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Kevin Harvick wins at New Hampshire after last-lap battle with Denny Hamlin

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Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin combine for a thrilling last three laps, but Harvick takes the checkered flag to earn his first NASCAR Cup Series win of the season.

Kevin Harvick survived a last-lap battle with Denny Hamlin to win Sunday’s Cup race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, delivering Stewart-Haas Racing’s first Cup victory of the season.

The two drivers made contact multiple times over the last lap before Harvick pulled away coming to the checkered flag.

Hamlin delivered a shot to Harvick’s rear bumper in Turn 1, sending Harvick up the track and allowing Hamlin to drive underneath him. After a drag race down the backstretch, Harvick pulled ahead and Hamlin went to Harvick’s outside as they entered Turn 3.

Harvick moved up the track as they exited Turn 4 and Hamlin banged Harvick’s right-rear fender before Harvick raced to the finish line.

"(Hamlin) got to me, he tried to move me out of the way down there, and I knew that was coming as close as he was,” Harvick told NBCSN. “So I just stood on the brakes and I’m like half throttle down the back straightaway. I’m like, ‘You’re not getting under me again.’ And he drove to the outside of me and I just waited till he got near me and I just put a wheel on him.”

Hamlin finished second after he led 113 laps, all of them in the final stage. Hamlin started the race from the rear in a backup car after he crashed in practice on Friday.

“I kind of shoved (Harvick) up a little higher and tried to get him out of the groove,” Hamlin told NBCSN. “I wanted to just tap him there, but I didn’t want to completely screw him. I at least wanted to give him a fair shot there. Down the backstretch, I kind of let off, and I’m like, all right, well, I’ll just pass him on the outside and kind of do this thing the right way, and once I had that big run, he just turned right. But I would do the same thing. It was a fun race, and congratulations to him and his team. They made a great call there at the end.”

The top five was completed by Erik Jones, Ryan Blaney and Matt DiBenedetto.

Harvick’s win ends a 21-race winless streak for the No. 4 team, which last won at Texas Motor Speedway in November.

Harvick led the final 35 laps on older tires after Hamlin and other leaders stopped under a caution. The win is Harvick’s second in a row on the 1-mile track.

STAGE 1 WINNER: Kyle Busch

STAGE 2 WINNER: Aric Almirola

More: Results and points

WHO HAD A GOOD RACE: Matt DiBenedetto earned his second career top five. Both have come in the last five races ... Ryan Newman finished seventh after he started from the rear in a backup car and experienced engine issues mid-race. He’s had a top 10 in five of the last six races ... Erik Jones placed third for the second race in a row.

WHO HAD A BAD A RACE: Richard Childress Racing has nothing good to write home about. Austin Dillon placed 32nd after he experienced two tire failures and hit the wall as a result of the first. Daniel Hemric was eliminated in a Stage 2 wreck after he was turned by contact from Daniel Suarez … Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was eliminated after a hard crash with 14 laps left in Stage 2 …. Kyle Larson finished 33rd after he was in two accidents. He spun from contact with Alex Bowman and backed into the wall on a Lap 218 restart. He then lost his right-rear tire and wrecked with 37 laps to go in the race

NOTABLE: Kevin Harvick’s four New Hampshire wins ties him with NASCAR on NBC analyst Jeff Burton for the most all-time ... Jimmie Johnson finished 30th after he experienced mechanical issues during the race. It’s his second consecutive finish in 30th and he fell out of a playoff spot. He is 17th in the standings, 17 points behind Clint Bowyer, who holds that final playoff spot.

WHAT’S NEXT: Gander RV 400 at Pocono Raceway at 3 p.m. ET on July 28 on NBCSN