Kevin Harvick’s Pit Mishap Cost Him the Race
Kevin Harvick and the No. 29 Reese's Racing Team led four times for 105 laps during yesterday's rain-delayed Crown Royal presents the Jim Stewart 400 at Richmond International Raceway, and a mishap on pit road may have cost him a chance at his second NASCAR NEXTEL Cup victory here.
With 148 laps to go, Kevin Harvick hit pit road under caution for a routine four-tire pit stop. Moments later, he was exiting his pit stall as David Ragan was entering his a few spots ahead when the two made contact. The No. 29 Reese's Chevrolet received heavy right-front fender damage and Kevin Harvick was forced to bring the No. 29 machine down pit road several times during the caution period to fix it. The 11-time NASCAR NEXTEL Cup winner restarted in the 17th position, the final car on the lead lap.
Kevin Harvick was able to rally back for a seventh-place finish which moved him up one spot, to eighth, in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings.
The No. 29 Reese's Chevrolet was the 28th car to roll off during Friday evening's qualifying session, running a lap of 21.732 seconds (124.241 mph), which was good enough for the 27th spot on the starting grid for the 400-lap event.
When the green flag waved on Sunday in front of an estimated 100,000 race fans, Kevin Harvick roared through the field and began biding his time in search of his second win at the .75-mile raceway.
The 31-year-old driver was 23rd on lap 15, 20th on lap 29 and was 17th when the day's second caution period waved on lap 40. Kevin Harvick informed crew chief Todd Berrier that the car was a little tight in the center of the turns and was in need of some forward bite off the corners.
The 2006 NASCAR Busch Series Champion hit pit road for a routine stop that included a minor air pressure adjustment. Quick work by the No. 29 crew allowed Kevin Harvick to gain five spot, to 12th, for the restart on lap 46.
Kevin Harvick continued to show he had the dominate car as he moved through the field. He moved into the top 10 on lap 51 and was in the top five just 39 laps later. The fourth caution period of the day came on lap 103 for a spin on the frontstretch.
Kevin Harvick pitted during the ensuing caution period for tires, fuel and a minor air pressure adjustment. Another great stop by the Reese's pit crew allowed Kevin Harvick to gain two more position on pit road. Kevin Harvick restarted in the third spot.
“Happy” finally took over the lead on lap 130 and remained in the top spot until he hit pit road on lap 206 for a routine green-flag stop. He received four fresh Goodyears, fuel and another minor air pressure adjustment and was back in the lead once the entire field had cycled through their stops.
Kevin Harvick remained the leader until the mishap on pit road on lap 252. Before then, he had the only car that could challenge the Hendrick Motorsports teams but the right-front fender damage took him out of contention, as well.
Jimmy Johnson won his third race of the season followed by Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Jeff Gordon and Kurt Busch.
Said Kevin Harvick: “I really don't know what happened on pit road. Maybe I should have seen him and Todd (Berrier) should have seen him. It's just one of those things where it happened all at once. It was unfortunate but the Reese's Chevrolet was strong.
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