The “never give up” attitude allowed Harvick & Company to move up to the seventh spot in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings, just 26 markers out of sixth and 67 points behind leader Kyle Busch.

On Friday, practice and qualifying were cancelled due to rain in the area, forcing NASCAR to set the field by owner’s points from the 2006 season, placing Harvick 10th on the starting grid.

At the drop of the green flag, after a two hour rain delay, the 2007 Daytona 500 winner rocketed his way to the third spot by lap 11. However, debris on the No. 29 Chevy’s front grill caused an overheating problem that forced Harvick down pit road three laps later under green-flag conditions. A caution flag flew as Harvick entered pit road, but crew chief Todd Berrier summoned his driver to get four tires and remove the debris.

Unfortunately, pit road was closed and Harvick was forced to drop to the tail end of the longest line, placing him in the 42nd spot for the restart on lap 18.

Two laps later, a multi-car incident in turn two brought out the second caution of the afternoon. Berrier summoned Harvick to pit road for further service, which included fuel and four fresh Goodyear tires. A lightning-fast pit stop by the No. 29 over-the-wall crew netted Harvick six spots on pit road and he restarted the race 30th on lap 25.

“Happy” Harvick returned his focus to the front of the field. He was 28th by lap 28, 18th by lap 34 and 17th when the caution flag waved for rain on lap 39. He called in to Berrier that the car was a touch tight exiting the turns. The Shell-Pennzoil crew chief summoned his driver to pit road two laps later for fuel, four tires and a chassis adjustment to help ease his driver’s tight-handling condition. Back under green on lap 47, now 15th, Harvick began a charge toward the front.

He was 14th on lap 59, 13th on lap 60 and 12th on lap 62 when the caution flag flew for water seeping up out of the race track. The 32-year-old driver did not pit and restarted the race in the 11th spot on lap 64. Another caution flag flew on lap 70, and Berrier opted to make a two-tire pit stop two laps later. Unfortunately, the two-tire stop did not work for the Shell-Pennzoil team and Harvick slid back to the 17th spot before the 43-car field was given the red flag for rain.

Rain continued at Auto Club Speedway, forcing NASCAR to delay the race until Monday morning. The 43-car finally took the green flag just past 10 a.m. with Harvick in the 16th spot.

The Shell-Pennzoil Chevy ran between 17th and 15th over the next 32 laps when scheduled green-flag pit stops began. Harvick made the hard left-hand turn down pit road one lap later. A chassis adjustment was in order to help tighten up the handling. The adjustments proved to be exactly what Harvick needed and he began a slow but steady march up the running order. He was 14th on lap 125 and 13th when the caution flag flew on lap 134. The 2006 Nationwide Series champion hit pit road for another round of adjustments and restarted the race in the 14th position on lap 138.

Once again, the adjustments seemed to help the handling on the No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet and over the course of two more pit stops, two cautions and 33 laps, Harvick advised Berrier his car was still a little too loose exiting the corners.

At the same time, the 11-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver was able to continue his march toward the front of the field and was scored as high as second just before he hit pit road for a scheduled green-flag pit stop on lap 210. The No. 29 team changed four tires, added fuel and made a slight chassis adjustment, sending the 32-year-old driver back on the track in the ninth spot.

The 2007 NASCAR All-Star Challenge winner was able to grab the eight spot from Tony Stewart before the 11th caution flag flew on lap 219. A routine four-tire pit stop was in order for the No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevy. However, some teams opted to only take two tires and Harvick lost a few positions on the race track and restarted in the ninth spot.

In the closing 26 laps, Harvick was able to work his way to the sixth spot. However, a loose-handling condition returned and the Shell-Pennzoil driver was forced to relinquish two positions before crossing the finish line eighth.

Carl Edwards won the event followed by Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth.

Harvick’s Richard Childress Racing teammates Jeff Burton and Clint Bowyer finished 12th and 19th, respectively.

Next week, Harvick and the Shell-Pennzoil team will head to Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the running of the UAW-Dodge 400. Live coverage of the event will be televised on FOX Sunday, Mar. 2 beginning at 3:30 Eastern Standard Time (EST). The race will also broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network (PRN) and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the third of 36 NASCAR Cup Series races will be televised live on SPEED Friday, February 29 beginning at 6:40 p.m. EST.