Harvick Scores Fifth-Place Finish at New Hampshire, Earns Seventh Top-Five Finish in Nine Starts at Loudon
Kevin Harvick No. 33 Copart Car Camping World RV Sales 200 Race Recap
LOUDON, N.H. (June 28, 2009) — At a track where Kevin Harvick is no stranger to running up front, the No. 33 Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) Copart team started the Camping World RV Sales 200 presented by Turtle Wax from the fifth position, ran the entire race in the top eight and crossed the finish line in the fifth position.
“Our Copart car was really good when we unloaded during both practice sessions,” said Harvick. “But when the green-flag waved, we fought a loose condition from the start. I have to thank all the guys for their hard work and Copart for their support. We just missed it a little, but all-in-all, not a bad day.”
Starting the race fifth, Harvick moved into the third position on lap three and maintained his position until the first caution waved on lap 50. With the car a little tight in the middle of the corners, the team opted to bring Harvick down pit lane for four scuffed tires, an air-pressure adjustment and fuel. Harvick restarted fourth on lap 58.
Slipping to the sixth position by lap 68, Harvick moved back in the top five on lap 94.
The second caution of the day waved on lap 105 and Harvick quickly radioed crew chief Ernie Cope that the car was too loose at the beginning of the run. The call was made to bring Harvick down pit road from the fifth position for four fresh tires, an air-pressure adjustment to the right-side tires and fuel. With teams opting for various strategies of taking only two tires and fuel, Harvick restarted sixth on lap 110.
By lap 132, Harvick returned to the top five, running lap times comparable to the leaders. The final caution flag waved on lap 156. Short on fuel, the team brought Harvick down pit road for four tires, a final air-pressure adjustment and fuel. Again, teams chose varying strategies and Harvick restarted on lap 161 in eighth. Moving into seventh on lap 164, Harvick was able to gain two more positions on the final lap as Brian Vickers and Scott Speed made contact. Harvick finished the race fifth, collecting his seventh top-five and eighth top-10 finish at the track in nine starts.
Kyle Busch became the 23rd different winner in 23 Nationwide Series races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, followed by Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, Mike Bliss and Harvick.
STATS RECAP
June 27, 2009
New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Camping World RV Sales 200 Presented
by Turtle Wax
Race: 16 of 35
Driver: Kevin Harvick
Started: 5th
Finished: 5th
Owner’s Point Standings: 5th (+ 1 spot, 320 points out of 1st)
Race length: 200 laps/211.6 miles
Banking: 12-degrees in the turns
2-degrees on the straight-a-ways
Track layout: 1.058 mile
Shape: Oval
Number of Race Cautions: 3 for 15 Laps
First Practice: 4th (29.940 seconds; 127.214 mph)
Final Practice: 2nd (30.058 seconds; 126.715 mph)
Qualifying: 13th (29.909 seconds; 120.365 mph)
Next on the Nationwide Series Schedule:
Date: July 3, 2009
Track: Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway
Event Name: Subway Jalapeno 250 Powered by Coca-Cola
Driver: Kevin Harvick
Sponsor: Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW)
Broadcast Time: 7:30 p.m., ET on ESPN and
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