RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- Kevin Harvick was the driver to beat, even Dale Earnhardt Jr. knew that.
But when Harvick made his only mistake of the entire weekend, Earnhardt pounced. It put him back into Victory Lane for the first time this season, and proved that his team has truly turned around after struggling through all of last year.
"For 80 percent of that race, Kevin Harvick had the best car," Earnhardt said after winning the Crown Royal 400 at Richmond International Raceway on Saturday night.
"I made a charge on him, but I sort of conceded the win to him and was just going to race for second."
Harvick, who led 272 of the 400 laps, was racing for his second weekend sweep of the season. He won the Busch Series race on Friday night, just hours after announcing he had signed a three-year extension with Richard Childress Racing.
But one bad pit call ruined it.
Harvick decided not to stop during the eighth caution of the race, while Earnhardt and the other contenders all ducked in for fresh tires. The ramifications were obvious less than 40 laps later when several cars were right on Harvick's bumper.
Denny Hamlin, Earnhardt and Kyle Busch all blew past him, and Harvick never led again.
Busch was out front after taking the lead following another round of pit stops, but he couldn't hold off Earnhardt and Hamlin, who both raced their way past him with 44 laps to go.
Earnhardt then held off Hamlin for several more restarts to snap his 27-race winless streak. Coming off the worst season of his career, this victory proves just how far his team has come since missing out on the Chase for the championship last year.
"I think we are there," he said. "We keep taking our shots, but we're pretty competitive and I'm real proud of the team I got," he said. "Everything is working really great. I couldn't ask for any position on this team to be any better.
"I'm just glad to be back in Victory Lane. It feels really great."
Long overdue for a win, he celebrated his 17th career Nextel Cup victory and third at Richmond with perfect doughnuts along the frontstetch, spinning his No. 8 Chevrolet until it was engulfed in thick, white smoke and his tire had exploded.
Earnhardt won last July in Chicago -- his only victory of 2005 -- but backed into the win because of fuel strategy. It was the lone highlight in a season of turmoil: He finished 19th in the final standings and was never a contender.
But he has reunited with crew chief Tony Eury Jr. this season, and the two had made quiet strides with a handful of solid finishes this season.
Now he's got a win, and it moved him up two spots in the standings to sixth. He trails leader Jimmie Johnson by 216 points.
"We're having fun and we're finally winning some races," Earnhardt said. "This is a great deal for our team."
Hamlin, driving with his hand heavily bandaged after he needed 19 stitches to close a gash he received "horseplaying" with his crew, finished second. Although he won the season-opening exhibition race in Daytona, the Chesterfield, Va., native cherished this finish in front of a hometown crowd more.
"This is by far the biggest race of my career," he gushed. "It's awesome, I can't tell you how I feel. I'm going to ride this wave for months."
Earnhardt admitted he wanted Hamlin, one of his closer friends in the Nextel Cup Series, to win.
"A little part of me wanted to see him get the win," Earnhardt said. "He's a great driver and he's going to win a lot of races."
Harvick was extremely disappointed with his third-place finish.
"Just got tight," he shrugged.
Greg Biffle, plagued with bad luck all season, finished a season-best fourth.
"I'm so excited -- I'm going to celebrate like it's a victory," Biffle said. "I tell you what -- it's like I won even though I didn't get the trophy."
Busch, who turned 21 earlier this week, was fifth and defending series champion Tony Stewart was sixth. Carl Edwards, Ryan Newman, Sterling Marlin and Clint Bowyer rounded out the top 10.
Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon, both in the top 10 in the standings, had their races ruined by mechanical failures.
Kenseth went out before the first 100 laps when his oil tank broke and he spent considerable time in the garage getting it fixed. He was almost 50 laps off the pace when he returned to the track, and nursed his Ford home to a 39th-place finish. He's third in the standings after starting the race only 21 points behind leader Jimmie Johnson.
Gordon's troubles were in his engine and came shortly after the halfway point. Gordon, who was in 13th place when his engine sputtered, needed extensive work and wound up finishing 40th.