Harvick gets his victory

DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. —  Kevin Harvick has been to Daytona’s Victory Lane before -- just not as a driver.

“I went there the last two years as a car owner,” Harvick said Saturday after driving to his first win at Daytona International Speedway. “This is more fun.”

Harvick, who ran away with the 2006 NASCAR Busch Series title, started the season with his 27th Busch victory. This time, he was driving for Richard Childress, who also fields his Nextel Cup Chevrolets.

“Any time you can win any race at Daytona it’s big,” said Harvick, who controlled the last half of the 120-lap Orbitz 300.

Starting 31st in the 43-car field, Harvick finished about three lengths ahead of Dave Blaney, who gave Toyota a solid finish in its first Busch event.

“I said if we ever get all the way to the front, we’re going to be in really good shape,” said Harvick, who led the final 42 laps. “Because the whole last run, once I got to the front, I never had to let off the floor.”

It was an auspicious start for Harvick, who won nine races last year to earn his second Busch Series title. He beat runner-up Carl Edwards by 824 points.

Harvick’s win was no surprise -- he finished in the top eight, including three runner-up finishes, in his nine previous Busch starts on the 2.5-mile Daytona oval.

Nextel Cup drivers finished in the top 12 spots and had 15 of the top 20, with Edwards third, followed by Clint Bowyer, Mark Martin, Martin Truex Jr., Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin, Greg Biffle, Robby Gordon and Matt Kenseth.

The race was relatively clean, with three caution flags, including two crashes. But the second wreck was a big one, taking out Cup regulars Kasey Kahne, Reed Sorenson, Jamie McMurray and damaging the cars of Cup driver Ward Burton and Busch regular John Andretti.