Harvick, Shell-Pennzoil Racing Rally For 12th-Place Finish At
Martinsville
Race/Date: Goody’s
Cool Orange 500/March 30, 2008
Location: Martinsville (Va.) Speedway
Start Position: 11th
Finish Position: 12th
Points Position: Second (Gained one position)
 Kevin Harvick and the No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil team continue to prove they are a
championship-caliber team by making the most out of an ill-handling race car
and bringing home a 12th-place finish in the Goody’s Cool Orange 500 at
Martinsville Speedway.
The 12th-place effort was Harvick and company’s sixth consecutive top-15
performance. The hard-fought finish moved the Bakersfield, Calif., native up
one spot, to second, in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship point
standings. With teammate Jeff Burton in the points lead, it marks the first
time Richard Childress Racing (RCR) cars are 1-2 in point standings.
In qualifying Friday afternoon, Harvick wheeled the No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil
Chevrolet around NASCAR’s oldest track to its best lap of 19.889 seconds
(95.208 mph), which was good enough to line up 11th for Sunday afternoon’s
500-lap event.
Shortly after the green flag waved, Harvick notified crew chief Todd Berrier
that the Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet was suffering from a significantly
loose-handling condition that was lacking forward bite, a circumstance that
plagued the team throughout the course of the 263-mile event. The second of
18 caution flags waved on lap 43 and Berrier summoned the 32-year-old driver
to pit road.
Berrier called for four fresh tires, including air pressure adjustments, fuel
and the removal of the rubber in the right-rear spring to help ease his
driver’s poor-handling race car. Some of the field opted to stay out on the
race track and Harvick restarted in the 24th spot on lap 48.
Over the next 57 laps, Harvick’s No. 29 machine continued to lack forward
bite and he was unable to make up any ground on the leaders. The fifth
caution flag flew on lap 105 and Berrier summoned his driver to pit road to
hopefully make the right adjustments to alleviate the problem.
Berrier called four tires, fuel and a major track bar adjustment and sent his
driver back on the racing surface. Harvick was listed 17th for the restart on
lap 110. After fading as deep as 21st in the running order, Berrier knew he
had to take a different approach to fix the problem on the No. 29
Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet Impala SS.
 Another caution flag flew on lap 182 and, once again, Berrier summoned his
driver to pit road. The veteran crew chief called for four tires, fuel and
the addition of spring rubbers in the left-rear. Harvick restart the race in
the 21st spot on lap 187.
Try as they might, with changes and new ideas coming with every pit stop, the
Berrier-led crew couldn’t find a comfortable handling situation for their
driver and the 2007 Daytona 500 winner was 20th with 100 laps to go.
Fortunately, perseverance and attrition paid off with Harvick working the
Shell-Pennzoil Chevy back into the top 15 when the checkered flag finally
waved.
Denny Hamlin won the race, earning his fourth career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
victory. Jeff Gordon was second followed by Burton, Jimmie Johnson and Tony
Stewart. Harvick’s other RCR teammate Clint Bowyer crossed the finish line
10th.
Next weekend, Harvick and the Shell-Pennzoil racing team head west to the
Lone Star State. Live coverage of the Samsung 500 from Texas Motor Speedway
begins Sunday, April 6 at 1:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on FOX. The
race will also broadcast worldwide on the Motor Racing Network and Sirius
Satellite Radio. Qualifying for round seven of the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup
Series championship will air live on SPEED Friday, April 4 at 4:30 p.m. EDT.
KEVIN HARVICK - NO. 29 SHELL-PENNZOIL CHEVROLET IMPALA SS
"We turned a day that started out difficult in to a good finish for our
Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet today, which is something we struggled with last
season. Today was much better than the race here a year ago. Todd and the
crew kept working on the car and making adjustments but we just weren’t able
to hit on anything that made it better. I am proud of our effort and how hard
we all worked to get a decent finish and have a solid points day."
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