Harvick wins NASCAR Ford City 500

BRISTOL, Tenn., April 3 (UPI) -- Kevin Harvick won the Food City 500 Nextel Cup Sunday by finishing 4.652 seconds ahead of Elliott Sadler.

Elliott Sadler and Rusty Wallace were the early leaders but a series of accidents cut down the field.

At the mid-point (250 of 500 laps) Wallace was still leading with Matt Kenseth and Kevin Harvick close behind.

Wallace and Jeff Gordon dropped off the pace because of mishaps by the 300-lap mark.

With 30 laps to go Harvick expanded his lead to 3.024 seconds.

Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Dale Jarrett completed the top-five.

The next Nextel race is scheduled for next Sunday at the Martinsville (Va.) Speedway.