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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., July 4 (UPI) -- Kevin Harvick navigated his way through an outbreak of accidents and wrecks early Sunday to win the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway. The points leader for NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series emerged victorious after 47 lead changes involving a record 18 drivers while the track was littered with multi-car crashes producing nine cautions.
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The most spectacular crash was triggered by Sam Hornish Jr. with 13 laps remaining and necessitated a two-lap overtime finish.
The Saturday night start of the race was delayed for 90 minutes due to rain and it finally finished in the early morning hours Sunday.
After the final caution, Harvick maneuvered around Richard Childress Racing teammate Clint Bowyer to take the top position between turns one and two.
Kasey Kahne and Jeff Gordon also passed Bowyer, and Harvick ended up beating Kahne by 0.09 seconds, posting his second win of the season and the 13th of his Sprint Cup Series career.
With the win, Harvick improved his points lead to 212 points over Gordon, who claimed second in the standings after finishing third at Daytona.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished fourth while Jeff Burton took fifth place.
