Budweiser/Jimmy John’s Driver Advances to Eliminator Round of Chase
Date: Oct. 25, 2015
Event: CampingWorld.com 500 (Round 32 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Location: Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway (2.66-mile oval)
Start/Finish: 7th/15th (Running, completed 196 of 196 laps)
Point Standing: 4,000 points, Advances to Eliminator Round of Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup
Winner: Joey Logano of Team Penske (Ford) in a green-white-checkered finish
Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Budweiser/Jimmy John’s Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), scored a top-15 finish in the CampingWorld.com 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Sunday at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway to advance to the Eliminator Round of the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
Harvick started seventh, raced his way to the lead on lap 97 and remained the leader until lap 100. He stayed in the top-10 through three rounds of green-flag pit stops before the race’s first caution on lap 133 for fluid on the racetrack. After the first caution flag waved, Harvick brought the No. 4 Chevrolet to pit road for fuel only and returned to the racetrack in the sixth position.
The Bakersfield, California, native continued to race in the top-five following the caution and remained there until reporting a mechanical issue on lap 157. By lap 160, Harvick had dropped back to the 18th position. With only 28 laps remaining in the scheduled 188-lap event, he did his best to maintain his position as the field raced under green.
The reigning Sprint Cup champion continued in the top-20 until, with less than five laps remaining, the caution flag waved for fluid on the racetrack. After the field was positioned to attempt a green-white-checkered finish, Harvick was set to restart in 12th. But before the leaders could take the green flag, a multicar incident nullified the first attempt at the only green-white-checkered restart.
As the leaders raced past the start-finish line for the green-white-checkered restart, Harvick moved his car to the top line. The No. 4 made contact with the No. 6 car driven by Trevor Bayne, forcing Bayne across the track and triggering a multicar wreck that caused the race to end under caution.
“I was hoping that it would kind of get going a little bit better and those guys would push me so I could kind of halfway get going, and it didn’t go,” Harvick said. “As I pulled up, I didn't even see the 6 (of Bayne) up there and clipped him and shot him across the inside.”
Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet SS, led the four-car SHR contingent Sunday at Talladega by finishing 10th in the CampingWorld.com 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. It was Busch’s 25th top-10 of 2015 and his 14th top-10 in 30 career Sprint Cup starts at Talladega.
Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS for SHR, finished 25th.
Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet SS for SHR, finished 27th.
Joey Logano won the CampingWorld.com 500 to score his 14th career Sprint Cup victory and his first at Talladega. It was also his third-straight win and his series-leading sixth victory of the season.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished second, while Jeff Gordon, Brad Keselowski and Carl Edwards rounded out the top-five. Paul Menard, Martin Truex Jr., Clint Bowyer, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Busch rounded out the remainder of the top-10.
There were three caution periods for 18 laps, with seven drivers failing to finish the 196-lap race that was extended beyond its scheduled 188-lap distance due to the green-white-checkered finish.
As the sixth event in the 10-race Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, Talladega served as the second elimination race. The 12-driver Chase field was whittled down to eight following the CampingWorld.com 500.
Busch and Harvick remain in the Chase, as both advanced to the Eliminator Round. Their point standings after the three-race Contender Round placed them among the top-eight.
The Eliminator Round comprises the next three races at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth and Phoenix International Raceway. Following Phoenix, only the top-four drivers will advance to the final, winner-take-all Championship Round Nov. 22 in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Joining Busch and Harvick in the Eliminator Round are Logano, Edwards, Gordon, Keselowski, Truex and Kyle Busch. All had their respective point tallies reset to 4,000.
Earnhardt, Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin and Ryan Newman were the four drivers eliminated from the Chase.
The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule is the Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 on Nov. 1 at Martinsville Speedway. The race begins at 1:15 p.m. EST with live coverage provided by NBCSN.
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