Jimmy John’s/Budweiser Driver Records 12th Top-5 of 2015
Date: July 5, 2015
Event: Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola (Round 17 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Location: Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway (2.5-mile oval)
Start/Finish: 34th/4th (Running, completed 161 of 161 laps)
Point Standing: 1st (656 points, 63 points ahead of second)
Winner: Dale Earnhardt Jr. of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Jimmy John’s/Budweiser Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), finished fourth in the rain-delayed Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway on Sunday night.
The reigning Sprint Cup champion started 34th and managed to race his No. 4 Chevrolet into the second position just before the halfway point of the race, which had begun nearly three hours late due to rain. Harvick ran near the front of the pack for the majority of the second half of the event and put the team in contention for the win late in the race.
With just four laps remaining of the scheduled 160 laps, the caution flag waved for the final time, setting up a green-white-checkered finish. Harvick restarted fifth but had advanced a spot as he took the checkered flag. Just past the finish line, Harvick was involved in a wreck that sent several cars spinning on the frontstretch and collected a majority of the lead pack. Harvick was unhurt and credited with a fourth-place finish in a race that ended at approximately 2:40 a.m. EDT.
“There was just a lot of pushing and shoving,” said Harvick, who won the Sprint Cup race at Daytona from the pole position in July 2010. “I just want to thank everybody on my Jimmy John’s team first. I caught the No. 11 (Denny Hamlin) there and he had a big piece of damage on the left-rear, but at that point you couldn’t run off, and I finally just snagged him and turned him as he was in the middle of the track. I hate that all happened, but just at the end of the race it becomes pretty aggressive.”
Harvick’s fourth-place finish led the four-car SHR contingent in Sunday night’s Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. The top-five result was Harvick’s 12th this season and his eighth in 29 career Sprint Cup starts at Daytona.
Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet SS for SHR, finished fifth to earn his seventh top-five of 2015 and his 12th in 29 career Sprint Cup starts at Daytona.
Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Ducks Unlimited Chevrolet SS for SHR, finished 14th to notch his fourth top-15 result this season.
Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet SS for SHR, finished 35th after a late-race accident.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola to score his 25th career Sprint Cup victory, his second this season and his fourth at Daytona.
Jimmie Johnson finished .122 of a second behind Earnhardt in the runner-up spot, while Hamlin, Harvick and Busch rounded out the top-five. Jeff Gordon, Austin Dillon, Ryan Newman, Trevor Bayne and Clint Bowyer comprised the remainder of the top-10.
There were nine caution periods for 43 laps, with seven drivers failing to finish the 161-lap race, which was extended beyond its scheduled 160-lap distance by a green-white-checkered finish.
With round 17 of 36 complete, Harvick leads SHR in the championship point standings. He is first with 656 points, 63 ahead of second-place Earnhardt. Busch is eighth with 508 points, 148 out of first. Patrick is 20th with 386 points, 270 out of first. Stewart is 25th with 331 points, 325 out of first.
The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule is the Kentucky 400 on Saturday, July 11 at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta. The race starts at 7:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBC Sports Network.
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