Harvick wins in Canada -- but Robby Gordon also claims victory

MONTREAL -- Marcos Ambrose should have won the race. Robby Gordon insists he did.

In the end, it was Kevin Harvick who celebrated the victory in Saturday's inaugural Busch Series race in Canada.

It was a controversial finish that thrilled the crowd, infuriated NASCAR and probably jeopardized Gordon's participation in Sunday's Nextel Cup race at Pocono Raceway.

Gordon refused to forfeit his position on the track when ordered to by NASCAR late in Saturday's race, officials said he intentionally knocked Ambrose out of the race, and then refused to pull off the track as ordered.

He also celebrated as if he had won the event -- behavior that is expected to earn him a suspension before Sunday's event at Pocono.

"We are still determining what will happen at Pocono," said Steve O'Donnell, vice president of NASCAR's racing operations. "It's too early, it's something we're still discussing."

The finish capped a wild final few laps that heated up when Gordon began charging through the field to the front, where Ambrose seemed to be heading to his first NASCAR victory. Gordon was second on a restart with four laps to go, and a multi-car accident brought out a caution.

There's no stopping Kevin Harvick from celebrating his fourth Busch Series win of the year. (AP)

Gordon passed Ambrose at the same time as the accident to take the lead, but Ambrose spun him to reclaim it seconds later. Gordon was idling sideways as the field roared by him on the historic Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, but he raced back to the front under yellow and gave Ambrose a retaliatory bump.

He then tried to move into the lead because he thought he was in first -- or at worst, second -- when the caution came out.

NASCAR instead ruled he was 13th, based on where Gordon was when he righted his car following the spin from Ambrose. He vehemently refused to move back into the field, and NASCAR warned him they would not score him if he didn't forfeit his position.

When the race resumed with three laps to go, Gordon was still holding second place but immediately spun Ambrose to take the lead. NASCAR then ordered him off the track.

He refused that order, too, and led the field around the course for the final three laps.

But NASCAR refused to acknowledge him, and waved the black flag at him every time he crossed the line. The results show he finished 18th -- based on the amount of laps he completed before he was disqualified -- but Gordon celebrated as if he won the race by doing victory burnouts at the same time Harvick did.