Kevin Harvick wins defining title; NASCAR delivers thrilling finale

HOMESTEAD, Fla. — From fortuitous cautions to well-timed pit strategy, everything seemingly fell into place Sunday night for Kevin Harvick, who won at Homestead-Miami Speedway to claim his first Sprint Cup championship.

In the debut of a revamped Chase for the Sprint Cup that has delivered popular highlights while polarizing some of its fan base, the Ford EcoBoost 400 seemed to align perfectly for NASCAR, too, which enjoyed a highly competitive and scintillating season finale.

"I think this Chase is about the best thing that has happened to the sport over the last decade," Harvick said after outdueling Ryan Newman, Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano to become the 30th champion in the 65-year history of NASCAR's premier circuit. "This is probably going to shorten the drivers' careers because it's been so stressful."

The title was in doubt until Harvick, who staged a memorable rally after his No. 4 Chevrolet dropped outside the top 10 on a restart with 15 laps remaining, took the lead from Hamlin with seven laps remaining and fended off a late charge by Newman, who finished a season-best second.

It was a career-defining title for Harvick, who had positioned himself for it with a series of life-changing moves such as switching this year to Stewart-Haas Racing (after 14 seasons with Richard Childress Racing), shutting down his own team and having a son with wife DeLana.

But it also was a validating night for NASCAR chairman Brian France, whose gamble to overhauls his sport's championship philosophy in search of mimicking the "Game 7 moments" in other pro sports worked — at least in its first year.

With the specter looming of NASCAR crowning its first winless champion in Newman (the championship was awarded to highest finisher of the contenders), Harvick punctuated a Chase that was billed as putting a renewed emphasis on victories (he advanced to the final round by virtue of winning a week earlier at Pheonix) and a race that was a nonstop title fight.

Harvick and Hamlin combined to lead 104 laps as the four contenders constantly swapped positions and ran in the top five for much of the 400-mile race — underscoring the increased performance and intensity that contenders said was a hallmark of the new playoff.

"Every week it showed how much pressure there was on the drivers, the crew chiefs, the crew members, pit crews," said Tony Stewart, who capped a turbulent year with a championship as the co-owner of Harvick's car. "Just unbelievable how much everything had to go right and how special it was when big moments happened.

"If you want to know how hard it is to win a championship now, this boiled down to the last pit stop."

But the true evaluation of the Chase is how it resonates with NASCAR's fan base, which has shrunk in recent years. On the cusp of concurrent 10-year TV deals beginning next year with NBC and Fox, recruiting new fans is a primary objective, and France has pointed toward the Chase as an avenue for re-energizing interest.

Brad Keselowski, who finished third Sunday, said Homestead showed "obviously there was a lot on the line, and NASCAR "has got to be thrilled to death with that, and I hope our fans are, too.

"What I want it to do is grow the sport, put us in a stronger position for years to come," the 2012 champion said. "I'm not really looking at it in a short‑term perspective. But really all I care about with the format is that it takes the sport to another level. I think the jury is still out on that, but it looks like it's going to be good.

"I don't really have an answer until I think we see some numbers, for good or bad, but I don't have any complaints, either."

PHOTOS: Top shots from 2014 Chase races

Support from stars

Regardless of Sunday's outcome, France already had proclaimed the success of the Chase, which featured new wrinkles with eliminations, three points resets and the winner-take-all finale.

Though ratings were down or flat for the first seven races, the audience grew over the past two races at Phoenix International Raceway and Texas Motor Speedway, which featured the second postrace brawl of a Chase whose 11th edition was more emotionally charged than ever.

Seven-time champion Richard Petty said it could take a year or two for the new version of the playoff to be "set in stone" with fans, but he endorsed its sway though it was a stark contrast to the pre-2004 era when titles were decided over the course of a full season.

"From the PR standpoint they couldn't have come with a better deal as far as making it big," Petty told USA TODAY Sports. "It's been good for us, for the sponsors. It's put a lot of emphasis on racing. If it had been a 10-race deal, it wouldn't have been as exciting. If it had been an all-year deal, it would have been boring."

Though some of its sections were covered by sponsor banners, Homestead's 45,000-seat grandstands were announced as a sellout — the second consecutive to close the season — and the crowd included the presence of major starpower. Charlotte Hornets owner Michael Jordan attended to root for Hamlin, a longtime friend and season-ticket holder of Jordan's franchise.

"He asked for tickets," said Hamlin, who exited his No. 11 Toyota to a consoling hug from Jordan. "I told him we could handle that."

The six-time NBA champion has owned a motorcycle racing team, and Hamlin said Jordan was spreading the stock-car gospel Sunday.

"He is a huge race fan," Hamlin said. "He brought a big group with him, and he's talking about how he's converted all these people into being race fans. That's awesome that a guy like that that has accomplished so much thinks so much to come down and support his friend at a NASCAR race. I wish I could have had one (championship) ring to his six or so, but we'll have to wait another year for that."

Hamlin took his final lead by electing to stay on track under caution as most of the lead pack pitted with 15 laps remaining — leaving him on older tires and as easy prey when two more caution flags bunched the field.

"We had a car that was capable of winning," Hamlin said. "It's just that the breaks didn't quite work out for us."

A pit mistake also bit Logano, who finished 16th after his team struggled to jack his No. 22 Ford on its final stop.

Meanwhile, the luck finally worked in favor of Harvick, who led a series-high 2,137 laps this season but had several wins slip away. He zoomed from 12th to seventh on the first lap of the restart after his final pit stop. On the next restart, he jumped from sixth to first in two laps.

A final caution (and a pit stop by Jeff Gordon, who led a race-high 161 laps but ) left him beside Newman, who replaced Harvick at RCR this year, on the final restart. But a week after reaching the championship round by slamming Kyle Larson aside on the last lap at Phoenix, Newman decided the bump and run wasn't an option for his No. 31 Chevy on a restart with three laps remaining.

"If we were close enough on the last lap, it might have been a different game, but I wasn't," Newman said. "I slipped off of Turn 4 coming to the white (flag), and at that point it was pretty much over."

PHOTOS: Final 2014 Chase driver standings

Championship advice

Having taking over the RCR ride vacated by the death of seven-time champion Dale Earnhardt in 2001, Harvick, 38, has been associated with titles throughout his career — and he credited his to the advice and support of two multitime champions.

"This week ate me up," said Harvick, who spent much of it playing mind games with his rivals. "If it wasn't for Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart, I would have been in bad trouble this week. Those guys really helped me get through the week."

Johnson, the six-time series champion, is a fellow California native who slept on an adjacent couch from Harvick at truck series champion Ron Hornaday Jr.'s house after both had moved to North Carolina while trying to break into NASCAR 15 years ago. He also is a quasi-teammate as a driver for Hendrick Motorsports, which supplies engines and chassis to Stewart-Haas Racing, and he offered Harvick daily advice throughout the Homestead weekend to improve his driving.

Stewart, a three-time series champion, handled the philosophical and spiritual guidance, which culminated in a long embrace with Harvick in victory lane.

"Anybody that thinks this is just a normal week is wrong and fooling themselves," Stewart said. "The hard part is you've got to do the things that got you here in the first place and not get caught up in the moment, not get out of that rhythm that got you here. It's the longest seven days of your life when you're in this position."

The longest season of Stewart's life ended on an upbeat note despite bookending his teammate's win with a last-place finish in his No. 14 Chevrolet — ensuring his first winless year in Sprint Cup (snapping a string, dating to his 1999 rookie campaign, of 14 consecutive seasons with a victory).

After missing the final 15 races of last season with a broken right leg suffered in a sprint car crash, Stewart skipped three races after driving a sprint car that struck and killed Kevin Ward Jr. in an Aug. 9 race in Upstate New York (a grand jury cleared him of criminal charges in late September).

"I'm just glad how tonight turned out, the rest of it's history," he said. "I'm tired of talking about it to be honest at this point. I'm more excited about what this group of people has done together.

"There's a lot of things I would love to change about the last 18 months of my life, but tonight is not one of them. I'm going to enjoy this moment."

Follow Ryan on Twitter @nateryan

PHOTOS: Kevin Harvick through the years