Kevin Harvick picked up where he left off by leading 214 laps at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to win the Pennzoil 400 as just nine cars finished on the lead lap on Sunday.
Harvick, who rolled off second next to Ford team-mate Ryan Blaney, won the opening stage in impressive fashion, lapping 21 of the other 36 drivers in the opening 80 laps. He won stage two as well for the first stage-sweeping win of the 2018 season.
Kyle Busch was closing on Harvick with 10 to go but the three-second gap was too large to overcome. Kyle Larson was third followed by 2016 Vegas winner Martin Truex Jr. and Blaney.
Harvick's win marked his 100th career victory across NASCAR's top three touring series as he added to his Atlanta success.
Jimmie Johnson's early-season troubles continued after failing pre-race tech three times. The seven-time champion, who entered the race 35th in the Cup Series standings, had his car chief ejected as a penalty and was forced to start from the rear.
Johnson was lapped by Harvick early on and failed to make up little ground despite being a four-time Vegas winner. Johnson battled back to the lead lap and finished 12th but his winless streak has now reached 26 races.
Johnson's team-mate Chase Elliott's winless streak to begin his career reached 80 after getting in a wreck with Kurt Busch coming off turn four with 85 laps to go.
Busch and Elliott were running side by side in ninth and 10th place, respectively, after a caution flag reset the field. Busch, driving on the inside of Elliott, appeared to loose grip in the corner and slide up the track and into the number nine car, sending both into the wall.
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