Auto News 5

After a thrilling finish, and the victory of Tio Ellinas from Cyprus, Mitch Evans secured the 2012 GP3 title after the final rounds presented at Monza.

Mitch Evans held the championship's lead by a healthy margin before Monza, and thought he had made a step forward to the title when he clinched pole position.

But the driver from New-Zealand, who could have secured the title after race 1, lost everything at the start. He went straight at the first chicane, then wide at the second corner, which damaged his car.

Evans was forced to retire, while Daniel Abt was flying to the victory, which allowed the German driver to stay in contention for the title, mathematically, ahead race 2, the very last race of the season. Meanwhile, Antonio Felix Da Costa was out of championship race, having retired with a broken gear box.

Abt could still clinch the title, but to do so, he had to win again, and hope that Evans would not score any point. From his 25th position on the grid, Evans had a great comeback up to P10, which was enough for him to secure the title.

But, once more, the New Zealander ran out of luck when he suffered a puncture following an off road, and was forced to stop in the pits again.

Evans could only hope that Abt would not win. Luckily for him, Tio Ellinas got passed the German with two laps remaining, which gave Evans the championship lead back.

Abt passed Ellinas back with two laps remaining, but Ellinas was able to overtake once more the German driver in the penultimate lap. Evans, who once more failed to score any points, there
fore got away with the championship, by only two points.



Monza - Race 1 :
1 - Daniel Abt - Lotus - 16 laps in 28'17"548
2 - Tio Ellinas - Manor - 0"349

3 - Matias Laine - MW Arden - 1"881

4 - Conor Daly - Lotus - 14"108

5 - Patric Niederhauser - Jenzer - 14"602
Etc.

Monza - Race 2 :
1 - Tio Ellinas - Manor - 16 laps in 28'18"541
2 - Daniel Abt - Lotus - 1"003

3 - Giovanni Venturini - Trident - 1"408
4 - Marlon Stockinger - Status - 1"715
5 - Antonio Felix Da Costa - Carlin - 7"377
Etc.

Championship :
1. Evans 151,5 points ; 2.Abt 149,5 ; 3.Da Costa 132 ; 4.Vainio 123 ; 5.Laine 111, etc.

From GMM

Jenson Button and Paul di Resta now share a manager.

Force India's di Resta, who recently dumped his former manager Anthony Hamilton, is now officially in the management stable headed by Richard Goddard.

The Scot has been advised by The Sports Partnership since the Hamilton split, which is now in the hands of the courts.

"Based on how it's gone and having seen what they've achieved with other clients, in and out of the sport of F1, it became clear that it was the right way to go," said di Resta.

The Anthony Hamilton split and tie-in with Button's management group comes at an interesting time, with di Resta linked with Lewis Hamilton's 2013 McLaren seat.

There may also be a conflict of interest issue, if Goddard is steering the careers on both sides of McLaren's garage.

Goddard said it wouldn't be a problem.

"There are two of us at the top of The Sports Partnership and if needed James (Williamson) could always look after one whilst I looked after the other," he told the Telegraph.

Anyway, di Resta said it is premature to be talking about a move to McLaren.

"It's always nice to have speculation, to see the interest," he said at Monza.

"But it's something I can't let my brain run away with. I'm in the car this weekend and expected to do a job. That is going to be the focus."

From CRC

After taking a lead on the very first stage of the 2012 Rallye Defi, Ken Block (Park City, Utah) and Alex Gelsomino (Park City, Utah) drove through bright sun, heavy rains and over rough roads on their way to victory. The Monster World Rally Team pair led the rally from start to finish, thrilling the fans at the fourth round of the 2012 Canadian Rally Championship.

On the very first stage of the rally, Block set the fastest time, beating his closest rival by 19 seconds. Over the following three stages, the team opened up a lead of nearly a minute.

Clouds and rain rolled in overnight, and Saturday offered a different challenge to drivers. Roads stayed wet as thunderstorms rolled through the region all day. The high humidity also caused a number fogged windshields, cutting already reduced visibility.

Block and Gelsomino continued to maintain their lead trading times with Antoine L'Estage (Ste-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que.) and Nathalie Richard (Halifax) through the second day. Although L'Estage has won the Rallye Defi six times, he did not have an answer to the pace of the leader and finished the event on the second spot on the podium.

Driving at the limit all weekend took a toll on L'Estage's car. Suffering two flat tires with seven kilometres remaining in the stage, L'Estage was forced to drive without stopping, losing more than 90 seconds and dropping even further back. Problems in the transfer case meant the crew had to rush to replace the part during the midday service.

Crazy Leo Urlichich (Toronto) and Carl Williamson (Swansea, Wales) battled both difficult conditions and an occasionally difficult car all weekend.

On the very first stage, the pair suffered driveline problems, losing power to the right rear wheel of the car. The pair had to contend with the problem for another three stages before they could have the service crew attempt repairs.

Despite these issues, the team was able to keep a secure hold on third place, rounding out the podium.

Pat Richard (Squamish, B.C.) and Alan Ockwell (Toronto) were one of the teams eliminated early, when mechanical problems sidelined the team just a few hundred metres from the finish of the third stage. It was a devastating blow to the team, who needed a strong performance to revive their championship ambitions.

In two wheel drive, only one car - the Ford Fiesta R2 of Ed McNelly (Dalton, New Hampshire) and Ole Holter (Long Beach, California) - made it to the finish. Even so, the rally was not easy, with the pair having a light roll on Saturday. With spectator help, they righted the car and made it to the finish.

From GMM

Christian Horner has confirmed that yet another alternator failure caused Sebastian Vettel to retire from Sunday's Italian grand prix.

Having lost his charge for victory in Valencia earlier this year with the same problem, the issue resurfaced at Monza on Saturday when the reigning world champion broke down in practice.

It struck again on Sunday; a big blow to the German's championship hopes.

"It has to be corrected quickly," team boss Horner told the German broadcaster Sky.

After the practice problem, alternator supplier Renault apologized to Red Bull.

"Today it cost us a lot of points," Horner said on Sunday. "We have to move forward with it urgently if we are to continue for the title."

With Mark Webber also retiring in Italy, is is defending champions Red Bull's first double non-points finish since Korea 2010.

Earlier at Monza, Vettel was penalised by the stewards for forcing his championshp rival Fernando Alonso wide at the Curva Grande.

Last year, it was Alonso who pushed Vettel wide at the very same corner.

"It looked quite the same as a year ago," Horner said. "I thought it was a normal racing incident, with Sebastian in front and taking his line.

"It was very surprising that we were punished for it," he insisted.

From GMM

Valtteri Bottas is waiting in the wings at Williams, according to Toto Wolff.

Austrian Wolff doubles up as a Williams shareholder and executive as well as team reserve driver and Finn Bottas' manager.

In the context of Romain Grosjean's Monza race ban, the word in the paddock is that the FIA is also running thin on patience for Pastor Maldonado.

"Of course I don't hope that Pastor gets more penalties, and certainly not a ban," Wolff told Turun Sanomat newspaper.

"He wouldn't deserve that. He has certainly made mistakes, but he is aware of what has happened, and often the penalties have hurt him a lot.

"I don't want to see race bans, but if that were to happen, we have a third driver Valtteri Bottas ready to enter immediately," added Wolff.

Bottas, 22, has regularly practiced in Bruno Senna's Williams this year.

"Sometimes he has exceeded our expectations, but we want to keep Valtteri's feet firmly on the ground rather than have him thinking he is a superstar before he is a superstar," said Wolff.

Wolff also said it is too early to say if Bottas will have a full race seat in 2013.

"No, we don't know yet. We have only just begun to think about the situation and the timing of the decision," he said.

"We want to take (an overview of) the situation as a whole, rather than trying to do it a couple of weeks before Singapore."

Lewis Hamilton's Italian Grand Prix ended as it started - in first place -, but Sergio Perez was the hero of the day, coming from 12th on the grid to finish second, large in Hamilton's mirrors.

Felipe Massa (Ferrari) had a very encouraging start, pressuring the two front row-starting McLaren. When Jenson Button retired on lap 32, the Brazilian was able to take second. But behind him, in the second Ferrari, Fernando Alonso was quickly recovering from his bad qualifying the day before.

Having overtaken Paul di Resta (Force India), Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber), Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus), Nico Rosberg (Mercedes), Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) and Michael Schumacher (Mercedes), the Spaniard was knocking on Massa's door.

The two Ferrari drivers exchanged positions in very undramatic fashion, given Massa's fragile position within the team. It looked set for Hamilton to win, Alonso to come second and Massa to pick up a refreshing podium.

Except Sergio Perez (Sauber) was on a late charge, thanks to clever strategy. Sauber engineers had the Mexican starting on the harder compound, meaning he was flying in the last part of the race.

The picture was perfect: Massa letting Alonso by with Perez breathing dangerously down his neck - much like off the track.

In the end, Perez was able to get ahead of both red cars and just ran out of time to make a move on Hamilton.

Other notable twists include the two Red Bull retirements. First, it was Vettel who, after his drive-through penalty for aggressive driving while fighting with Alonso, came to a stop with fuel issues.

He was followed to the sidelines four laps later by Mark Webber, who spun out of the race.

This means both men have lost precious ground in the championship hunt. Hamilton (142 points) and Raikkonen (141) are now the two closest rivals to Alonso, whose lead has now grown back to 37.



Race results* - Italian Grand Prix (Monza)
1 - Lewis Hamilton (McLaren MP4/27-Mercedes) - 53 laps 1.19'41"221

2 - Sergio Perez (Sauber C31-Ferrari) - 4"356

3 - Fernando Alonso (Ferrari F2012) - 20"594

4 - Felipe Massa (Ferrari F2012) - 29"667

5 - Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus E20-Renault) - 30"881
6 - Michael Schumacher (Mercedes MGP W03) - 31"259
7 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes MGP W03) - 33"550

8 - Paul Di Resta (Force India VJM05-Mercedes) - 41"057
9 - Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber C31-Ferrari) - 43"898
10 - Bruno Senna (Williams FW34-Renault) - 48"144
11 - Pastor Maldonado (Williams FW34-Renault) - 48"682
12 - Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso STR7-Ferrari) - 50"316

13 - Jerome D'Ambrosio (Lotus E20-Renault) - 1'15"861
14 - Heikki Kovalainen (Caterham CT01-Renault) - 1 lap

15 - Vitaly Petrov (Caterham CT01-Renault) - 1 lap
16 - Charles Pic (Marussia MR01-Cosworth) - 1 lap

17 - Timo Glock (Marussia MR01-Cosworth) - 1 lap

18 - Pedro De La Rosa (HRT F112-Cosworth) - 1 lap
19 - Narain Karthikeyan (HRT F112-Cosworth) - 1 lap



Fastest lap of the race by Nico Rosberg 1'27"239



Retirements

Lap 51 - Mark Webber

Lap 50 - Nico Hulkenberg

Lap 47 - Sebastian Vettel

Lap 32 - Jenson Button

Lap 8 - Jean Eric Vergne



Drivers' championship
1.Alonso 179; 2.Hamilton 142; 3.Raikkonen 141; 4.Vettel 140; 5.Webber 132; 6.Button 101; 7.Rosberg 83; 8.Grosjean 76; 9.Perez 65; 10.Massa 47; 11.Schumacher 43; 12.Kobayashi 35; 13.Di Resta 32; 14.Hulkenberg 31; 15.Maldonado 29; 16.Senna 25; 17.Vergne 8; 18.Ricciardo 4.

Constructors' championship
1.Red Bull-Renault 272; 2.McLaren-Mercedes 243; 3.Ferrari 226; 4.Lotus-Renault 217; 5.Mercedes 126; 6.Sauber-Ferrari 100; 7.Force India-Mercedes 63; 8.Williams-Renault 54; 9.Toro Rosso-Ferrari 12.

*Unofficial

News 8 Sep, 2012

Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button to share the front row of the grid for the Italian Grand Prix

Five years ago, managers at BMW AG realized that with Germany's graying population the average age of their workers would jump from 41 to 46 by 2017. So they decided to make it happen sooner.

Rolls-Royce forecast a second year of record sales as growth fueled by Asian wealth outweighs the economic slump in Europe.

Five years ago, managers at BMW AG realized that with Germany's graying population the average age of their workers would jump from 41 to 46 by 2017. So they decided to make it happen sooner.

Honda needs the next generation of its bread-and-butter mid-sized car, the Accord, to be a hit in the United States, and pricing and incentives may play a key role in a tough mid-sized sedan market.

After he claimed his first success in Paralympic Games in London in the H4 category's time trial event on Wednesday, Alessandro Zanardi took a second gold medal in the individual road race.

The Italian driver, who lost his legs in a horrifying crash at the Lausitzring in Indycar back in 2001, competed in his first Paralympic Games this year in the H4 (wheel chair) category.

Alex Zanardi (Photo: Ralph Hardwick)

This is his second gold medal for Zanardi, who will now be looking for a third victory in the team relay race on Saturday.

Ironically, the H4 races of the events in the Paralympic Games used parts of the Brands Hatch circuit, where Zanardi raced in cars.

From GMM

With Ferrari still yet to re-sign him for 2013, Felipe Massa insists he sees no better alternative to him on the market.

Rumours say Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez are the frontrunners to replace Massa next season, but the Brazilian thinks he is the best choice.

"Many people want my seat," he is quoted by Spain's Mundo Deportivo newspaper, "but I do not see anyone better on the market.

"In my place I only see people like Hamilton or Vettel, but they're not available," Massa added.

Meanwhile, the 31-year-old said he will do everything to help his teammate Fernando Alonso win the 2012 title, even if he acknowledged he might be racing elsewhere next year.

"I have no contract yet for 2013, but I will help Fernando," he vowed.

"I am a professional and will behave like that."

Massa hailed the performance this year of Spaniard Alonso, who at the wheel of the same Ferrari model has scored a massive 129 more points, and is leading the championship.

"The F2012 is not a winning car, but Fernando is perfect," he said.

From GMM

Jean Todt has revealed he did not attempt to sign Fernando Alonso during his time as Ferrari boss due to an earlier betrayal.

The Frenchman, who is now the FIA president, reigned over Ferrari from the 90s until 2008.

At the end of 2006, he chose Kimi Raikkonen as the retiring 'number 1' Michael Schumacher's replacement, even though Spaniard Alonso - now Ferrari's long term hope - was also on the market.

Alonso was only subsequently brought to Ferrari by Todt's successor Stefano Domenicali, and Todt has now told Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport exactly why.

He recalls 2000, the year before Alonso - then an impressive fresh-faced F3000 driver - made his F1 debut with Minardi.

"We (Ferrari) reached an agreement in principle with Fernando, but then (Flavio) Briatore signed him," said Todt.

"It was after his victory in F3000 in Spa when we got in contact with his manager, who came to my home in Maranello, and we agreed.

"It (Alonso signing with Briatore) was something I took badly and after that there was no more contact."

The rest - Alonso's two titles with Renault, his ill-fated switch to McLaren and finally his debut as a Ferrari driver in 2010 - is history.

Alonso's manager in 2000, Adrian Campos, confirms: "Ferrari told us to wait and not to sign with anyone else, but Briatore walked through the door with a contract under his arm."

Todt named the "very good leader" Alonso, as well as Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton as "the favourites" to win the 2012 title.

Adapted from GMM

Tifosi favourite Fernando Alonso will not have to move five places down Sunday's Italian grand prix grid, but that's not to say his race bodes well.

Surely, Alonso must have felt relieved to hear he would not suffer any penalty despite his gearbox failing, but the news was probably overshadowed by a brake problem coupled to an engine failure on Friday.

Technical director Pat Fry explained that the latter glitch was because the Spaniard was using "a Friday engine at high mileage".

The man himself, meanwhile, said on Friday that even though the F2012 seems more competitive at Monza compared to Spa a week ago, "McLaren is the favourite to win" on Sunday.

Lotus and Mercedes look quick as well.

As predicted by Alonso, McLaren dominated qualifying, with Lewis Hamilton on pole ahead of his teammate Jenson Button.

The Spaniard, only 10th on the Monza grid, was quoted by AS newspaper: "As we said in Belgium, if we can not win then the best news is that McLaren is strongest.

"One (Hamilton) is 47 points behind, the other (Button) 63, so we can afford for them to win a few times without too much worry."

Alonso's closest points challenger, Sebastian Vettel, qualified fifth at Monza.

From GMM

McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh has hinted Lewis Hamilton's management is in the driving seat of the current situation surrounding the 2008 world champion's unknown future.

Eddie Jordan was the one who dropped the Mercedes bombshell, but seasoned insiders are sensing the intrigue is really being steered by Simon Fuller, the wily Spice Girls manager who through his XIX Entertainment arm now handles Hamilton's career.

It is easy to surmise the Mercedes story was planted simply to ramp up Hamilton's 2013 price-tag, but it may not be just about that.

Indeed, Jordan - who is reportedly close to Fuller - said he suspects the Mercedes link is about 'brand Hamilton'.

"Fuller is trying to position Hamilton as a major global star like Beckham, and Mercedes is a much bigger global brand than McLaren," said the British television pundit and former F1 team owner.

McLaren team boss Whitmarsh agrees: "Lewis and his team are very interested in the Hamilton brand and providing anything that happens doesn't distract him from being a race driver, we are 100 per cent relaxed about it.

McLaren, though, famously guards the drivers' corporate and even personal images, and their ability to exploit and explore them.

"The life I have had has been very controlled and I am taking control of it," Hamilton said earlier this week.

"I am allowing myself to get who I am out, rather than the corporate McLaren driver some people want you to be."

That would put into context the recent 'WTF' and secret telemetry 'Twittergate' affairs.

Luca Filippi, who was away from competition for one year, made a sensational GP2 return as he clinched victory in race 1 in Monza with team Coloni.

The Italian driver, who was without a racing seat since the end of last season, was expected in IndyCar this season but the deal was not finalized. He was called by team Coloni for Monza, where he took third position in qualifying.

Filippi then took the lead after mid race when he overtook poleman and early leader Max Chilton after the pit stops, to cruise to an emotional win on his home soil.

Behind him, Johnny Cecotto concluded a great comeback from 8th position on the grid to second at the finish line ahead of Marcus Ericsson and Max Chilton. Stefan Coletti, who took 8th position, will have the opportunity to start from pole position on race 2, thanks to the reverse grid regulation for the top 8.

As for the title contenders, Davide Valsecchi took the advantage in Monza. The Italian driver took 6th position while his rival Luis Razia, who span after a contact with Fabio Leimer, classified only 25th. And Valsecchi will start from third position on Sunday with the reverse grid.



Monza - Race 1 classification :
1 - Luca Filippi - Coloni - 30 laps in 48'03"604
2 - Johnny Cecotto - Addax - 4"028
3 - Marcus Ericsson - iSport - 5"377

4 - Max Chilton - Carlin - 7"631

5 - Fabio Leimer - Racing Engineering - 9"413

6 - Davide Valsecchi - Dams - 16"057

7 - Jolyon Palmer - iSport - 17"600
8 - Stefano Coletti - Rapax - 18"532
Etc.

Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) muted all the rumours regarding his future by taking a convincing pole over his teammate Jenson Button, in the team's 63rd front row effort.

Nobody could touch the 2008 World Champion, that much was clear during qualifying ahead of Monza's Italian Grand Prix.

Felipe Massa (Ferrari), third, had his strongest qualifying effort of the campaign yet. The Brazilian was left by star teammate Fernando Alonso to carry the team on his shoulders, as the Spaniard could do no better than 10th - a disastrous result in front of the tifosis.

Massa was followed by Paul di Resta (Force India), who by taking fourth gave his team something to cheer for. Di Resta himself will drop five places on the grid Sunday because of a gearbox change, while his teammate Nico Hulkenberg was left dead last by mechanical issues.

Michael Schumacher (Mercedes) too had a good showing, in fifth place, beating two-time reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull), as well as his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg, respectively sixth and seventh.

Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus) and Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber) follow behind the trio, in eighth and ninth spots.

Notable drivers left outside the top 10 include Red Bull's Mark Webber (11th) - who failed to make it to Q3 by 0.067s - and Jérôme d'Ambrosio (16th), the Belgian driver standing in at Lotus for the suspended Romain Grosjean.



Qualifying results* - Italian Grand Prix (Monza)
1.Lewis Hamilton (McLaren MP4/27-Mercedes) - 1'24"010 - Q3
2.Jenson Button (McLaren MP4/27-Mercedes) - 1'24"133 - Q3
3.Felipe Massa (Ferrari F2012) - 1'24"247 - Q3
4.Michael Schumacher (Mercedes MGP W03) - 1'24"540 - Q3
5.Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB8-Renault) - 1'24"802 - Q3
6.Nico Rosberg (Mercedes MGP W03) - 1'24"833 - Q3
7.Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus E20-Renault) - 1'24"855 - Q3
8.Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber C31-Ferrari) - 1'25"109 - Q3
9.Paul Di Resta (Force India VJM05-Mercedes) - 1'24"304 - Q3 ***
10.Fernando Alonso (Ferrari F2012) - 1'25"678 - Q3
11.Mark Webber (Red Bull RB8-Renault) - 1'24"809 - Q2
12.Sergio Perez (Sauber C31-Ferrari) - 1'24"901 - Q2
13.Bruno Senna (Williams FW34-Renault) - 1'25"042 - Q2
14.Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso STR7-Ferrari) - 1'25"312 - Q2
15.Jerome D'Ambrosio (Lotus E20-Renault) - 1'25"408 - Q2
16.Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso STR7-Ferrari) - 1'25"441 - Q2
17.Heikki Kovalainen (Caterham CT01-Renault) - 1'26"382 - Q1
18.Vitaly Petrov (Caterham CT01-Renault) - 1'26"887 - Q1
19.Timo Glock (Marussia MR01-Cosworth) - 1'27"039 - Q1
20.Pastor Maldonado (Williams FW34-Renault) - 1'24"820 - Q2 **
21.Charles Pic (Marussia MR01-Cosworth) - 1'27"073 - Q1
22.Narain Karthikeyan (HRT F112-Cosworth) - 1'27"441 - Q1
23.Pedro De La Rosa (HRT F112-Cosworth) - 1'27"629 - Q1
24.Nico Hulkenberg (Force India VJM05-Mercedes) - no time - Q1

*Unofficial results
**Ten-place grid penalty for Spa incident
***Five-place grid penalty for gearbox change

From GMM

An unusually-forlorn Romain Grosjean was an unhappy pitwall spectator on Friday as he began to serve his one-race ban for last Sunday's Spa crash.

The Frenchman arrived at the Monza paddock as practice began, to watch Lotus' reserve driver Jerome d'Ambrosio drive his black and gold car.

Asked by RMC Sport if he has thought deeply about the crash that wiped Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso out of the Belgian grand prix and also cost him EUR 50,000, Grosjean answered: "Think (about it), yes, but then again I would say no because I don't necessarily want to relive it.

"I just wanted to understand why (it happened) so I can go to the next race in Singapore stronger," he added.

Normally smiling ear-to-ear, Grosjean admitted it is hard to be trackside in such difficult circumstances.

"It is not pleasant to come to Monza and not race," he said. "It was a collective decision. We are together as a team in good times and in bad.

"We didn't ask, neither me nor the team, it (coming to Monza) just seemed natural.

"The team has offered me amazing support all week. So, today, I am happy to be here to try to help if I can. If Jerome has any questions, I will answer them with pleasure for the team to score points in the championship.

"It may also be interesting to see how Kimi (Raikkonen) works.

"I spent two sessions with the engineers on the pitwall and noticed a lot of interesting things that I want to try in Singapore."

Grosjean did not want to say if he thinks the penalty - the first time the FIA has banned a driver in almost two decades - is unfair.

"It's severe but I accept it, and hopefully we can grow from it.

"I think we are going to review some things, redesign the weekends a little bit, focus on different things to be better equipped for the starts.

"To throw everything away and start from scratch would be a mistake," added Grosjean.

One week after dominating a Nationwide race only to lose in Atlanta; Kevin Harvick bounced back with a win in Richmond.

With 17 laps remaining Harvick pulled away on a restart and held off last week's winner, Rick Stenhouse Jr., by almost two full seconds. Last week Harvick led a race-high 157 laps. At the three-quarter mile Richmond International Raceway he led a race-high 141-laps of the 250 lap event.

With his 38th career Nationwide Series victory (and fifth at Richmond) he snapped a 30-race winless drought. This win ties him with Carl Edwards for third place on the all-time career win list.

It's been a long time coming," Harvick said. "I know the first 37 seemed a whole lot easier than No. 38."

"I know we haven't won the races that we needed to, but, man, we've led a ton of laps and been in contention to win just about every race I've been in this car this year," he added.

"Sometimes you go through slumps like that, and when you break 'em, it just makes it that much sweeter."

Stenhouse who now is second in the points said "Kevin and I had a great battle there for a while. I gave it all I had. If we would have won two in a row, that would have been cool, but second's a great night."

Kurt Busch, who finished third in a car owned by his younger brother Kyle, had led just before that final caution but tagged a lapped car causing that final caution.

"When I had Harvick behind us while we were leading if I could hit it perfect we were going to hold him off," said Busch"“If I was off just a fraction he was right there. When I drove down into (turn) three, the lapped car chose inside and I chose inside and I was like, 'This isn't going to be good.'

"Ninety-nine percent of the guys go high, he went low and I just couldn't stay off him. I had to push hard to try to keep Harvick behind me and I made a mistake and got us behind there."

Point's leader Elliott Sadler had a tough race after tangling with Stenhouse on lap 183 and falling one lap down. He finished 12th and had his points lead shrink to just one over Stenhouse. Sam Hornish Jr. fell to fourth in the title battle after a cut tire caused him to crash on lap 156.

After repairs he rejoined the race but finished 30th some 50 points behind Sadler. Austin Dillon who finished sixth is now third 30 points in arrears.