Denny Hamlin won at Talladega in a wild finish, the result not determined until the third overtime. Hamlin officially qualified for the next round of the playoffs.
"I've got a comfortable points lead," Harvick said. "There's a safe distance between me and the cut off line. And that's exactly how I plan to race at Talladega---a 'safe distance' from the front."
Brad Keselowski won Stage 2 at Richmond and controlled the race thereafter, taking the win in the Federated Auto Parts 400 and a spot in the next round of the playoffs.
Harvick swept the weekend, holding off Brad Keselowski on Saturday and outpointing Denny Hamlin on Sunday. Harvick now has six wins this season and is the points leader by 140.
The 2020 Truck Series champion from Alpine, California, led 17 of 163-scheduled laps and capitalized on a last-lap incident involving Austin Hill and Ross Chastain to achieve his first elusive career victory after 15 runner-up results.
Taylor Gray (ninth), Brandon Jones (10th) and Dean Thompson (11th) led Toyota with strong finishes in the second race of the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series season at EchoPark Speedway.
The No. 45 took the lead with just a handful of laps to go, but lacked help in the draft to capitalize. The team took home a ninth-place finish and notched their second top-10 in a row.
