Page 5 - RIU HOTEL

A22 SPORTS
Monday 5 noveMber 2018
NASCAR was really the only shot
Continued from Front we had to beat him, to be
It is the second year in a honest with you. We got by
row that Harvick, the 2014 him one restart and I just
Cup champion, won the couldn't hold him off. ... The
fall race at Texas to get into last one, he took the top,
the final four. Of his 32 starts like I knew he was going
in the Lone Star State, his to go. He motored around
only two wins are the last me." Truex, who was close
two fall races, but those are to clinching a title spot be-
among his 20 top-10 finish- fore that bump-and-run by
es there. Logano on the final lap to
"This place has been really win at Martinsville last week,
good to me. I'm glad we finished ninth after at Texas.
got the win again here," he Truex had to start at the
said. rear of the field because
Harvick also won both of an engine change. He
stages at the 1 1/2-mile also had a pass-through
Texas track, the fourth time penalty during the race for
this season he did that and driving through too many
went on to win the race. pit boxes, and was a lap
With Joey Logano and Har- Kevin Harvick takes the checkered flag to win a NASCAR Cup auto race at Texas Motor Speedway, down before getting that
vick locked in after winning Sunday, Nov. 4, 2018, in Fort Worth, Texas. back one the first of the
the past two races, the se- Associated Press late cautions.
ries goes to Phoenix next Logano was third at Texas.
week with only two spots above the cut line for Harvick was already start- and into the lead. Blaney Elliott was sixth, followed
up for grabs for the cham- points, but Clint Bowyer, ing to rebuild his lead — it led seven laps before Har- by Kurt Busch and Almirola,
pionship run at Homestead Aric Almirola, Kurt Busch had been nearly 4 seconds vick went under him and who had also gone to the
in two weeks. or Chase Elliott could ad- before the caution — when was again putting distance rear at the start of the race
Kyle Busch, a seven-time vance with a win in Phoenix another yellow flag came between them before Joey for unapproved body mod-
winner this year, and de- After the first of the late out. Gase's spin brought out the ifications. Kyle Busch was
fending Cup champion restarts, Harvick was on Harvick was on the inside last of eight cautions. 17th and Bowyer 26th after
Martin Truex Jr. are among the inside and was able to again for the next restart, "They were hard. They were starting on the front row but
the other six title contend- keep Blaney from clearing before Blaney was able to challenging," Blaney said making contact with Den-
ers. They are comfortably him on the backstretch. get by him on the outside about the restarts. "That ny Hamlin on the first lap.q