Kevin
Harvick was forced to bring his Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet to the
garage mid-way through the Dodge Challenger 500 at Darlington
Raceway after hard contact with the outside retaining wall. Despite
the heavy damage, the No. 29 crew was able to get Harvick back on
the racetrack and grabbed two positions in the running order and
gained six valuable championship points.
Additionally, the hard work by the Shell-Pennzoil crew allowed
Harvick to extend his streak of races without a Did Not Finish (DNF)
to 55 consecutive races, the longest active streak in the NASCAR
Sprint Cup Series. The 32-year-old driver holds the modern era
record with 58 consecutive races without a DNF (10/3/02- 8/1/04).
Despite the unfavorable result, the No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil team
remains in the top 10 in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship
point standings just one marker out of eighth and 94 markers out of
the top five.
Harvick lapped the 1.336-newly repaved oval in 27.668 seconds
(177.736 mph) during Friday afternoon’s qualifying session to line
up 11th for the 500-mile event.
The 2007 Daytona 500 winner’s Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet was strong in
the early goings of the 367-lap event, having worked his way into
fourth by lap 73.
Unfortunately, on lap 147, Harvick lost control of his bright yellow
and red machine and slapped the wall. The damage to the right side
of Harvick’s No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil machine sent the 11-time NASCAR
Sprint Cup Series winner to the garage area for extensive repairs.
After spending 100 laps on jack stands, Harvick returned to the
track to finish out the race and earn as many points as the night
would allow.
Fortunately, as a result of attrition and never quit work ethic,
Harvick and his Todd Berrier- led crew grabbed two positions in the
running order and crossed the finish line 39th.
Kyle Busch won his third race of the young 2008 season. Carl
Edwards, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and David Ragan rounded out
the top five.
Harvick’s Richard Childress Racing teammates Jeff Burton and Clint
Bowyer finished 10th and 15th, respectively.
On Thursday, the Shell-Pennzoil over-the-wall crew will participate
in the fourth annual Pit Crew Challenge. The event will be held at
the Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, N.C., and will begin at 7
p.m.
Next up for Harvick and the No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil team is the NASCAR
Sprint All-Star Challenge from Lowe’s Motor Speedway. The event will
be telecast live on SPEED, Saturday, May 17 beginning at 7 p.m.
Eastern Daylight Time and broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network
and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the All-Star race will be
televised live on SPEED Friday, at 5 p.m. EDT and broadcast on PRN
and Sirius Satellite Radio.
KEVIN HARVICK - NO. 29 SHELL-PENNZOIL CHEVROLET IMPALA SS: "I
hate it for the Shell-Pennzoil team. It was my fault when I hit the
wall. The guys did a great job in the garage and worked hard for me
to get back on the track and, because of that, we were able to pick
up a few positions."
Dodge Challenger 500
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Harvick’s DNF Record Remains Intact Despite Hard Contact with
Wall at Darlington
