Moments that changed the course of the 31st race of the 2014 season
HARVICK'S STRONG RESTART WINS AT CHARLOTTE
The Closer finally closed the deal, and the door swung almost shut on Dale Earnhardt Jr., six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson and 2012 champion Brad Keselowski.
With the dominant car in Saturday night's Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Kevin Harvick led 162 laps and survived a wild two-lap dash to the finish after the final caution en route to his third NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win of the season and a free pass into the Eliminator Round of the Chase.
In a race that ended with battered cars, bruised egos, boiling tempers and physical confrontations in the garage, Harvick pulled away after a restart on Lap 333 of 334 and beat Jeff Gordon to the finish line by .572 seconds. Jamie McMurray ran third, followed by Joey Logano and polesitter Kyle Busch.
LOGANO BUMPS DANICA, NEWMAN SNEAKS BY
Joey Logano got into the back of Danica Patrick on Lap 247 of the Bank of America 500, sending the No. 10 into the wall and Ryan Newman spinning. Both Newman and Logano are competing in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint cup. Logano's No. 22 was unharmed, but Newman was forced to head to pit road for repairs.
Patrick, who was running 11th, had significant right front damage and was not happy with Logano.
"I'd love to go out and take him out," Patrick said over the radio. "Go ahead," was the response.
"Too bad taking the 22 out doesn't hurt his Chase (chances) because he won last weekend," she added.
Patrick had to start at the tail end of the field after pitting multiple times, as well as pitting too soon.
BROKEN SHIFTER DOOMS DALE EARNHARDT JR.'S NIGHT
Dale Earnhardt Jr. had to make an unscheduled stop on pit road after experiencing issues with his shifter after a caution on Lap 137 of Saturday night's Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
He first came to pit road before it was open, sending him to the tail end of the field. The No. 88 crew removed the passenger side window in order to get better access to the shifter, with one teammate half inside the car as he made repairs. Not wanting to go a lap down, Junior headed back onto the track without the issue fixed, and returned to pit road once it opened, falling to 23rd on the restart but staying on the lead lap.
"I gotta come back, it didn't work," Junior said after the second stop, where he was penalized for speeding. As he was still able to shift from third to fourth gear, he stayed on the track as his team came up with an alternate plan.
"You handle the track," crew chief Steve Letarte told his driver. Earnhardt restarted 22nd, and was last in the Chase standings at the time of the restart.
The NASCAR Wire Service contributed to this report.