Kevin Harvick and the No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet team overcame a 17th-place starting spot to earn a series career-best fourth-place finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series UAW-Dodge 500. The solid finish allowed Harvick & Company to move up to fifth in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings, just 16 markers out of fourth and 63 points behind leader Kyle Busch. The 11-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race winner laid down the 17th-fastest time of Friday’s qualifying session, touring the 1.5-mile D-Shaped oval in 29.960 seconds (180.240 mph). When the green flag waved on a crisp afternoon under a sun-drenched sky, Harvick was quick to flex his muscles, gaining five positions, to move into 12th by the time the first yellow flag waved on lap eight. The 32-year-old driver informed crew chief Todd Berrier that the Shell-Pennzoil Chevy was just slightly free in turns three and four. Berrier opted to have his driver stay on the race track while several other teams hit pit road for service. “Happy” restarted the race 10th on lap 12. Harvick continued his charge through the field. He was eighth by lap 13, seventh by lap 50 and sixth when green-flag pit stops began on lap 51. Harvick made the hard left hand turn down pit road on lap 52 for a routing four-tire pit stop which included air pressure and chassis adjustments. A lightening-fast pit stop by the over-the-wall crew allowed Harvick to pick up valuable ground on the leaders and was listed in the fifth spot when the field cycled through the green-flag pit stops. Caution for debris on lap 68 slowed the field for the second time of the day. Berrier summoned Harvick to pit road two laps later for four scuffed Goodyear tires, fuel and a round of chassis adjustments. Unfortunately, a handful of cars chose not to pit and left Harvick 10th in the running order when the field returned to green on lap 75. Over the next 33 laps, Harvick lost several positions due to an extremely loose-handling race car. While Harvick was running in the 12th spot, Tony Stewart made hard contact with the outside retaining wall brining out the day’s third caution period. Berrier called his driver to pit road two laps later for four scuffed tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment to the right-rear tire. Another stellar pit stop by the over-the-wall crew netted Harvick three spots on pit road. Harvick maintained his position in the top 10 throughout the middle stages of the race, running as high as second and as low as ninth. The 2007 Daytona 500 winner also visited pit road three separate times to help improve the bright yellow and red machine. The Shell-Pennzoil team continued to fire on all eight cylinders as the race wound down and as well as the car was running on the racetrack, the pit crew was equally strong. Harvick was sixth when he pitted under yellow flag cautions on lap 215 but following their seventh stop of the afternoon, he was fifth. By now, the No. 29 gang netted their driver six spots on pit road and afforded him great track position for a run at the checkered flag. During the closing laps, the racing began to heat up as the leaders began to battle for position. On lap 264, Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon got into each other. Gordon slammed into the inside wall and scattered debris all over the track, forcing NASCAR to display an 18-minute red flag for clean-up. When the engines re-fired, Harvick had three laps to compete for the win. He was able to get close to the leaders but was never able to mount a charge. Harvick crossed the finish line fourth. Carl Edwards won his second consecutive race followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr., Biffle, Harvick and Harvick’s Richard Childress Racing (RCR) teammate Jeff Burton. Harvick’s other RCR teammate Clint Bowyer finished 28th Next weekend, Harvick and the Shell-Pennzoil team heads toward the Peach State for the Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Live coverage of the event will be televised on FOX Sunday, March 9 beginning at 1:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The race will also be covered live on the Performance Racing Network (PRN) and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the fourth of 36 races on the NASCAR Cup Series tour will be televised live on SPEED Friday, March 7 beginning at 6:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.
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