Kevin Harvick
No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet
Finger Lakes 355 at Watkins Glen International
Budweiser Racing Notes of Interest:
Kevin Harvick and the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet team scored a 15th-place finish in Sunday’s Finger Lakes 355 at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International.
Harvick started the race from the 19th position and gained two spots in the first five laps as he radioed the crew that the car was “tight to the left in the esses.”
Harvick raced his way up to 14th before crew chief Shane Wilson called him to pit road for service at lap 22. The team changed tires, added fuel and made an air pressure adjustment to help address the car’s handling issues.
The caution flag waved for the first time at lap 24. A number of teams elected to pit and Harvick lined up fifth when the field restarted at lap 29. He lost a few spots in the first couple of laps, but then was able to rally back and get up to the sixth position at lap 42. Harvick reported the car was better during the run, but noted it was “still tight through the eases.” Wilson called for additional air pressure adjustments when the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet came down pit road again at lap 46.
Teams utilized varying pit strategies during the race, so when the caution flag waved at lap 57, Harvick was scored in the 14th position. The caution threw a wrench in the team’s race strategy and forced them to make a stop at lap 59 for tires and fuel. Wilson told Harvick to conserve as much fuel as possible during the caution period as they were short on gas to make it to the end of the race.
Harvick restarted the race at lap 61 in the 15th position. At lap 69 Harvick reported the car was “plowing” and a few laps later he noted it was “absolutely terrible,” very tight and that it felt like the car was on ice and had no grip.
Two additional caution periods in the last third of the race helped the No. 29 Budweiser team save enough fuel to make it to the checkered flag. In the closing laps Harvick fell back as far as 18th before rebounding to score a 15th-place finish.
Marcos Ambrose scored the win in Sunday’s race after an exciting last-lap duel with Brad Keselowski, who finished second. Jimmie Johnson, Clint Bowyer and Sam Hornish Jr. completed the top-five spots.
Johnson took over the lead in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver point standings following Sunday’s race at Watkins Glen International. He holds a one-point lead over Greg Biffle. Matt Kenseth, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Keselowski round out the top-five positions in the standings. Harvick remains ninth in the standings after Sunday’s race. He’s 67 points back from Johnson, 23 markers back from fifth and has a 57-point margin over the cut-off point for the Chase for the Sprint Cup with four races remaining before the field is set.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams travel to Michigan International Speedway for the Pure Michigan 400 on Sunday, August 19. SPEED will air live coverage of Friday’s practice session at 12:30 p.m. ET followed by qualifying at 4 p.m. ET. On Saturday, SPEED will air coverage of the two practice sessions at 8:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. ET. ESPN will have TV coverage of Sunday’s race starting with the pre-race show at noon ET. MRN Radio affiliates and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio will provide the live radio broadcast.