Kevin Harvick wins at Fontana on final turn pass

Associated Press

Fontana, Calif.

Kevin Harvick isn’t one of those drivers who jumps out front and stays there all the way to the checkers.

He’s more of a lingerer and closer, someone who’s able to stay close to the front then make his move at just the right time.

Harvick was at his pass-at-the-end best on Sunday, overtaking California king Jimmie Johnson on the final turn at Auto Club Speedway to win after trailing the entire race.

“I wish we could just go out there and wear ’em out one day, just not have to worry about waiting until the last lap,” Harvick said. “It does kind of seem we wait until the last moments to really get going. It’s probably somewhat of a bad habit I have, but I guess it worked out.”

Kyle Busch had the dominant car most of the day and led a race-high 151 laps, including off a restart with nine laps left.

Johnson, a five-time winner Fontana, had the late burst, chasing down Busch for the lead with two laps left.

Harvick, as he always seems to, nailed the finish.

He had a rough start to the season, finishing 42nd at Daytona after a blown engine and hadn’t been able to pull it together since despite having fast cars. His best finish was a fourth at Phoenix.

Harvick didn’t have a particularly strong qualifying session at Fontana, either, to start 24th and wasn’t exactly ripping through the field once the race started.

What he did do was gradually work his way to the front, pulling up behind Johnson after getting past Busch.

Taking advantage of a small gap to the outside, Harvick made his move on Johnson going into Turn 3, then completed it coming around Turn 4. Ahead going down the last straightway, he finished off his becoming-a-trademark finish to take the checkers for the 15th time in his career.

“I really felt good when they had that restart because I knew his car was really fast on the long run,” said Richard Childress, owner of Harvick’s No. 29 car. “I knew if they didn’t get too far out in front of us, we’d have a shot.

“All we needed was to get him side-by-side and start racing. That gave Kevin a chance to catch them and he made the right move going into 3.”

Unlike Saturday’s Nationwide race, which featured lead changes seemingly every other lap, this one had drivers camped out front for long stretches before the final flourish.

Part of it was the lack of cautions, the opening 75 laps coming under green to set a track record. Overnight rain, which lingered as mist until a couple hours before the race, also played a role. Drivers who were able to get the setup right were able to get out front and stay there while everyone else tinkered.

Mostly, that meant Busch.

He swept the Nationwide and Sprint Cup races last week at Bristol, then opened with a Nationwide win at Auto Club, using a late two-tire pit stop to beat Carl Edwards and Harvick.