Harvick, Busch secure stage wins in Talladega as SHR dominates

Stewart-Haas Racing and Fords, in general, continued to dominate at the 1000Bulbs.com 500 at Talladega Superspeedway as Kevin Harvick grabbed his series-leading 15th stage win when he was in the front at the end of Stage 2 on Sunday.

Harvick led the final 41 laps of Stage 2, which ended on Lap 110 of the 188-lap race. His SHR teammates once again made up the top four: Clint Bowyer in second, Kurt Busch in third and Aric Almirola in fourth. Denny Hamlin was the lone non-Ford to crack the top six as he finished fifth in his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.

RELATED: Stage 2 results

Jimmie Johnson brought out the first race caution on Lap 62 when he got loose and spun in traffic, slamming into the interior SAFER barrier. His No. 48 crew made repairs, and he returned to the race one lap down.

On the ensuing restart, Kyle Busch managed to crack into the Stewart-Haas Racing pack of leaders, taking the lead on Lap 69 and holding onto it for one lap. He challenged Harvick for the lead for several laps, but then fell out of the draft and as far back as 21st in the field before returning to the top 10.

Another caution came out on Lap 103 when Kyle Larson spun multiple times after blowing a tire. His No. 42 Chevrolet did not make contact with any other cars as it spun. Larson was running in 11th place at the time of the caution; he dropped to 33rd after his team made repairs.

STAGE 1

Kurt Busch cruised to the Stage 1 victory at the 1000Bulbs.com 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, leading all 55 laps after he started on the pole Sunday. It marked Busch’s third stage win of the season.

Busch and his Stewart-Haas Racing teammates started in the first four positions at Talladega, and held the same places all the way to the end of the stage: Clint Bowyer was second, Kevin Harvick was third and Aric Almirola was fourth.

RELATED: Stage 1 results

Midway through the stage, eight cars led a breakaway from the rest of the pack — all Fords (from SHR and Team Penske) and Chase Elliott in the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet — and set a pace other cars could not match.

Brad Keselowski peeled away on Lap 41, however, pitting early for a loose left rear wheel on his No. 2 Ford. He returned to the race one lap down and finished Stage 1 34th — one place from the lucky dog position.