Harvick won all three rounds of Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying Friday, earning his 19th career pole with a lap of 198.405 mph during the final segment at the 1 1/2-mile track that was completely repaved this year.

”It’s been a stressful day, coming and breaking in a new race track and then going out there and running as fast as we had to run for qualifying,” Harvick said.

Nine of the 40 cars in the race didn’t make it through inspection in time to make qualifying runs. Those included series points leader Kyle Larson, three of the four drivers for Hendrick Motorsports and defending race winner Kyle Busch after his practice crash earlier in the day.

”The track has come a long way since we got on it for the first time this morning,” Blaney said. ”The first hour was very sketchy getting into Turn 1. Turn 1 has been slick all day. Three and four has actually had a lot of grip. It is surprising how much throttle we can carry over there.”

The only Hendrick driver to get on the track for qualifying was Jimmie Johnson, but the six-time Texas winner got loose and spun on the track in the first round. He still got into the top 24, but will start 24th since he didn’t run a lap in the second round of qualifying after the spin.

Larson will start 32nd, a spot ahead of Hendrick driver Chase Elliott, who is second in points and will be in a backup car after crashing the primary No. 24 in practice.

Harvick will be the polesitter for the first time in 29 starts at Texas. He has never won at the track that was completely repaved for the first time since 2001, along with changes to Turns 1 and 2.

”I’m looking forward to trying to get our car right for the race and trying to get to Victory Lane on Sunday so (track president) Eddie Gossage will leave me alone,” Harvick said.

This will also be the 29th Texas start for Kurt Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Matt Kenseth. The track record is 30 starts by Jeff Gordon, who now is in the TV booth instead of a cockpit.

Harvick, like Blaney, said he benefited from the extra time on the track when practicing Xfinity cars for Saturday’s race in that series.

”I’ve got to say thank you to the Xfinity guys for letting me run that car this weekend,” said Harvick, whose other Cup pole this season was at Atlanta, where he also ran the Xfinity Series. ”I really feel like the reps allowed us to learn some things in that car that I was able to apply here.”

—

More AP racing: http://racing.ap.org

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It was his second victory in as many races in the series this season.

Sauter earned his eighth career victory in the series, and second at Martinsville.

“Two for two starting out. This is unbelievable,” Sauter said in Victory Lane.

He got there by passing Burton, the pole-sitting rookie making just his seventh start in the series, on the outside following a restart on lap 234, and then holding on as the field behind him battled.

Likely challengers included rookie Darrell Wallace Jr., who was seventh in the field on the restart, and Kevin Harvick, who was 12th.

Both had tires that were 50 laps fresher than the leaders, but with Matt Crafton and Timothy Peters among the drivers also in contention, they dueled while Sauter drove away to win by 1.888 seconds.

Crafton rallied to finish second and Burton was third, followed by Peters and Wallace, another rookie.

“I had to time it just right. That’s the key,” Sauter said of his pass for the lead.

The move was part of a calculated tire strategy that worked to perfection. Sauter and his crew chief, Joe Shear, noticed that the 0.526-mile oval was not developing the rubber buildup as it came off tires, keeping it harsher than normal and making it imperative to protect his tires for a final surge.

Sauter said he spent the first half of the race driving at about 80 percent, trying to maintain a respectable place in the field and stay in position to make a run for the front when the time came.

“At about 40 or 50 to go, I put the hammer down and just started picking them off,” he said.

The performance drew high praise from Shear.

“He’s not really known for saving equipment,” he said of Sauter.

Crafton, who like Sauter was not a factor for much of the race, said his team deserved the credit for his finish.

“We dropped the green and I was good for about five laps, and then it was just done,” he said of his truck, necessitating several stops to pit road for adjustments. “We just made it a practice session.”

It worked.

“We kept making methodical changes and it was there at the end,” Crafton said.

The day was especially eventful for Burton, the rookie who said he wept when he won the pole in track record time on Friday, and had the dominant truck for much of the day, leading a race-high 154 laps.

He also engaged in a brief battle for the lead with Ron Hornaday, a four-time champion in the series, and eventually ran into the back of Hornaday, sending the veteran slamming into the wall.

“I ran in a little too hard and got into him. There’s not much else to say,” Burton said.

He also thought he cost himself a chance by trying to win the race too early, on a restart after Wallace, Harvick and several other contenders had just pitted for tires, dropping well back in the field but sure to surge forward.

“I thought it was 40 to go and it was actually 60 to go,” Burton, the son of former NASCAR driver Ward Burton and nephew of Jeff Burton said.

It was his seventh start in the series, and second at Martinsville. He was 13th last fall.

“We came a long way in a year’s time,” Burton said.

Hornaday rallied to finish 10th.

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NASCAR also will not penalize six drivers called to the hauler after the California race for entering pit road following the checkered flag when pit road was closed. Neither Stewart nor Logano was called to the hauler.

“A few years ago, we backed away from micromanaging a driver’s emotions,” Sprint Cup Series director John Darby said on Tuesday. “You would hope in today’s world that if somebody didn’t win a race they would be upset about it for whatever reason.

“That’s what our drivers do, they try to win races.”

Darby said there’s a limit to what NASCAR will allow, noting “if guys get in a helluva fight, yeah, we’re going to have to react.”

But Darby said what happened with Stewart and Logano did not put anybody in danger, as was the case in 2011 when Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick were docked $25,000 each for a pit road incident at Darlington.

In that incident, Harvick took a swing at Busch, who remained in his car. Busch then tried to pull away, pushing Harvick’s car into the inside retaining walls with safety workers and crew members in the area.

Darby said there was nothing in the Stewart-Logano incident that came close to that.

Stewart was upset that Logano blocked him on the final restart and that Denny Hamlin was injured in an ensuing wreck that occurred racing Logano for the lead.

After the race, Stewart cut off Logano’s car on pit road with his, approached the Penske Racing driver and then shoved him in the chest. A scuffle erupted between the drivers and team members. Stewart followed that with a verbal assault.

“Dumb little son-of-a-b—- runs us clear down to the infield,” Stewart said in a taped interview shown on Fox’s live broadcast after the race with the profanities bleeped out. “He wants to b—- about everybody else and he’s the one who drives like a little b—-. I’m going to bust his ass.”

Because the words were bleeped out, there was no violation. Darby said there was no foul in the entire incident.

“A couple of drivers at the end of the race arguing a little bit doesn’t create a foul in our world today,” he said. “The crews did a great job of managing their drivers to make sure it didn’t cross the line to where there was physical violence or anything like that. That’s what you’d hope for.

“That’s another example of the state of competition in NASCAR racing, the disappointment that comes sometimes when you don’t win a race. I don’t see any foul there at all.”

As for Hamlin, who suffered a compression fracture in the L1 vertebra of his lower back, it was determined late Tuesday that he won’t need surgery but will be sidelined at least six weeks.

Joe Gibbs Racing said in a statement that Dr. Jerry Petty of Carolina Neurosurgery and Spine Associates will determine “when Hamlin will be able to return to racing this season.”
If he heals according to Petty’s estimated timeline, he’d only miss five races because NASCAR is off this weekend.

Darby said Hamlin’s car that ran into a concrete inside retaining wall will be studied by NASCAR. He said NASCAR and experts also will review where Hamlin’s car hit to determine if recommendations will be made for the track to install SAFER barriers there.

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But NASCAR’s most popular driver, according to the magazine’s estimates, saw his total earnings drop from $28.2 million the year before to $25.9 million this year.

The $25.9 million is based on a $12.9 million salary and winnings and $13 million in endorsements. In just salary/winnings, five-time champion Jimmie Johnson ranks No. 1 at $16.3 million. His total with endorsements is $23 million, ranking second to Earnhardt.

Danica Patrick, in her first full season in the Sprint Cup series, came in at No. 7 with an estimated worth of $12.9 million from salary, winnings and endorsements.

Reigning champion Brad Keselowski rounded out the top 10 at $11.4 million — $10 million of that in salary/winnings.

The top 10, according to Forbes:

• Earnhardt Jr. — $25.9 million ($12.9 salary/winnings, $13M endorsements)
• Johnson — $23 million ($16.3M salary/winnings, $6.7M endorsements)
• Tony Stewart — $18.7 million ($12.7M salary/winnings, $6M endorsements)
• Jeff Gordon — $18.1 million ($12.6M salary/winnings, $5.5M endorsements)
• Carl Edwards — $13.7 million ($12.2M salary/winnings, $1.5M endorsements)
• Kevin Harvick — $13 million ($11.5M salary/winnings, $1.5M endorsements)
• Patrick — $12.9 million ($6.4M salary/winnings, $6.5M endorsements)
• Kyle Busch — $12.5 million ($9.6M salary/winnings, $2.9M endorsements)
• Kasey Kahne — $12 million ($11M salary/winnings, $1M endorsements)
• Keselowski — $11.4 million ($10M salary/winnings, $1.4M endorsements

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Harvick remained perfect through Speedweeks on Thursday by winning the first of two 150-mile Budweiser Duel qualifying races, and the victory has positioned him as the top pick to win NASCAR’s version of the Super Bowl.

Being labeled the favorite is the last thing the 2007 Daytona 500 winner wanted headed into Sunday’s season-opener.

“We like to be the lame-duck underdog. That’s what we’re shooting for,” Harvick said.

Harvick is a perfect 2 for 2 at Daytona International Speedway. He also won an exhibition race last weekend. This strong start comes at a time when Harvick has found a balance in his life with the addition of son, Keelan, who was born last July, and as he heads into his final season with Richard Childress Racing. Harvick has already decided to move to Stewart-Haas Racing in 2014.

“We’ve been fortunate to win the first two races of Speedweeks. We’ve just got to keep a level head on our shoulders, not get too high over what we’ve done, just do the same things that we’ve done,” he said. “If it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be. I think we definitely have the car and team to be in contention to do that.”

But nobody is quite sure what the 500 will look like with NASCAR’s new Gen-6 race car. Sunday’s race will go off with a full 43-car field, double the amount of cars that ran in Thursday’s qualifying races. There were 19 cars in last Saturday’s exhibition.

Kyle Busch, winner of the second duel, believes more cars on the track will create a much different race than what fans have seen so far. All three races at Speedweeks to date have lacked much action as drivers continue to learn the new cars and how it reacts in traffic and different aerodynamic situations.

“With more cars out there, we might see it be a little bit different come Sunday,” Busch said. “There were half the field in each race, obviously. There’s going to be twice as many good cars, twice as many middle of the pack cars, twice as many back of the pack cars. If you can get your car handling, driving, feeling good, you’ll be able to be one of the guys that’s up front.”

Is Busch, who was wrecked out of last week’s exhibition just 15 laps into the race, one of those guys?

“I feel that’s where we’re at,” Busch said. “That’s an added bonus for us right now.”

Busch gave Toyota its first victory of Speedweeks and snapped Chevrolet’s dominance. Harvick took the new Chevrolet SS to Victory Lane twice, and Danica Patrick put it on the Daytona 500 pole in time trials.

Busch held off Kasey Kahne, in a Chevrolet, and learned the driver out front is in the strongest position.

“It’s hard to pass the leader,” said Busch. “Stay out front. When you get out front, you can hold everyone off.”

But Kahne, who settled for second, said timing will be critical and nobody is sure just yet what move will be needed to win the Daytona 500.

“I think it’s tough because you don’t know when you get that push. You don’t know when it plays into your time,” said Kahne, who never got close enough to Busch to take a solid shot at the win. “I think you need to be ready at any time to get to the front, to second, to third, try to move up. I don’t think waiting till the last lap is a ticket the way things are right now.”

“I think Kevin looks really good,” he said. “He’s got this place figured out. I think he can be beat, yeah. There’s a few of us in the second race who had really good cars, and I could move around really well, similar to what Harvick did in the first race.”

In the first race, Harvick held off Greg Biffle over a four-lap sprint to win. Harvick and Biffle also went 1-2 in last Saturday night’s exhibition race.

The starting field for the Daytona 500 is set by the results from the pair of 60-lap qualifiers, but Patrick held onto the pole by running a safe race in the first qualifier. The first woman to win a pole at NASCAR’s top level, Patrick earned the top starting spot in time trials last weekend.

She started first in the first qualifier, raced a bit early, then faded back to run a conservative race and ensure she’ll start first in the 500.

“I hate coming to the end like that and just lagging back,” she said. “That’s not fun. But it’s also really ignorant to go drive up into the pack and be part of an accident for absolutely no reason. You’re really not going to learn much there.”

Patrick wound up 17th out of 23 cars.

“What I really feel like I need to do is go down to the Harvick bus and see what he’s doing,” she said. “He’s got it going on down here.”

The first race was dull until Denny Hamlin brought out the only caution with seven laps remaining. Hamlin lost control of his car, spun into Carl Edwards and triggered a four-car accident that also collected Regan Smith and Trevor Bayne, who had a dominant car early in the qualifier.

“I know what the wrecks look like now, I am really familiar with them,” said Edwards, who was wrecked at testing in January and in practice for the exhibition race last week. He was also black-flagged in the exhibition race when his window net fell off.

Hamlin said the accident was a product of drivers trying to learn the nuances of NASCAR’s new Gen-6 car.

“It just shows you that any kind of bad aero position you put yourself in, your car can be vulnerable,” said Hamlin, who was running in the high line when he inched into Edwards’ space down low.

Juan Pablo Montoya, who infamously crashed into a jet dryer during last year’s Daytona 500 to trigger a massive fuel fire, stopped for minor repairs during the caution. Montoya restarted the race in 13th with four laps remaining, but rocketed through the field to finish third.

“It was time to go,” he said. “It’s hard, you don’t want to tear up the car, and at the same time you want to go. The bumpers are a little fragile. You have to be careful with that. You want to have a good car at the end.”

The bulk of both races seemed to be one long parade of the Gen-6 race car. Unsure of how the cars handle in packs, and when the drivers choose to side-draft, most of the field in the first race played it conservatively.

“The choice was obviously made by a bunch of us to run around in circles and just make laps,” said two-time Daytona 500 champion Michael Waltrip, who needed a clean race to guarantee a spot in Sunday’s field. “There were a lot of people that just wanted to get through some laps and understand what was going on. There were some of us that would have run like that until they threw the checkered just to make the race. And then there were some that decided it was time to go, and they made it work.”

Waltrip is racing in a special Sandy Hook Special Support Fund paint scheme, and his car number has been changed to No. 26 as a tribute to the 26 students and teachers killed in the Newtown, Conn., school shooting.

“There’s a lot of people up in Connecticut with a smile on their face right now. I’m real proud to get in the race for them,” Waltrip said.

Austin Dillon, grandson of team owner Richard Childress, finished third in the second qualifying race to put his Richard Childress Racing car in the Daytona 500. It will be the 22-year-old Dillon’s first Daytona 500.

“I’m glad my grandfather can sleep now,” Dillon said. “He was wearing me out before the race.”

Brian Keselowski, older brother of reigning Sprint Cup champion Brad Keselowski, was the one driver who truly had to race his way into the Daytona 500 in the first qualifier. But he lacked speed early, fell two laps down and missed the race.

Mike Bliss was the driver from the second qualifier trying to make the Daytona 500 field, but finished five laps down and didn’t make the race.

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Harvick held off Greg Biffle over a four-lap sprint Thursday to win the first 150-mile Budweiser Duel. Harvick and Biffle also went 1-2 in last Saturday night’s exhibition race.

The starting field for Sunday’s season-opening Daytona 500 is set by the results from the pair of 60-lap qualifiers.

Danica Patrick started on the pole for the first race and simply needed to keep her car intact to hang on to her front row starting spot in the Daytona 500. She raced a little at the start of the duel, then faded back in the field and wound up 17th out of 23 cars.

Denny Hamlin triggered a four-car accident with 7 laps remaining

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“Nobody in the whole field had any clue what was going to happen,” he said, “so we felt like we had a good chance.”

Harvick dominated Saturday night’s exhibition Sprint Unlimited, winning the kickoff to Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway for the third time in five years. Harvick ties Tony Stewart and Dale Jarrett as three-time winners of the event, while the late Dale Earnhardt holds the record with six wins.

But no one has a firm grasp on what the season-opening Daytona 500 will look like in NASCAR’s brand new car. The non-points race only had 19 cars at the start, and the field was whittled down to 12 after an early accident.

The Daytona 500 will start with a full 43-car field in much warmer conditions.

“It’s going to be a pack, absolutely,” Harvick said. “I don’t think there’s going to be too many chances. You’ll see some cars break away. I think if you turn on a 2000 race, one of those races, it’s going to be very similar.”

Second-place finisher Greg Biffle agreed the Daytona 500 should have a throwback feel.

“I heard some guys talk about old-school racing, and it is a little bit like that,” he said. “The thing about it is that when you get 43 cars out there, it is going to be a ton different. Then the bottom lane is going to work. There will be a middle. With more cars out there I think it will be better.”

Fans hope so after Saturday night, which was somewhat uneventful because of a nine-car accident just 15 laps into the race. It turned the final two segments into something resembling a parade until a late push to catch Harvick.

Harvick threw a block on Biffle and Stewart, Joey Logano couldn’t get to the leaders and Matt Kenseth, who might have had the strongest car, faded late as Harvick rolled to the win. He led 40 of the 75 laps.

“I’m glad we got Speedweeks started off the right way,” he said.

The race was split into three segments and fans got to vote on the format. The result was 30 laps, 25 laps and then a 20-lap sprint to the finish.

But several big names were knocked out a mere 15 laps into the race. Stewart was running second when he cut across the front of Marcos Ambrose, making slight contact that turned Stewart sideways and required a save to keep from crashing. Traffic stacked up behind him, triggering a chain-reaction, nine-car crash that wiped out seven cars.

Taken out were defending race winner Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin from Joe Gibbs Racing, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson from Hendrick Motorsports, Mark Martin and Kurt Busch.

“I didn’t see much. I was just cruising along and I saw sparks in front of me — I knew that wasn’t good,” Johnson said.

It was a costly crash for Kurt Busch, who also wrecked in practice Friday and has two damaged race cars just two days into Speedweeks. His Furniture Row Racing team was getting assistance from Richard Childress Racing on car repairs to ensure Busch has enough in the fleet to get to the Daytona 500.

“We’re going to help them in any way we can,” Childress said. “We’ll probably have one of those cars back (Sunday), repaired. We got two or three more back at the shop.”

Stewart, who took responsibility for triggering the crash, went on to “win” the first segment.

“I made a move for the lead and probably was a little anxious too early,” Stewart said of his first segment gaffe.

Fans then voted for the drivers to make a four-tire change during a pit stop between the first and second segment, and it was largely Harvick’s race from there. He dominated the final two segments, and held off challenges from Stewart and Biffle on the final lap to win in his Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet.

It’s a strong opener to what’s going to be Harvick’s final year with RCR. He’s already signed on to drive for Stewart-Haas Racing in 2014.

“It’s about winning races,” Harvick said. “The politics and everything are one thing, but when we get to the race track it’s about sitting in this race car making it as fast as it will go. And those (RCR) guys, they don’t care about anything but winning and wanting to do good, so we owe it to them and everybody at (sponsor) Budweiser.”

Budweiser was the longtime sponsor of the race, which was called the Budweiser Shootout until series sponsor Sprint took over the rights this year.

Harvick broke his engine trying to do a celebratory burnout, and his car had to be pushed to Victory Lane.

Biffle finished second and Logano was third in his Penske Racing debut. Stewart was fourth and Kenseth fifth in his Joe Gibbs Racing debut.

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