Harvick Clinches Championship, While Green Hunts for a Gas Can

"The leader’s out of gas!"

Those are words that will haunt Jeff Green for many months to come. After a late race crash involving Johnny Sauter and several others, the race was down to a one lap shoot out to decide the race and possibly the championship. Unfortunately for Green, his crew chief, Harold Holly, didn’t pick up the latest version of "Crew Chiefing for Dummies." When everyone else came into the pits for gas, Jeff Green stayed out on the track running on fumes. When the Green flag fell, so did the fuel pressure that registered on the dash guage. Problem was, if the race had stayed green he’d have been ok, but at lower speeds on the steep banking the gas settles on the left side of the fuel cell. If the race had stayed green to the end, inertia would have slung the gas up to the fuel pick up on the right (up hill) side of the cell. Seems to me that the crew chief would have realized this, after all, most Busch races this year have ended with a shootout, many after a red flag.

The rest of the leaders flew past Green, including Kenny Wallace, in the No. 48 Gould’s Pumps sponsored ride, who took the lead and the win.

Harvick finished 5th, four positions ahead of Green, giving Harvick a 205 point lead with only one race left. The most points you can gain in an event is 185 (including bonus points). That means Harvick has clenched the NASCAR Busch Series Championship for 2001!

Harvick’s Championship makes Richard Childress the only team owner to win the title in all three of NASCAR’s top series: 6 Winston Cup titles with Dale Earnhardt, 1 Craftsman Truck title with Mike Skinner in 1995, and the 2001 Busch Grand National title with Kevin Harvick.

After burning the rear tires plum off the race car doing doughnuts on the front stretch, Harvick seemed more relieved that excited during the post race interview. "I’m slam out exhausted," Kevin commented on the TNT interview. Harvick has been able to pull off what many in the racing world thought was impossible, if not crazy. He managed to win the BGN Championship while racing in both Busch and Winston Cup full time. The feat is even more amazing when you consider that this is only his second season in the Busch Series and his first season in Winston Cup!

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