Harvick Grabs 100th Career NASCAR Cup Series Top-10 at Texas
Solid pit stops from the Shell-Pennzoil racing team offset the effects of an ill-handling race car as Kevin Harvick grabbed his 100th career NASCAR Cup Series top-10 finish in the Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.
The solid effort still dropped Kevin Harvick one spot, to eighth, in the NASCAR Cup Series championship point standings. The Bakersfield, Calif., native trails leader Jimmie Johnson by 439 markers and is only 82 points behind Carl Edward’s fifth-place tally.
In time trails Friday, Kevin Harvick lapped the 1.5-mile quad-oval in 28.090 seconds (192.239 mph). The 11-time NASCAR Cup Series winner posted the fourth-fastest qualifying time, lining up the No. 29 machine on the outside of row nine for Sunday’s 334-lap event.
Shortly after the drop of the green flag, Kevin Harvick reported a loose-handling condition and struggled to gain positions as he battled the No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevy.
The first caution flag of the day waved on lap 14 and provided a much needed opportunity to make adjustments to the Shell-Pennzoil Chevy. Kevin Harvick peeled off the racing surface in the 10th position and the crew went to work changing four fresh Goodyear tires, fuel and a round of air pressure adjustments. Since some teams only took two tires during this round of pit stops, Kevin Harvick restarted in the 12th spot on lap 18.
On lap 35, the fourth caution flag flew over the speedway and Kevin Harvick, along with Jeff Gordon and Juan Pablo Montoya, decided to stay on the racing surface for valuable track position while all the other lead lap cars hit pit road for service. “Happy” Kevin Harvick inherited the third position for the restart on lap 38.
While the handling on the Shell-Pennzoil Chevy didn’t feel much better to the 2006 NASCAR Busch Series champion, he was able to run in the top four when he hit pit road for a scheduled green-flag pit stop on lap 74. Crew chief Todd Berrier called for four fresh Goodyear tires, including another round of air pressure adjustments and Kevin Harvick was back on the racing surface in the 36th position. However, once the field cycled through the green flag stops Kevin Harvick was listed in the third spot on lap 93.
Despite battling his bright yellow and red machine, Kevin Harvick was able to maintain a top 10 position when the sixth caution flag was shown on lap 118.
Berrier summoned Kevin Harvick down pit road and the crew made quick work changing four tires and fuel. A lightning-fast stop notched the team two spots. Kevin Harvick was sixth when the green flag waved on lap 123.
Despite all the changes, Kevin Harvick continued to struggle with the handling on the Shell-Pennzoil Chevy. While he was able to stay in the top 10, the track’s conditions began to change and the handling on the No. 29 machine swapped characteristics.
Another round of green-flag stops began on lap 180 and Kevin Harvick would hit pit road 10 laps later for service. The over-the-wall crew changed four tires, added fuel and made another round of major air pressure adjustments to ease the tight-handling conditions. The 2007 NASCAR All-Star Challenge winner was listed in the 11th position when the field cycled through the green flag stops.
On lap 218, Kevin Harvick nearly got collected in a multi-car incident in turn two. Despite missing the incident, Harvick still suffered slight front-end damage and was forced to hit pit road several times during the caution period to fix the damage. He restarted in the 13th spot on lap 224.
Over the next 48 laps, Harvick continued to battle with an ill-handling machine but was able to slowly work his way up the leaderboard. He was listed in ninth when another caution flag waved on lap 272. Berrier kept Harvick on the same pit sequence as the frontrunners and called him to pit road one lap later. Another lightening-fast pit stop by the over-the-wall crew netted Harvick four spots on pit road for the restart on lap 277.
As the race wound down, the 11-time NASCAR Cup Series winner was still struggling with an ill-handling machine and lost five positions when the field crossed the finish line for the final time. Harvick finished the 500-mile event 10th.
Johnson won the race followed by Matt Kenseth, Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch and Ryan Newman. Kevin Harvick’s Richard Childress Racing teammates Jeff Burton and Clint Bowyer finish sixth and 19th, respectively.
Next weekend, Kevin Harvick and the Shell-Pennzoil Racing team travel to Phoenix International Raceway for round nine in the Chase for the NASCAR Cup.
Live coverage of the Checkers Auto Parts 500 presented by Pennzoil from Phoenix International Raceway begins Sunday, November 11 at 3 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST). The event will also be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network (MRN) and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the 35th of 36 points-paying races will take the green-flag on Friday, November 9 at 5:30 p.m. EST and will be telecast live on ESPN2. MRN and Sirius Satellite Radio will also provide live qualifying updates.
KEVIN HARVICK QUOTE:
"Our pit stops were awesome today. We finished in the top 10 because of the pit stops and great calls by Todd (Berrier). Our Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet wasn’t great today. We just couldn’t find the right balance. It was either way too tight or way too loose.”
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