Harvick wins second Busch race in a row

Kevin Harvick had Victory Lane to himself Saturday, using perfect pit strategy to win the NASCAR Busch Series Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen International in New York.

Harvick, the defending Busch Series champion, led 37 laps in a Chevrolet and beat Jeff Burton by 3.5 seconds for his second consecutive win, fifth this season and 31st of his career. That ties him with Jack Ingram for second all-time behind Mark Martin’s 47.

Pole-sitter Kurt Busch was third. Juan Pablo Montoya, who started on the front row and was seeking a record third NASCAR road course win of the season, ran up front much of the day but finished 33rd after being caught up in a crash with Jason Leffler on a restart with 14 laps remaining in the 82-lap race.

There was no denying Harvick’s victory this week, unlike last week when Robby Gordon went to Victory Lane after being disqualified. Gordon intentionally wrecked Marcos Ambrose in the closing laps of the race in Montreal and did a victorious burnout even though Harvick was declared the winner.

Gordon was never a factor in this race despite starting fourth. Gordon, who finished second to Kurt Busch in the Zippo 200 last year after a stirring last-lap battle, went to the garage with shifter problems midway through and finished 36th.

Travis Kvapil led 47 of the final 48 laps in a Ford to win the NASCAR Craftsman Trucks Series Toyota Tundra 200 at Nashville Superspeedway.

He beat Ron Hornaday Jr. by 2.403 seconds for his third win in six races. Series points leader Mike Skinner, who led the first 102 laps, finished third.

Tony Kanaan kept his outside shot at an Indy Racing League title alive by winning the Meijer Indy 300 at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta.

Kanaan passed A.J. Foyt IV with fewer than 10 laps to go for his second straight victory, his fourth of the year and the first by an Andretti Green Racing driver at the 1.5-mile tri-oval.

Kanaan beat Scott Dixon by 1.745 seconds to become the second pole-sitter to win in the race’s eight-year history.

Three-time defending Champ Car World Series champion Sebastien Bourdais will start from the pole today in the Generac Grand Prix at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis.

Bourdais, who won the provisional pole Friday by nearly a full second over Will Power, increased the margin Saturday.

He was timed at 1 minute 41.535 seconds (145.525 mph) Saturday, and Power remained second despite failing to improve his first-day time of 1:43.116 (141.324).

Rip Michels started from the pole and never trailed in winning the ACDelco Super Late Model 50-lap feature at Irwindale Speedway, beating Derek Booker by 3.387 seconds. The win was Michels’ ninth of the season and the 53rd of his career.