Harvick Wins Hot One at Bristol

Kevin Harvick overcame a two-lap deficit and a heated battle with his Winston Cup teammate to win the Food City 250 at Bristol Motor Speedway on Friday night.

Harvick, the Busch series points leader, easily beat Jeff Green to the finish line to win here for the second consecutive year and give car owner Richard Childress his 100th career NASCAR win.

But the victory was marked by an angry exchange with Green, his Cup teammate next year at Richard Childress Racing.

“This is 2001, that’s 2002 and we’re racing for a championship right now,” Harvick said. “The circumstances will be different next year, but tonight he’s on the other side of the fence.”

The confrontation began when Green took exception to the way Harvick passed him on lap 228, when Green claimed Harvick knocked him out of the way to get past and take over second place.

Green expressed his anger during the next caution period by repeatedly ramming the back of Harvick’s Chevrolet as the two trailed leader Greg Biffle.

Harvick held off Green over the final 14 laps, then blew him off when Green pulled up alongside him and banged into his door as he angrily yelled at him.

Harvick responded by pulling away and doing a burnout at the start/finish line, sending thick white smoke into Green’s car.

“I guess that’s the way to win them now and it’s good action for the fans,” Green said. “He’s out there doing burnouts, so I guess he’ll sleep well tonight.

“If he wants to win races like that, that’s fine. But that’s not how Jeff Green does it--I’ll finish second before I do that.”

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Earlier, Green edged Childress teammate Mike Skinner in qualifying for tonight’s Winston Cup Sharpie 500. Green won the pole with a lap of 123.674 mph. Skinner, leaving the team at the end of the year, qualified second with a speed of 123.483.

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