Kevin Harvick wins Sprint Unlimited at Daytona

DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 16: Kevin Harvick, driver of the #29 Budweiser Chevrolet, poses with his wife DeLana and son after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Sprint Unlimited at Daytona International Speedway on February 16, 2013 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images)
DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 16:  Kevin Harvick, driver of the #29 Budweiser Chevrolet, poses with his wife DeLana and son after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Sprint Unlimited at Daytona International Speedway on February 16, 2013 in Daytona Beach, Florida.  (Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images)
DAYTONA BEACH, FL – FEBRUARY 16: Kevin Harvick, driver of the #29 Budweiser Chevrolet, poses with his wife DeLana and son after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Sprint Unlimited at Daytona International Speedway on February 16, 2013 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images)

DAYTONA BEACH Fla – Kevin Harvick defended his lead on the last lap masterfully Saturday night and held on to win the NASCAR Sprint Unlimited exhibition race at Daytona International Speedway.

The move was a remarkable one in a race that seemed to be an otherwise unremarkable debut for NASCAR’s new Generation 6 racecar. That debut was nearly ruined early in the three segment 75 lap event when Tony Stewart touched off a multi-car melee that took out many of the top contenders.

On lap 14 after charging through the field with Matt Kenseth firmly in the lead, Stewart tried to take the second place spot from Marcos Ambrose. Stewart came down in front of Ambrose as the field entered turn 1 and the rear of the Chevy tagged the front of Ambrose’s Ford. The cars checked up behind them and set of a crash that ultimately involved an additional seven cars. Denny Hamlin, Kyle and Kurt Busch, Mark Martin, Jimmie Johnson, and Jeff Gordon were done for the night. Both Stewart and Ambrose were able to continue.MORE>>>

Greg Engle
About Greg Engle 7421 Articles
Greg is a published award winning sportswriter who spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community. Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.