Kevin Harvick would take the lead on lap 38 and hold serve through the pit stops to win the first Gatorade Duel. It gives Harvick his second win in a row after winning the Sprint Unlimited last Saturday night.
Danica Patrick backed up her two fast practice speeds that she had on Saturday with a slightly faster speed during her second qualifying lap on Sunday at Daytona International Speedway.
When the season started, there were some concerned that Kevin Harvick would not have a good season after announcing that he would leave Richard Childress Racing at season's end to make the move over to Stewart-Hass Racing.
Kevin Harvick ran two very impressive practice sessions in preparation for the Sprint Unlimited this evening. He was the fastest in the first session and backed up that speed with a fourth quickest time in the final practice for the race to put his average at 2.5 for the weekend.
With a thrilling block on the last lap, Kevin Harvick would take the victory in the Sprint Unlimited as he heads into his final season with Richard Childress Racing.
Johnson was leading the race and the championship until lap 213 during a schedules green flag pit stop. The pit crew left off a rear lug nut and Johnson had to come back in to pit again. Johnson lost a lap and the title started fading at that point. Then on lap 226 Johnson slowed and went to the pits for repairs……the championship was over for Johnson and the No.48 team.
The race was dominated for most of the event by the 18 of Kyle Busch. He won the pole on Friday evening and led all three practice sessions on Saturday morning. The tide turned when the No. 48 of Jimmie Johnson blew a right-front tire off turn 4 and slammed the wall