Race/Date: LifeLock 400 –
June 15, 2008
Location: Michigan
International Speedway –
Brooklyn, Mich.
Start Position: 10th
Finish Position: 12th
Points Position: 10th
(Maintained Position)
A top-five finish was
derailed by a late-race
caution flag, but Kevin
Harvick and his
Shell-Pennzoil-sponsored No.
29 Chevrolet still came away
with a 12th-place finish in
yesterday’s LifeLock 400 at
Michigan International
Speedway.
Harvick was fourth with
just enough fuel to make it
to the end of the 200-lap
event when a caution flag
flew with just two laps
remaining forcing the race
into overtime. The untimely
caution forced the
Bakersfield, Calif., native
to pit road for fuel as his
team hadn’t budgeted for the
green-white-checkered-flag
finish in its predetermined
fuel window.
Despite having to make
the unscheduled trip to pit
road, Harvick maintained the
10th position in the NASCAR
Sprint Cup Series
championship point
standings. Additionally, the
2007 Daytona 500 winner
surpassed his own modern ear
(1972-present) record of 58
consecutive races without a
DNF (did not finish).
Rain settled across the
Irish Hills on Friday
afternoon, forcing NASCAR to
cancel qualifying. The
starting grid was set based
on the 2008 NASCAR owners’
point standings, lining the
No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil
Chevrolet on the outside of
row five for Sunday’s main
event.
The 2007 NASCAR Chase
contender started the
400-mile event 10th and,
despite wrestling with an
ill-handling condition,
Harvick ran in the top 15
and was scored eighth at the
event’s halfway mark.
Two caution flags were
displayed during the next 45
laps and provided a prime
opportunity for crew chief
Todd Berrier to make
adjustments to the
temperamental No. 29
machine. Harvick restarted
the scheduled 200-lap event
19th on lap 151 but another
caution flag flew just one
lap later.
Pit strategy began to
unfold and Berrier summoned
Harvick to pit road for a
gas-and-go pit stop, making
the No. 29 machine only one
lap short of making it to
the end of the event. With a
majority of the frontrunners
staying on the racing
surface and other pitting
multiple times for fuel,
“Happy” restarted the event
14th.
As the race progressed
Berrier reminded his driver
to stay smooth on the
throttle in hopes of saving
enough fuel to make it to
the end of the event.
The plan seemed to be
working out perfectly as the
frontrunners who did not pit
under the last caution began
hitting pit road for fuel on
lap 184. Unfortunately,
while Harvick was running
fourth a caution flag flew
with just two laps remaining
and forced the event into
overtime. This also forced
Harvick to come to pit road
for fuel and four new
Goodyear tires.
Harvick restarted the
race 17th but was able to
slice and dice his way to
the 12th spot before another
caution flag flew to end the
event.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
captured his first victory
of the season. Kasey Kahne,
Matt Kenseth, Brian Vickers
and Tony Stewart rounded out
the top five. Harvick’s
Richard Childress Racing
teammates Jeff Burton and
Clint Bowyer finished 15th
and 26th, respectively.
Next weekend the NASCAR
Sprint Cup Series turns
right for the first time
this year when the division
heads to Northern
California’s Wine Country
and the first of two road
course race on the 2008
schedule.
The Toyota/Save Mart 350
from Infineon Raceway will
take the green flag Sunday,
June 22 at 5 p.m. Eastern
Daylight Time. The race will
be televised live on TNT
beginning at 3:30 p.m. EDT
and broadcast from
coast-to-coast on the
Performance Racing Network
and Sirius Satellite Radio.
Qualifying will be televised
live on SPEED Friday, June
20th at 7 p.m. EDT.
KEVIN HARVICK - NO. 29
SHELL-PENNZOIL CHEVROLET
IMPALA SS –
“It was a good day for
the Shell-Pennzoil team
today although we didn’t get
the finish we were hoping
for. If the caution wouldn’t
have come out there at the
end of the race we would
have had a top-five finish.
However, we just couldn’t
gamble on gas with that
green-white-checkered
finish, but overall it was a
good day and we are looking
forward to Sonoma.”