Race/Date: Goody’s Cool Orange 500/March 30, 2008

Location: Martinsville (Va.) Speedway

Start Position: 11th

Finish Position: 12th

Points Position: Second (Gained one position)

Kevin Harvick and the No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil team continue to prove they are a championship-caliber team by making the most out of an ill-handling race car and bringing home a 12th-place finish in the Goody’s Cool Orange 500 at Martinsville Speedway.

The 12th-place effort was Harvick and company’s sixth consecutive top-15 performance. The hard-fought finish moved the Bakersfield, Calif., native up one spot, to second, in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship point standings. With teammate Jeff Burton in the points lead, it marks the first time Richard Childress Racing (RCR) cars are 1-2 in point standings.

In qualifying Friday afternoon, Harvick wheeled the No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet around NASCAR’s oldest track to its best lap of 19.889 seconds (95.208 mph), which was good enough to line up 11th for Sunday afternoon’s 500-lap event.

Shortly after the green flag waved, Harvick notified crew chief Todd Berrier that the Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet was suffering from a significantly loose-handling condition that was lacking forward bite, a circumstance that plagued the team throughout the course of the 263-mile event. The second of 18 caution flags waved on lap 43 and Berrier summoned the 32-year-old driver to pit road.

Berrier called for four fresh tires, including air pressure adjustments, fuel and the removal of the rubber in the right-rear spring to help ease his driver’s poor-handling race car. Some of the field opted to stay out on the race track and Harvick restarted in the 24th spot on lap 48.

Over the next 57 laps, Harvick’s No. 29 machine continued to lack forward bite and he was unable to make up any ground on the leaders. The fifth caution flag flew on lap 105 and Berrier summoned his driver to pit road to hopefully make the right adjustments to alleviate the problem.

Berrier called four tires, fuel and a major track bar adjustment and sent his driver back on the racing surface. Harvick was listed 17th for the restart on lap 110. After fading as deep as 21st in the running order, Berrier knew he had to take a different approach to fix the problem on the No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet Impala SS.

Another caution flag flew on lap 182 and, once again, Berrier summoned his driver to pit road. The veteran crew chief called for four tires, fuel and the addition of spring rubbers in the left-rear. Harvick restart the race in the 21st spot on lap 187.

Try as they might, with changes and new ideas coming with every pit stop, the Berrier-led crew couldn’t find a comfortable handling situation for their driver and the 2007 Daytona 500 winner was 20th with 100 laps to go.

Fortunately, perseverance and attrition paid off with Harvick working the Shell-Pennzoil Chevy back into the top 15 when the checkered flag finally waved.

Denny Hamlin won the race, earning his fourth career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory. Jeff Gordon was second followed by Burton, Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart. Harvick’s other RCR teammate Clint Bowyer crossed the finish line 10th.

Next weekend, Harvick and the Shell-Pennzoil racing team head west to the Lone Star State. Live coverage of the Samsung 500 from Texas Motor Speedway begins Sunday, April 6 at 1:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on FOX. The race will also broadcast worldwide on the Motor Racing Network and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying for round seven of the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship will air live on SPEED Friday, April 4 at 4:30 p.m. EDT.

KEVIN HARVICK - NO. 29 SHELL-PENNZOIL CHEVROLET IMPALA SS –

"We turned a day that started out difficult in to a good finish for our Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet today, which is something we struggled with last season. Today was much better than the race here a year ago. Todd and the crew kept working on the car and making adjustments but we just weren’t able to hit on anything that made it better. I am proud of our effort and how hard we all worked to get a decent finish and have a solid points day."