DARLINGTON, S.C. - Kevin Harvick's second place behind Terry Labonte in Sunday's Southern 500 was his third in a row, continuing a run begun 10 races ago with the June 22 road race in Sonoma, Calif.
In that stretch he has had eight top-10 finishes and six top fives, including a win Aug.3 in the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis.
"We keep getting frustrated about not winning, but that's greedy," Harvick said. "It's very tough to run in the top 10, let alone the top five, to be on the run we've had. It's a lot of fun to be in a race car right now."
The streak enabled Harvick to leap from 11th to third in Winston Cup points and within easy reach of second-place Dale Earnhardt Jr. Sunday's run, coupled with Earnhardt's 25th-place finish, moved Harvick from 113 points to 26 out of second. Front-runner Matt Kenseth is a seemingly insurmountable 415 ahead of Harvick.
"It's not over," Harvick said. "It's a long shot but we've been a long shot before and overcome the odds, done things people said we couldn't do. It they think it's over just tell 'em to quit showing up and we'll keep racing."
GOODBYE GORDON: Defending champion Jeff Gordon's bid for a record sixth Southern 500 victory ended on Lap 167 when rookie Casey Mears tagged him in Turn 3. Gordon slid down, then back toward Mears, Dave Blaney couldn't get through the gap, and three more cars plowed into them.
"Casey sort of went low and I went to the high side and he just turned into me," Gordon said. "I don't know if the spotter didn't say anything to him or if he even knew I was there."
Mears didn't. "I had no idea," he said. "When I moved up I hit Jeff and about that time the spotter was saying, "Outside! Outside!' but it was too late."
FIRST, START THE ENGINE: Pole-sitter Ryan Newman was in or just off the lead until his engine died as he pitted under yellow on the 230th lap. Five times his crew failed to push-start him, once even waving to Penske Racing teammate Rusty Wallace to pull behind Newman and give him a push (it's legal). Wallace just took off.
Newman inadvertently hit the engine's kill switch on the steering column. By the time Newman got back in the race he was eight laps down.
THE MOST EVER: The race was a sellout, the track's first since 1997. With the addition of about 7,000 seats since then, the crowd - 60,000 in the grandstands, an estimated 15,000 in the infield - was the largest to see a Darlington Raceway event since the track opened in 1950. With the Labor Day date transferred to California Speedway, next year's Southern 500 will be run Nov.14, a date taken from North Carolina Speedway in Rockingham.
AND YOU ARE ... : Actor David Spade, promoting his new movie, obviously had a great time in Darlington and at his first NASCAR race.
"We went into Cracker Barrel, Shoney's, hit all the top spots," he said. "Hardee's is too happening. ... I went to Citgo and they said, "What're you doing tonight?' "Well, what's going on?' "We're asking you. We don't know. We've lived here 12 years and have no idea.'
"I was just walking around the track. Everyone's a character sittin' in a lawn chair. I said, "How long you been here?' "Since June. Is it over yet?"'
Driver turned broadcaster Wally Dallenbach gave Spade a prerace ride around the track. "Bumping the wall at 140 mph isn't an exact science. It was terrifying," Spade said, smiling. "He hit it accidentally about six times. Maybe he's just not good."
