Race/Date: TUMS QuikPak 500 – Oct. 19, 2008

Location: Martinsville (Va.) Speedway

Start Position: Sixth

Finish Position: Seventh

Points Position: Sixth (maintained position)

A solid effort by the No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Racing team netted a seventh-place finish for Kevin Harvick in the TUMS QuikPak 500 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway and helped the team maintain their spot in the season’s championship point standings.

The seventh-place effort was Harvick’s fourth top-10 finish since the Chase started six weeks ago at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and it tied his series best showing at Martinsville’s tricky half-mile.

Additionally, the top-10 finish allowed Harvick and Company to maintain the sixth position in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings. He is 14 points behind Richard Childress Racing teammate Clint Bowyer’s fifth-place position, 58 points out of fourth, 104 points out of third place (held by RCR teammate Jeff Burton), 107 points out of second and 256 behind leader Jimmie Johnson with four races remaining.

Heavy rain in the Martinsville area forced NASCAR to cancel Friday afternoon’s time trials for the ninth time this season, allowing the No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevy to line up sixth for the scheduled 500-lap showdown based on the current NASCAR owners’ point standings.

Harvick was quick to the throttle during the opening laps, showing fourth, before the first of 12 cautions flags waved on lap 29. He maintained his footing in the top five throughout the opening segment before making his initial pit stop during the second yellow flag on lap 61.

Back under green, now in 17th after falling in line behind those who pitting during the first caution, he spent the next 47 circuits making up for lost ground and reestablishing his footing in the top 10.

The 32-year-old driver headed back to the attention of his Todd Berrier-lead Shell-Pennzoil crew during the afternoon’s fifth yellow flag for a fresh set of tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment. Since some teams were on a different pit sequence, Harvick restarted 15th on lap 121.

He battled a loose-handling Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet over the next 40 laps but was able to work his way up to ninth before the caution flag flew on lap 161. Berrier summoned Harvick back to pit road for another set of Goodyear tires and a major chassis adjustment. Still on different pit sequences than some of the leaders, Harvick restarted 14th on lap 168.

He worked his way back into the top 10 by lap 228 and maintained a stronghold on 10th until he pitted for a routine four tire stop, placing him 14th on the scoring pylon on lap 267.

“Happy” Harvick worked his way back to the 11th before another caution flag flew on lap 380. The Shell-Pennzoil over-the-wall crew bolted on four fresh tires, including an air pressure adjustment, and added fuel. Happy was back on track, still in 11th, for the lap 388 restart.

The 2008 championship contender worked his way back into the top 10 on lap 398 and maintained that position until he passed Martin Truex Jr. for ninth on lap 402.

Another caution flew on lap 457 for a single-car incident in turn one, allowing Berrier one last attempt to remedy the bright yellow and red machine. Four tires, including an air pressure adjustment, were in order and Harvick took the green flag 10th on lap 467.

The final adjustments brought Shell-Pennzoil machine to life and Harvick was able to grab three positions in the final 37 laps to cross the finish line seventh.

Johnson grabbed his fifth win at the paper-clip shaped oval. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Carl Edwards, Jeff Gordon and Denny Hamlin rounded out the top-five finishers.

Bowyer finished ninth and fellow RCR teammate Jeff Burton had a late penalty on pit road and finished 17th, one lap down to the leaders.

Next weekend, NASCAR’s senior circuit travels to Atlanta for Round 7 in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint cup.

Live coverage of the Pep Boys Auto 500 from Atlanta Motor Speedway will take the green flag Sunday, October 26 beginning at 1 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The race will also be broadcast worldwide on the Performance Racing Network and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying will be televised live on ESPN2 Friday, October 24 at 7 p.m. EDT. PRN and Sirius Satellite Radio will provide qualifying updates live.

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

“The Shell-Pennzoil Chevy was a little loose all day. We were never really able to get track position to compete with the leaders. Todd (Berrier, crew chief) made some really good adjustments on the last pit stop and we were able to grab a few spots in the final 50 laps to finish seventh. To get out of Martinsville with a top-10 is a good day for our team.”