third in the standings, went straight to the garage, where Richard Childress Racing crewmen worked to repair the damage.

After spending 13 laps in the garage, Harvick reentered the race in 36th place. He finished 34th, his worst finish since the spring event at Darlington.

It was also just the second finish of 30th or worse for Harvick in 2003. The finish dropped him 123 points out of second place and 22 points out of fifth.

VIDEO CLIPS Kevin Harvick is involved in a four-car crash Play video Burton cuts a tire, Park hits the wall in separate cautions Play video Jimmy Spencer hits the wall hard Play video

Wallace also took a major points hit. After a recent surge that had moved him to 13th in the standings, Wallace's 33rd-place finish at Phoenix dropped him to 15th.

Wallace has never finished lower than 13th in his 13 seasons with Roger Penske.

"We led the most laps in the first race at Rockingham earlier this year, so maybe we can go back next week and do that again and get this monkey off our backs," Wallace said.

Of the four cars involved in the crash, the least affected was Tony Stewart, who managed to stay on the lead lap because he Chevrolet suffered little more than cosmetic damage. Stewart ended up 18th after spending 214 of the 312 laps in the top 10.

Stewart's teammate, Bobby Labonte, had more extensive problems. He went to the garage and didn't return until 41 laps later.

Labonte wound up 36th.

"The No. 2 (Wallace) was chasing the No. 20 (Stewart) were racing pretty hard," Labonte said. "Finally, the 20 got by and it looked like he (Wallace) got into him and turned him."