2010 Carfax 400: Kevin Harvick Wins His First Michigan Race

Michigan International Speedway hosted the 2010 Carfax 400, which took place in Cambridge Township, Michigan, on August 15, 2010. It came as the twenty-third event on the season calendar, over 200 laps. Kevin Harvick won it for Richard Childress Racing, taking his first Cup victory at the track and his third win of the year. Hamlin took second and Edwards finished third.

What was the 2010 Carfax 400?

Harvick won by 1.731 seconds, and the result confirmed his lead in the drivers' championship. He had led the points coming into the race and left with an even larger advantage over the rest of the field, with Gordon and Hamlin the nearest challengers.

The conditions were warm and partly cloudy. The high was 80 degrees F (27 degrees C), and the race started at 1 p.m. EDT with live coverage on ESPN.

A late pass on Denny Hamlin gave Kevin Harvick his first Michigan win and a firm grip on the 2010 championship.

How did the track and the field look before the race?

Michigan is one of six superspeedways on the NASCAR schedule. The turns are eighteen degrees banked, the front stretch twelve, and the back stretch five. The track had a seating capacity of 119,500 for the event. Harvick had never won a Cup race there before, so the result was a first for him at the track.

Several teams changed plans before the race. ExtenZe ended its sponsorship of Front Row Motorsports, so Tony Raines took over from Kevin Conway. Denny Hamlin had won at the track in the spring, but he struggled with the handling of his car in practice and said the team was about as quick as it had been in June.

How did qualifying shape the grid?

Kasey Kahne claimed the pole at 38.465 seconds, his eighteenth career pole. Jimmie Johnson qualified second, and Clint Bowyer took third. Tony Stewart was fourth, and Juan Pablo Montoya was fifth despite being scored ninth in the last practice session.

Kahne said afterwards that his car had been strong through the first two turns but would not turn well enough in the third. Forty-seven cars were entered for qualifying, but only forty-three could race under NASCAR's procedure. Mike Bliss, Casey Mears, Scott Riggs and J. J. Yeley did not make the field.

Practice had shown some early pace. Jeff Burton was quickest in the first session at 38.479 seconds, and Jimmie Johnson was fastest in the final session at 38.742 seconds. Kyle Busch also struggled, saying his car was loose.

How did the race unfold in the early laps?

Kahne led into the first corner, but Johnson passed him before the first lap was over. Tony Stewart moved past Kahne for second, and Greg Biffle came through to third. By lap 14 Biffle had caught Johnson, and he took the lead on lap 15.

Kurt Busch's engine failed on lap 28, which brought out the first caution. Biffle led the restart on lap 39 and was out front when the green flag waved again. Rain in Turn Three brought out a second caution, and on lap 61 the teams came in for fuel and new tires.

Biffle led the green flag on lap 66 and the race moved into its second half. Joey Logano collided with Paul Menard on lap 70, causing minor damage to both cars. Jeff Gordon had started thirty-sixth, but he was up to tenth by lap 73.

How did the lead change hands in the middle of the race?

Stewart took the lead from Biffle, and Harvick passed Biffle for second on lap 92. The leaders then swapped positions through the pit cycle, with Harvick and Stewart trading the lead at the front. When Stewart pitted, Harvick took over, but Stewart retook the lead on lap 103.

By lap 116 Gordon was fourth, and Harvick held a lead of 1.5 seconds over Stewart. Gordon moved into third later in the race. By lap 129 Harvick led Biffle by 6.45 seconds, and Biffle had by then passed Stewart for second.

The second round of green-flag stops began on lap 137. Harvick stayed out one more lap than Biffle, then pitted fast enough to hold him off and kept the lead when the cycle finished.

How did the final stint decide the race?

Logano and Ryan Newman collided on lap 148, and the third caution came out. The race restarted on lap 152 with Harvick in front. A fourth caution came two laps later, after damage to the cars of Gordon and Jeff Burton. Elliott Sadler stayed out to lead, but Truex and Ragan soon moved past him.

Ragan took the lead from Truex on lap 166. Stewart emerged in front when the fifth caution came out for debris, and Hamlin passed Harvick for second on lap 174. Harvick helped Hamlin into the lead in the closing laps, but he went back in front on lap 189.

On lap 193 Harvick led Hamlin by 1.35 seconds. Edwards went past Stewart for third, and Harvick took the flag first.

Why did Harvick win this race?

Harvick passed Hamlin with eleven laps left, after Hamlin had been leading near the end. Harvick said afterwards that he had never fully worked out the track, which made the win more satisfying. Hamlin said Harvick was quite a bit better in the first two turns, while Hamlin himself pulled away in turns three and four.

Harvick said the win came from a change in approach. The team had committed to running in different parts of the track during the race, and he credited that commitment for the result.

Why had Harvick struggled at Michigan before?

Harvick had been beaten at Michigan for many years before this win, and he admitted he had never fully understood why. He said the cars had run well at the track before, but that he had not been able to convert that into a result.

To learn the track, Harvick watched tapes of Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s earlier races there, paying attention to how Earnhardt used the top groove. Richard Childress, the team owner, recalled his own earlier wins at Michigan and said the team was proud to win in a General Motors car.

What did the result do for the championship?

The result left Harvick at the top of the drivers' championship with 3,400 points, which clinched him a place in the Chase. After the race he remained 293 points ahead of Jeff Gordon, and 353 points ahead of Denny Hamlin.

Gordon was second on 3,107 points, and Johnson was fifth with 3,014. Chevrolet remained top of the manufacturers' table on 167 points, while Toyota had 147 and Ford had 106, ten points ahead of Dodge.

Race facts at a glance