Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Busch Light Ford, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on September 19, 2020 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service

In a battle of two of stock car racing’s titans, Kevin Harvick swapped the lead with Kyle Busch and held off the defending NASCAR Cup Series champion over an intense string of closing laps to win Saturday’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Busch Light Ford, crosses the finish line to win the NASCAR Cup Series Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on September 19, 2020 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

Harvick picked up his ninth victory of the season, his second of the Round of 16 in the Playoffs and his third at Bristol. The driver of the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford finished .310 seconds ahead of Busch, who remained frustrated in a winless season.

Harvick won for the 58th time in his Cup career, ninth-most all-time. Busch has been stuck on 56 wins since his title-winning triumph in the last year’s season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Bristol sold tickets to a limited number fans who were socially distanced throughout the grandstand. But there were enough voices there to make a significant din, and Harvick noticed.

“Man, I just want to say thank you to all the fans,” Harvick said after taking the checkered flag. “I was so jacked up when we started this race because of you guys and Bristol Motor Speedway.”

Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Busch Light Ford, celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on September 19, 2020, in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

It took all of Harvick’s consummate skill to hold off Busch during the final 82-lap green-flag run. Busch is the leader among active drivers with eight wins at Bristol.

“To beat Kyle Busch at Bristol, I kind of got myself in a little bit of a ringer there,” said Harvick, who already had secured a berth in the Round of 12 with his win at Darlington in the Playoff opener. “I hit a lapped car and got a hole in the right-front nose, but just kept fighting. We don’t have anything else to lose.  

“We were here to try to win a race. I know how much (crew chief) Rodney (Childers) really enjoys coming here and, hell, how can you not enjoy coming here with all this enthusiasm. Everybody is tired of being at home.” 

The Night Race was the cutoff event for the Round of 16, and the four drivers who began the event below the cut line—William Byron, Sunoco Rookie of the Year Cole Custer, Ryan Blaney and Matt DiBenedetto—remained there and were eliminated from the Playoffs.

Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Busch Light Ford, celebrates after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on September 19, 2020 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

Busch and Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Denny Hamlin and Erik Jones started in the rear of the field after multiple pre-race inspection failures, but Busch charged through the field to finish second in the first stage and won the second.

In the final run, Busch passed Harvick for the lead in traffic on Lap 459. Ten laps later, Harvick returned the favor when Busch was slowed behind the lapped car of Joey Logano. Harvick led the rest of the way, though Busch tried every racing line available to try to catch the race winner.

“I just didn’t have enough there at the end,” said Busch who advanced to the Round of 12 on points, joining Richmond winner Brad Keselowski, Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., Logano, Kurt Busch, Aric Almirola, Clint Bowyer, Alex Bowman, Chase Elliott and Austin Dillon. “The lapped cars were definitely a problem. 

Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Busch Light Ford, and Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Discount Tire Ford, race during the NASCAR Cup Series Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on September 19, 2020 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

“There was just no room for me to do what I need to do to get around him. Came up short—what can I say?”

Two drivers who didn’t make the Playoffs—Jones and Tyler Reddick—ran third and fourth, followed by Almirola, Bowyer and Elliott. Non-Playoff drivers Chris Buescher, Ryan Preece and Michael McDowell completed the top 10.

Byron’s race and Playoff run ended suddenly and unexpectedly on Lap 233. The No. 51 Ford of Joey Gase slowed on the backstretch, starting a chain-reaction wreck in which Byron’s No. 24 Chevrolet slammed into the rear of Christopher Bell’s No. 95 Toyota.

Unable to continue, Byron exited the race, his Playoff run finished.

“I think the No. 51 car checked up in the middle of the straightaway,” a frustrated Byron said after exiting his car. “As fast as we were running the top, I was right behind the No. 95, and I had literally nowhere to go. You can’t stop in the middle of the straightaway when everybody is so committed to the top like that.

“Just ridiculous that that’s what takes us out. I thought, honestly, we had a shot to run top-five or -seven. The car was really, really good. We just needed a couple good pit stops. We were running probably ninth or 10th there. Just super disappointing—I’ve got to go back and watch that, because that was kind of ridiculous.”

Blaney and DiBenedetto, who needed to win the race to advance to the Round of 12, finished 13th and 19th, respectively. Custer was eliminated after a 23rd-place run.

Interviews:

Kevin Harvick – 

Winning crew chief  Rodney Childers – 

Kyle Busch – 

Erik Jones – 

Clint Bowyer – 

Denny Hamlin – 

Matt DiBenedetto and Cole Custer – 

Ryan Blaney – 

William Byron – 

NASCAR Cup Series Race – 60th Annual Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race

Bristol Motor Speedway

Bristol, Tennessee

Saturday, September 19, 2020

               1. (4)  Kevin Harvick (P), Ford, 500.

               2. (9)  Kyle Busch (P), Toyota, 500.

               3. (20)  Erik Jones, Toyota, 500.

               4. (17)  Tyler Reddick #, Chevrolet, 500.

               5. (10)  Aric Almirola (P), Ford, 500.

               6. (11)  Clint Bowyer (P), Ford, 500.

               7. (6)  Chase Elliott (P), Chevrolet, 499.

               8. (23)  Chris Buescher, Ford, 499.

               9. (22)  Ryan Preece, Chevrolet, 499.

               10. (26)  Michael McDowell, Ford, 498.

               11. (2)  Joey Logano (P), Ford, 498.

               12. (5)  Austin Dillon (P), Chevrolet, 498.

               13. (14)  Ryan Blaney (P), Ford, 498.

               14. (19)  Matt Kenseth, Chevrolet, 498.

               15. (13)  Kurt Busch (P), Chevrolet, 498.

               16. (8)  Alex Bowman (P), Chevrolet, 498.

               17. (24)  Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 498.

               18. (28)  Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 497.

               19. (16)  Matt DiBenedetto (P), Ford, 497.

               20. (31)  John Hunter Nemechek #, Ford, 497.

               21. (7)  Denny Hamlin (P), Toyota, 497.

               22. (27)  Bubba Wallace, Chevrolet, 497.

               23. (12)  Cole Custer # (P), Ford, 497.

               24. (3)  Martin Truex Jr. (P), Toyota, 496.

               25. (25)  Ryan Newman, Ford, 496.

               26. (29)  Daniel Suarez, Toyota, 495.

               27. (37)  Gray Gaulding(i), Ford, 488.

               28. (18)  Christopher Bell #, Toyota, 487.

               29. (33)  Quin Houff #, Chevrolet, 483.

               30. (32)  JJ Yeley(i), Chevrolet, 479.

               31. (36)  Joey Gase(i), Ford, 463.

               32. (40)  Garrett Smithley(i), Chevrolet, 436.

               33. (30)  Corey LaJoie, Ford, Steering, 419.

               34. (1)  Brad Keselowski (P), Ford, 412.

               35. (35)  James Davison, Chevrolet, Accident, 401.

               36. (34)  Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet, Electrical, 317.

               37. (38)  Timmy Hill(i), Toyota, Steering, 313.

               38. (15)  William Byron (P), Chevrolet, Accident, 232.

               39. (39)  Josh Bilicki(i), Chevrolet, Fuel Pump, 53.

               40. (21)  Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, Accident, 28.

Average Speed of Race Winner:  95.911 mph.

Time of Race:  2 Hrs, 46 Mins, 43 Secs. Margin of Victory:  .310 Seconds.

Caution Flags:  5 for 50 laps.

Lead Changes:  14 among 8 drivers.

Lap Leaders:   B. Keselowski (P) 1-17;K. Harvick (P) 18-34;B. Keselowski (P) 35;M. DiBenedetto (P) 36-42;B. Keselowski (P) 43-106;C. Elliott (P) 107-129;C. Bell # 130;K. Busch (P) 131-236;D. Hamlin (P) 237;K. Busch (P) 238-280;K. Harvick (P) 281-411;A. Almirola (P) 412;K. Harvick (P) 413-458;K. Busch (P) 459-468;K. Harvick (P) 469-500.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  Kevin Harvick (P) 4 times for 226 laps; Kyle Busch (P) 3 times for 159 laps; Brad Keselowski (P) 3 times for 82 laps; Chase Elliott (P) 1 time for 23 laps; Matt DiBenedetto (P) 1 time for 7 laps; Aric Almirola (P) 1 time for 1 lap; Denny Hamlin (P) 1 time for 1 lap; Christopher Bell # 1 time for 1 lap.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 9,18,4,88,95,1,2,24,22,43

Stage #2 Top Ten: 18,4,9,22,1,88,10,14,20,3