Kevin Harvick wins NASCAR Cup race at Richmond Raceway

RICHMOND, Virginia — Sixty-five losses in a row. Two wins in a row.

Kevin Harvick might be driving through an ultimate U-turn.

Harvick won Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series 400-lap race at Richmond Raceway for his second straight victory, underlining the strength of the Rodney Childers-led Ford team as the Cup playoffs approach. He finished .441 of a second in front of Christopher Bell.

After months of speculation that the veteran Harvick, 46, might miss the playoffs, now he appears to be poised to be a force in the search for a second Cup championship.

Call him Mr. August.

“It’s like I said last week (after winning at Michigan),” Harvick told NBC Sports’ Marty Snider. “The cars have been running good week in and week out. We were able to get the car handling a lot better after the first run.”

The victory was the 60th of Harvick’s Cup career but his first at Richmond since 2013. He ended a 65-race winless streak with a victory last week at Michigan International Speedway.

Harvick showed impressive power in the race’s third stage as teams tried various pit strategies. He held off all challengers, including Chris Buescher, who shadowed Harvick over the closing miles trying to score his first win of the year, and Bell.

Buescher was third, followed by Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott, Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr., Aric Almirola, Kyle Busch and Ryan Blaney.

Two races — at Watkins Glen, New York and Daytona Beach, Fla. — remain on the regular-season schedule. Blaney’s Sunday run kept him in front of Truex for the final playoff spot.

The race was generally placid for the first two stages. Ross Chastain led the entire first stage (70 laps) and 10 laps beyond. Logano took control in the second stage and totaled 139 laps led through the two