Budweiser Racing Team Notes of Interest
• Kevin Harvick and the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet team finished 42nd in the Daytona 500 after engine failure ended their day on lap 22.
• Prior to the engine problem, Harvick led twice for a total of five laps, and had worked his way back into the top 15 after the team’s first pit stop at lap 12.
• The engine failure was the team’s first since September 2006, a span of 152 races.
• Trevor Bayne put the legendary No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing team in Victory Lane, and became the youngest driver to ever win the Daytona 500. Carl Edwards, David Gilliland, Bobby Labonte and Kurt Busch rounded out the top five.
• While Bayne won Sunday’s race, he’s currently competing for the NASCAR Nationwide Series championship and is ineligible for NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points. That makes Edwards the leader of the current NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver point standings by a one-point margin over Gilliland. Labonte, Busch and Juan Pablo Montoya complete the top five.
• Harvick is currently ranked 37th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver point standings.
• Follow along each weekend with Harvick and the team on Twitter. Check out @KevinHarvick for behind-the-scenes information straight from the driver of the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet. Get live updates from the track each weekend from @Black29Car, the PR team for Harvick. Also, follow @RCRracing and @RCR29KHarvick for additional information about the Richard Childress Racing organization.
Kevin Harvick on his finish in the Daytona 500:
Your team never blows motors. What happened today? “We had just a 10 – 15 more degree oil temp than what we had been (running). I pulled out from behind the No. 17 (Matt Kenseth) when I felt like I got to the point where I needed to pull out, and the bottom fell out of it. So, I hate it for everybody on this Budweiser Chevrolet and everybody from Jimmy Johns and Budweiser. It’s a tough way to start the year but man, like you said, we never blow motors. Everybody at ECR does a great job.”
You were a favorite going into today’s race and had a strong car. How frustrating is this for you? “Obviously, you come to the first race of the year and to have that happen right off the bat is just something you don’t really want to have happen. It’s just one of those things. It happens. We go years and years without engine failures and they do a great job on that. So, it happens.”
The following is the finish position of the other beverage-sponsored cars participating in the Daytona 500:
• Robby Gordon and the No. 7 SPEED Energy Dodge team finished 16th.
• Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet team finished 24th.
• Kasey Kahne, driver of the No. 4 Red Bull Toyota, finished 25th.
• Brad Keselowski, driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge, finished 29th.
• Brian Vickers and the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota team finished 31st.
• Matt Kenseth and the No. 17 Crown Royal Black Ford team finished 34th.
The following is the finish position of the other Richard Childress Racing teams participating in the Daytona 500:
• Paul Menard, driver of the No. 27 Menards/Peak Chevrolet finished ninth.
• Clint Bowyer and the No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet team finished 17th.
• Jeff Burton and the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet team finished 36th.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams will travel to Phoenix International Raceway this week for Sunday’s Subway Fresh Fit 500. There are two practice sessions scheduled for Friday, the first at 2:30 p.m. ET/1:30 p.m. CT and the second at 6 p.m. ET/5 p.m. CT. Both will air live on SPEED. Qualifying will be held on Saturday afternoon and air live on SPEED at 3:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. CT. FOX will provide the live broadcast of Sunday’s race starting with the pre-race show at 2:30 p.m. ET/1:30 p.m. CT. MRN Radio and SIRIUS NASCAR Radio will provide the live radio broadcast.