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312 laps at Phoenix International Raceway wasn't quit enough.

Instead it took overtime and mere inches to decide the winner in Sunday's Good Sam 500. 

Kevin Harvick held off a furious charge and contact from Carl Edwards in the race's waning moments. Harvick, who did not pit under the final caution, was able to get just enough contact with Edwards who had taken two tires under the caution.

Harvick had no idea about the changes for which his competitors made on the final pit stop.

"I had no idea that the cars behind me had two tires," Harvick admitted. "I never asked. I just figured I was going to be on defense regardless just for the fact that I don't even know who was third.

"Everybody wants to win a race."

The driver of the No. 4 Jimmy John's Chevrolet was not upset about the contact which second-place finisher Carl Edwards initiated. In fact, he believes it's a quintessential racing move.

"I would have done the same thing," Harvick said. "Really after the race that's exactly what we said to each other. That's really what NASCAR racing is all about. You're coming to the chcekered flag and he wants to win for his team and I want to win for my team, and there's a lot on the line. It's definitely the way that things should have been done.

"I fully expected it going into Turn 3 and would have done the same thing." 

Harvick's victory is a continuation of his recent dominance over the one-mile desert raceway. The win in which Harvick led 139 laps is the eighth victory for the Bakersfield, California native at Phoenix.

Edwards finished just ahead of his Joe Gibbs Racing counterparts Denny Hamlin and pole-sitter Kyle Busch, who finished in third and fourth place, respectively. 

Edwards, driving the No. 19 Stanley Tools Toyota, takes solace in the fact he made the hefty track favorite sweat it out in the end.

"We made him work for it," Edwards said. "That's more than we've been able to do here the last few times. Just a lot of fun. I really wish it would have worked out a little bit differently but it was a good race. I ran into him about as hard as I thought I could without wrecking him, and it ended up being a drag race.  It was kind of fun coming to the line because I thought, 'Man, I got him.' Then he doored me real hard and then he got a little run and then I tried to door him and slow him down, but it just didn't work."

Dale Earnhardt, Jr, lined up to the inside of Harvick on the race's final restart but without fresh tires on the inside his 34 laps led could only manage a fifth place finish. Kurt Busch finished in sixth followed by Matt Kenseth, rookie Chase Elliott, Austin Dillon and rookie Ryan Blaney rounding out the top-ten finishers.

Jimmie Johnson, who started the race in a backup car after a qualifying accident, recovered from he poor starting position to grab an 11th place finish.

Even after a thrilling victory, Harvick is already looking forward to next week at Auto Club Speedway because of the NASCAR rules package which has been raved about by many drivers of the preceding weeks.

"I think every driver in the garage is looking forward to racing this particular package at California," Harvick said. "You can race on the top. You can race on the bottom and I think it's going to be pretty exciting. I know all the drivers seem to be really excited about it.

"I know I'm excited about it and really looking forward to what happens because the cars are going to be out of control, which is exactly what we're looking for."

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race Number 4
Unofficial Race Results for the 12Th Annual Good Sam 500 - Sunday, March 13, 2016
Phoenix International Raceway - Avondale, AZ - 1 Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 313 Laps - 313 Miles

Leader
Fin    Str    Car    Driver    Team    Laps    Pts    Bns    Driver Rating    Status    Tms    Laps
1    18    4    Kevin Harvick    Jimmy John's Chevrolet    313    45    5    140.4    Running    2    139
2    2    19    Carl Edwards    Stanley Toyota    313    40    1    128.9    Running    3    65
3    3    11    Denny Hamlin    FedEx Freight Toyota    313    38        96.9    Running        
4    1    18    Kyle Busch    Skittles Toyota    313    38    1    120.5    Running    2    75
5    26    88    Dale Earnhardt Jr.    Axalta Chevrolet    313    37    1    117.3    Running    1    34
6    4    41    Kurt Busch    Monster Energy/Haas Automation Chevrolet    313    35        105.3    Running        
7    6    20    Matt Kenseth    Dollar General Toyota    313    34        89.6    Running        
8    17    24    Chase Elliott #    NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet    313    33        101.0    Running        
9    15    3    Austin Dillon    DOW Chevrolet    313    32        92.1    Running        
10    12    21    * Ryan Blaney #    Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford    313    31        82.5    Running        
11    5    48    Jimmie Johnson    Lowe's Pro Services Chevrolet    313    30        98.6    Running        
12    7    42    Kyle Larson    Target Chevrolet    313    29        79.3    Running        
13    14    43    Aric Almirola    Smithfield Ford    313    28        83.3    Running        
14    8    78    Martin Truex Jr.    Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Toyota    313    27        91.3    Running        
15    28    14    Ty Dillon(i)    Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet    313    0        74.0    Running        
16    11    1    Jamie McMurray    McDonald's Chevrolet    313    25        70.2    Running        
17    22    47    AJ Allmendinger    Fry's/Scott Products Chevrolet    313    24        65.4    Running        
18    9    22    Joey Logano    Pennzoil Ford    312    23        93.6    Running        
19    36    10    Danica Patrick    Nature's Bakery Chevrolet    312    22        60.3    Running        
20    23    83    Matt DiBenedetto    Schluter Systems Toyota    312    21        57.7    Running        
21    13    16    Greg Biffle    Cheez-It Ford    312    20        59.0    Running        
22    24    5    Kasey Kahne    Great Clips Chevrolet    312    19        70.4    Running        
23    21    6    Trevor Bayne    AdvoCare Ford    311    18        54.8    Running        
24    29    23    David Ragan    Dr Pepper Toyota    309    17        49.5    Running        
25    27    38    Landon Cassill    Snap Fitness Ford    308    16        47.8    Running        
26    33    95    Michael McDowell    Thrivent Financial Chevrolet    308    15        41.5    Running        
27    30    44    Brian Scott #    Albertson's Co/White Tail Ford    308    14        45.2    Running        
28    31    7    Regan Smith    APC Chevrolet    308    13        37.8    Running        
29    19    2    Brad Keselowski    Alliance Truck Parts Ford    307    12        68.9    Running        
30    32    34    Chris Buescher #    Dockside Logistics Ford    307    11        37.2    Running        
31    35    15    Clint Bowyer    5-hour Energy Chevrolet    307    10        35.3    Running        
32    39    32    Joey Gase(i)    Donate Life America Ford    305    9        29.2    Running        
33    38    46    Michael Annett    Pilot Flying J Chevrolet    303    8        30.5    Running        
34    37    30    * Josh Wise    Curtis Key Plumbing Chevrolet    303    7        28.3    Running        
35    25    13    Casey Mears    GEICO Chevrolet    268    6        43.6    Running        
36    34    98    * Cole Whitt     Chevrolet    236    5        33.7    Overheating        
37    10    17    Ricky Stenhouse Jr.    Fastenal Ford    161    4        54.8    Accident        
38    16    27    Paul Menard    Richmond/Menards Chevrolet    104    3        45.8    Accident        
39    20    31    Ryan Newman    Grainger Chevrolet    51    2        37.2    Accident        
 Race Comments:    Kevin Harvick won the Good Sam 500 at Phoenix International Raceway, his 32nd career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory. Prior to the start  of the race, the following cars dropped to the rear of the field: No. 5 (engine change); Nos. 46 and 48 (Backup car). 
 Failed to Qualify:    N/A
 Time of Race:    2 Hrs, 45 Mins, 53 Secs.    Average Speed:    113.212 MPH    Margin of Victory:    0.010 Seconds
 Caution Flags:    5 for 30 laps: Laps: 53-59 (#31 Accident Turn 3 [6]); 107-112 (#27 Accident Turn 3 [16]); 164-168 (#17 Accident Turn 1 [83]); 227-234 (Debris [83]); 308-311 (#5 Accident Turn 3 [47]).
 Lead Changes:    7 among 4 drivers: Kyle Busch 1-74; D. Earnhardt Jr. 75-108; C. Edwards 109-163; Kyle Busch 164; C. Edwards 165-168; K. Harvick 169-228; C. Edwards 229-234; K. Harvick 235-313.
Chase Grid Outlook:     1.K. Harvick 154 (1 wins);2.J. Johnson 140 (1);3.D. Hamlin 131 (1);4.B. Keselowski 110 (1);5.Kyle Busch 154 (0);6.Kurt Busch 137 (0);7.C. Edwards 136 (0);8.J. Logano 127 (0);9.A. Dillon 122 (0);10.M. Truex Jr. 117 (0);11.D. Earnhardt Jr. 115 (0);12.*. Blaney # 104 (0);13.A. Almirola 100 (0);14.K. Kahne 96 (0);15.J. Mcmurray 94 (0);16.M. Kenseth 90 (0).
American Ethanol Green Flag Restart Award    : Kyle Busch, #18     Coors Light Pole Award    : Kyle Busch, #18 138.387 mph
Duralast Brakes "Brake in the Race"    : Kyle Busch, #18     Ingersoll Rand Power Move    : Kyle Larson, #42 6 positions
Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race    : Hendrick Engines, #4     Mobil 1 Driver of the Race    : Kevin Harvick, #4 
Moog Chassis Parts Problem Solver of the Race    : Kevin Harvick, #4 crew chief Rodney Childers, 0.022 seconds    Sherwin-Williams Fastest Lap    : Kyle Busch, #18 
Sunoco Rookie of the Race    : Chase Elliott, #24 
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
Next Race:    Mar. 20, 2016 - Auto Club Speedway
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