A caution flag with 85 to go for a slowing Clint Bowyer would set up the final pit stops of the day, leading Denny Hamlin to gamble on two tires in an effort for the race win. It would work initially on the restart with 77 to go, but Harvick ran Hamlin down six laps later and passed him to top the field for good.

From there, not even a red flag with 67 to go for one more rain shower could derail Harvick. He led a race-ending 51 lap stint to the checkered flag, beating eventual runner-up Ricky Stenhouse Jr. by 1.9 seconds. 

“It was frustrating,” Stenhouse said of not being able to challenge for the win late. “Starting sixth on that last restart with him (Harvick) starting on the front row was tough. I knew we were going to have to hit everything perfect and took me a minute (too long) to get the top going.”

Stenhouse, who bore a replica of the late Bryan Clauson’s 2008 XFINITY paint scheme on his car Sunday, said he worked hard to come out with a positive result at the end of the day.

“I wanted to give up when we went two (laps) down. But I remembered we had Bryan Clauson’s tribute car here and his favorite helmet. I dug deep and the guys dug deep and made a lot of changes to make our Fastenal Ford a lot better. We really wanted to park it in Victory Lane for his whole family and all his friends and fans.”

Hamlin who suffered a speeding penalty early in the race and was two laps down at one point, rallied back and hung on to finish third.

Austin Dillon was fourth after winning Friday’s XFINITY race and Chris Buescher completed the top five, moving into the top 30 in points and onto the provisional Chase Grid as a result by virtue of his win at Pocono.

Polesitter Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson, Jamie McMurray, A.J. Allmendinger and two-time defending race winner Logano were the rest of the top 10.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series returns to action on Aug. 28 at Michigan International Speedway.