NAPA Auto Parts 200 presented by Dodge - Circuit Gilles Villeneuve

Harvick Takes Controversial Busch Series Win in Canada
One race. One controversy. NASCAR's first foray into Canada produced a melee in Turn 1 on a restart with four laps to go and a scoring decision that turned the NAPA Auto Parts 200 NASCAR Busch Series race inside out. For the record, Kevin Harvick took the checkered flag Saturday in front of a packed house at the vaunted Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, holding off local Quebec favorite Patrick Carpentier by .338 seconds in a green-white-checkered finish to win the first NASCAR event on Canadian soil. Harvick started the race from the rear of the field because he missed qualifying the No. 21 car while tending to his Nextel Cup duties at Pocono Raceway in Pennsylvania. Harvick took the checkered flag because NASCAR refused to display it to Robby Gordon in an ending reminiscent of Davey Allison's controversial victory over Ricky Rudd at Infineon Raceway in 1991. As Rudd had 16 years ago, Gordon crossed the finish line first, but was not declared the race winner because he failed to drop back in the running order for the final restart, according to NASCAR's instructions. In full view of NASCAR's top brass -- including chairman and CEO Brian France and president Mike Helton -- Gordon matched Harvick with a burnout of his own on the frontstretch. "You always go back to your position, if you get spun out," an embittered Gordon said after the race. "Marcos (Ambrose) spun me under the (final) caution. They told me originally, 'Go back to second place.' Halfway around the last lap, they told me to go back to 13th place, 14th place, something like that. I was never running 13th or 14th, so I don't know what to say. I completed the most laps; I was the first car to complete 'em -- I won the race. You guys can say I got into the back of (Ambrose) over here. He got into the back of me over there. It's just a huge disappointment." NASCAR doubtless won't take Gordon's actions lightly. Among the penalties facing the driver of the No. 55 Ford is a probable suspension from Sunday's Pennsylvania 500 Nextel Cup race at Pocono. Gordon took the lead by getting into Ambrose after a restart on Lap 71, while a multicar pileup in Turn 1 brought out the final caution of the race. With the yellow flag waving in Turn 4, Ambrose spun Gordon, who was unable to hold his position in the running order. Accordingly, NASCAR instructed Gordon to fall back behind Ron Fellows, who was running 12th at the time. Gordon refused and took the green flag on the Lap 74 restart behind Ambrose, who held the lead at the time. Gordon punted Ambrose moments after the restart and pulled away from the Harvick-Carpentier battle to cross the finish line first -- to no avail. NASCAR scored him one lap down in 18th place at the finish. Max Papis was credited with a third-place finish, followed by Fellows, Stephen Leicht, Kyle Krisiloff and Ambrose. Brad Coleman, David Reutimann and Jeff Burton completed the top 10. "The last four or five laps were pretty wild," said Harvick, who won his fourth Busch race of the season in 16 starts and the 30th of his career. "There was a lot of pushing and shoving and everybody running into each other -- a lot like short-track racing." Harvick thought Gordon should have complied with NASCAR's instructions to fall back in the running order. "We've all been in that situation," he said. "At that point, you might as well just give up, because you're not going to win the fight. If you don't maintain the pace of the caution car, you go back to where you fell in."

NAPA Auto Parts 200 Notes
· Race Results · Ford Post-Race Quotes · Toyota Post-Race Quotes · Point Standings · Starting Lineup · Final Practice · Ford Final Practice Quotes · Practice 3 · Ford Friday Quotes · Qualifying Grouping · Practice 2 · Ford Practice 2 Quotes · Practice 1 · Ford Practice 1 Quotes · Ford Thursday Quotes · Entry List · Weekend Schedule	· Carl Edwards Notes · Jason Leffler Notes · David Ragan Notes · Kevin Harvick Notes · Greg Biffle Notes · Jeff Burton Notes · Todd Kluever Notes · Brad Coleman Notes · Ron Hornaday Notes · Boris Said Notes · Alex Garcia Notes · John Graham Notes · Michel Jourdain Jr. Notes · Ron Fellows Notes · Andy Pilgrim Notes · Patrick Carpentier Notes · Raybestos Rookie Notes

Canadian Patrick Carpentier Captures Busch Pole
Patrick Carpentier won the inaugural Busch Pole for the NAPA Auto Parts 200, lapping the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in 102.086 seconds at 95.531 mph. This is Carpentier’s first Busch Pole in his first career NASCAR Busch Series race. Max Papis posted the second-fastest lap at 102.148 seconds, 95.473 mph and will join Carpentier on the front row. Papis will be starting his third career NASCAR Busch Series race. He competed at Watkins Glen, where he started second, and Texas in 2006. Ron Fellows (third) posted his second top-10 start in as many races this season. It is his 11th NASCAR Busch Series race. Fellows has two Busch Poles and three victories in his previous series races. Ron Hornaday (fourth) and Marcos Ambrose (fifth) rounded out the top five. Ambrose was the fastest qualifying NASCAR Busch Series regular and was also the fastest rookie.