The Busch brothers may have won stages one and two, but Kevin Harvick is an unstoppable force early in this NASCAR season. Going into the race, everyone knew Harvick had something to prove, which is odd considering he had just won two straight races. But, after a big penalty at Vegas took him out of the championship lead, Harvick was ready to take his frustrations out on the field.
Harvick started 10th and was laying back for most of the race, but took over with just over 20 laps to go to win his third straight race. Kyle Busch looked like the strongest car for much of the race, leading 124 laps and winning stage one, but had to settle for second place in the end. Chase Elliott finished third.
Harvick made history with the three-peat, becoming the first driver over 40 to win three in a row since 1991.
During the week, Harvick expressed his frustrations with the penalty stemming from a failed roof brace, and predicted that he would have the last laugh the next time he visited victory lane.
"I can't wait to win another race, and jump up and down in victory lane on the back of my car," he said. He didn't have to wait very long.
Window looks good ... pic.twitter.com/tBqgMUTsbf
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) March 11, 2018
After the race, he made it clear that he was driving angry, saying about wanting to win on his team's behalf, "I've been pissed [...] To take that away from these guys really pissed me off last week."
A motivated Harvick is a scary thought for the rest of the drivers, so maybe they should make sure he enters next week in a better mood.
