Harvick wins at New Hampshire to advance to 2nd round

LOUDON, N.H. (AP) Kevin Harvick won Sunday at New Hampshire to earn a spot in the second round of the NASCAR Sprint Cup playoffs, pulling away off a restart a year after a late loss at the track.

Harvick ran out of fuel late last year to lose and faced a win-or-elimination race the next week at Dover. Harvick rallied for one of the biggest wins of his career to survive another round.

His drama came a race earlier this season. Matt Kenseth and dominated the second half of the race on Sunday and seemed poised to win the New Hampshire race for the third straight time.

Harvick was able to zip past Kenseth on the final laps and he held on to join Martin Truex Jr. in the second round. Truex won the Chase opener at Chicagoland.

Chase drivers took the top eight spots. The 16-driver Chase for the Sprint Cup championship field will be cut to 12 after Dover.