Race/Date: Dodge Challenger
500 - May 10, 2008
Location: Darlington
(S.C.) Raceway
Start Position: 11th
Finish Position: 39th
Points Position: Ninth
(Lost four positions)
Kevin Harvick was forced
to bring his Shell-Pennzoil
Chevrolet to the garage
mid-way through the Dodge
Challenger 500 at Darlington
Raceway after hard contact
with the outside retaining.
Despite the heavy damage,
the No. 29 crew was able to
get Harvick back on the
racetrack and grabbed two
positions in the running
order and gained six
valuable championship
points.
Additionally, the hard
work by the Shell-Pennzoil
crew allowed Harvick to
extend his streak of races
without a Did Not Finish (DNF)
to 55 consecutive races, the
longest active streak in the
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
The 32-year-old driver holds
the modern era record with
58 consecutive races without
a DNF (10/3/02- 8/1/04).
Despite the unfavorable
result, the No. 29
Shell-Pennzoil team remains
in the top 10 in the NASCAR
Sprint Cup Series
championship point standings
just one marker out of
eighth and 94 markers out of
the top five.
Harvick lapped the
1.336-newly repaved oval in
27.668 seconds (177.736 mph)
during Friday afternoon’s
qualifying session to line
up 11th for the 500-mile
event.
The 2007 Daytona 500
winner’s Shell-Pennzoil
Chevrolet was strong in the
early goings of the 367-lap
event, having worked his way
into fourth by lap 73.
Unfortunately, on lap
147, Harvick lost control of
his bright yellow and red
machine and slapped the
wall. The damage to the
right side of Harvick’s No.
29 Shell-Pennzoil machine
sent the 11-time NASCAR
Sprint Cup Series winner to
the garage area for
extensive repairs. After
spending 100 laps on jack
stands, Harvick returned to
the track to finish out the
race and earn as many points
as the night would allow.
Fortunately, as a result
of attrition and never quit
work ethic, Harvick and his
Todd Berrier- led crew
grabbed two positions in the
running order and crossed
the finish line 39th.
Kyle Busch won his third
race of the young 2008
season. Carl Edwards, Jeff
Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr.
and David Ragan rounded out
the top five.
Harvick’s Richard
Childress Racing teammates
Jeff Burton and Clint Bowyer
finished 10th and 15th,
respectively.
On Thursday, the
Shell-Pennzoil over-the-wall
crew will participate in the
fourth annual Pit Crew
Challenge. The event will be
held at the Time Warner
Cable Arena in Charlotte,
N.C., and will begin at 7
p.m.
Next up for Harvick and
the No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil
team is the NASCAR Sprint
All-Star Challenge from
Lowe’s Motor Speedway. The
event will be telecast live
on SPEED, Saturday, May 17
beginning at 7 p.m. Eastern
Daylight Time and broadcast
live on the Motor Racing
Network and Sirius Satellite
Radio. Qualifying for the
All-Star race will be
televised live on SPEED
Friday, at 5 p.m. EDT and
broadcast on PRN and Sirius
Satellite Radio.
KEVIN HARVICK - NO. 29
SHELL-PENNZOIL CHEVROLET
IMPALA SS –
"I hate it for the
Shell-Pennzoil team. It was
my fault when I hit the
wall. The guys did a great
job in the garage and worked
hard for me to get back on
the track and, because of
that, we were able to pick
up a few positions."