Kevin Harvick

For the second straight week, Kevin Harvick takes the checkered flag, this time at Martinsville. Harvick beating Dale Earnhardt Junior to the line with Kyle Busch finished third. The win ended a stretch of 9 races at the Virginia track that had been won by either Denny Hamlin or Jimmie Johnson and it's the first win at Martinsville for the 29. Juan Pablo Montoya and Jeff Gordon rounded out the top 5. "I didnt think we had the car to do that. I had a lot of fun racing with Dale Junior," said Harvick.

The day belonged to Kyle Busch, but the victory in the Auto Club 400 belongs to Kevin Harvick. Busch lead 151 of the 200 laps at the Auto Club speedway on Sunday, but Jimmie Johnson took the lead woth 3 laps to go, just to give up the lead on turn four of the final lap to Harvick. The 29 lead just one lap, the last one but it was all he needed. Busch finished third. "I can see them growing bigger in the mirror, I could see them coming," said Busch. Those guys were just better.

To quote the great poet LL Cool J "we're going back to Cali, Cali, Cali, were going back to Cali, but just once this season. " OK maybe the song didn't go exactly that why, but you get the point. NASCAR races to the beautiful edge of the left coast, Fontana, California and the Auto Club speedway. This is the only date for this track in 2011, and honestly unlike what happened in Atlanta, I think this is the right call. There's no rich history at Auto Club speedway and southern Cal does seem all that interested in having to races.

With Daytona in the rear view mirror, it's time to race off to Phoenix. This will be the first race that we really get to see who is going to have something for this year's championship. Daytona is fun, but it is what it is, it's own animal. Restrictor plate racing is an x-factor. Starting this week in Phoenix and really more so next week at Vegas, you really start to see who has the chops to run with the big boys. But there is a twist. The new point system, playing catch up is going to be tougher than ever.

Yes, Clint Bowyer is from Kansas. And yes he is one of the friendliest drivers in the garage area. But if you think this a homer pick, think again. Other than Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin, you could argue that Clint Bowyer was the hottest driver in the Chase last season. He won two races and if it wasn't for a penalty after his first win in New Hampshire, who knows what this team could have done. Clint has always shown an amazing amount of poise and consistency, probably a result of being teammate of Jeff Burton, and a lot of competitive spirit, something more like his teammate Kevin Harvick.

Carl Edwards has snapped a 70-race losing streak with a win at Phoenix International Raceway. But the attention Sunday was on the three-driver championship race, and a dominating performance by Denny Hamlin that was derailed by poor fuel mileage in his Toyota. Emporia native Clint Bowyer finished 21st. Hamlin led a race-high 190 laps but didn't have the gas to make it to the finish. He gave up second place with 14 laps left for a fuel stop, and finished 12th. Jimmie Johnson conserved enough gas to make it to the end and finished fifth.

Denny Hamlin passed Kevin Harvick for the lead with 29 laps to go Sunday and won his third consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Martinsville Speedway. Hamlin became the first driver since Jimmie Johnson to sweep both races on the smallest track in NASCAR's premier series, and both he and Harvick closed the gap on Johnson in the points race with four races remaining. Hamlin trails by just six points, Harvick by 62. Harvick finished third after Mark Martin passed him in the closing laps, but Harvick still had his best showing in 19 career starts at the track.

Kevin Harvick passed Denny Hamlin with 11 laps to go, then held on to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup series race at Michigan International Speedway. Harvick's No. 29 team gambled by staying on the track instead of making a pit stop during a late caution. It paid off with a momentum-building victory Sunday for the series points leader. This is Harvick's third win of the season and his first this year on a nonrestrictor plate track. Hamlin finished second, followed by Roush Fenway Racing drivers Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth.