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Jimmy John’s Driver Scores 19th Top-10 of 2017 To Advance to Round of 8

Date: Oct. 22, 2017

Event: Hollywood Casino 400 (Round 32 of 36)

Series: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series

Location: Kansas Speedway in Kansas City (1.5-mile oval)

Format: 267 laps, broken into three stages (80 laps/80 laps/107 laps)

Start/Finish: 2nd/8th (Running, completed 267 of 267 laps)

Point Standing: 4th with 4,017 points, 52 out of first; Advances to Round of 8

 

Race Winner: Martin Truex Jr. of Furniture Row Racing (Toyota)

Stage 1 Winner: Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

Stage 2 Winner: Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

 

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-80):

• Kevin Harvick started second, finished second and earned nine bonus points.
• The Jimmy John’s Ford Fusion ran in the second position for the majority of Stage 1.
• The No. 4 Ford pitted for four tires, fuel and chassis adjustments during a lap-46 caution to correct tight-handling conditions.
• Harvick restarted from eighth and quickly piloted the “freaky fast” Ford back to second, where he ran for the remainder of the stage.
• The No. 4 team pitted at the end of the stage for four fresh tires, fuel and air pressure and chassis adjustments.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 81-160):

• Started second, finished second and earned nine more bonus points.
• Harvick continued his run in the second position for the majority of the stage.
• The Jimmy John’s Ford took four tires, fuel and chassis adjustments on lap 127 under green-flag conditions.
• After green-flag pit stops cycled through, Harvick reported a loose wheel, but he continued to run in second place.
• The No. 4 team pitted for four tires and fuel during a lap-156 caution. Harvick restarted the one-lap shootout in the sixth position and powered his way to second place before the conclusion of the stage.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 161-267):

• Started first, finished eighth.
• Harvick led the field for the first 35 laps of the stage.
• On lap 197, a multicar accident brought out red-flag conditions. Harvick opted not to pit and restarted from second.
• The No. 4 Ford’s handling became too tight on lap 209, and Harvick fell back to sixth.
• The team pitted for four tires, fuel and adjustments to run a lap down. After a lap-236 caution, the Jimmy John’s Ford stayed out of the pits to rejoin the lead lap.
• Harvick battled back into the top-10 on the final restart from the 21st position.

Notes:

• Harvick scored his 19th top-10 finish of 2017.
• This was Harvick’s 13th top-10 in 24 career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Kansas.
• Harvick finished second in Stage 1 to collect nine bonus points and second in Stage 2 for an additional nine points.
• Harvick led three times for 37 laps to bring his laps-led total at Kansas to 596.
• There were 10 caution periods for a total of 49 laps.
• Twenty-two of the 40 drivers in the Hollywood Casino 400 finished on the lead lap.

Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Jimmy John’s Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“As you look at the result of the day, you want to have a chance to win. We had a car capable of winning. Just got stuck in a box, and the box kept on getting smaller and smaller. The caution came out with 47 laps to go, and that put us in a bad spot.”

Playoff Standings (at the conclusion of the Round of 12):

1.  Martin Truex Jr. (4,069 points)

2.  Kyle Busch (4,042 points, -27)

3.  Brad Keselowski (4,026 points, -43)

4.  Kevin Harvick (4,017 points, -52)

5.  Jimmie Johnson (4,017 points, -52)

6.  Denny Hamlin (4,014 points, -55)

7.  Ryan Blaney (4,009 points, -60)

8.  Chase Elliott (4,006 points, -63)

Failed to Advance to Round of 8:

Kyle Larson (2,236 points)

Matt Kenseth (2,184 points)

Jamie McMurray (2,138 points)

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (2,119 points)

Next Up:

The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the First Data 500 on Sunday, Oct. 29 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. It is the seventh race of the 10-race playoffs and starts at 3 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBCSN beginning at 1 p.m. MRN Radio and SiriusXM Channel 90 will be on the radio call.

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