Kevin Harvick fought an ill-handling race car for the majority of the Coca-Cola 600 but perseverance to get it right paid off with a 14^th-place finish for the No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil crew at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. 

The “never give up” attitude allowed Harvick and company to climb two spots, to seventh, in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings.  “Happy” is just 21 markers behind Carl Edwards’ sixth-place tally.  Additionally, the hard work by the Shell-Pennzoil crew allowed the 32-year-old driver to extend his streak of races without a DNF (did not finish) to 56 consecutive races, just three races shy of breaking his own record of 58. 

The Bakersfield, Calif., native was the 35^th of 48 drivers to make a qualifying attempt on Thursday evening.  The 11-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series winner lapped the 1.5-mile Charlotte oval in 29.439 seconds (183.430 mph).  The lap was the 19^th-fastest time of the session and lined Harvick up on the inside of the 10^th row for the 600-mile event. 

The 2007 Daytona 500 winner climbed to the 18th spot early in the 400-lap showdown but a tight-handling Shell-Pennzoil Chevy halted his progress to the front of the field.  The 11-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series winner continued to fight an ill-handling race car and fell a lap down to the leaders on lap 123.

Crew chief Todd Berrier continued to make major adjustments to the bright yellow and red machine and made the right adjustments just past the halfway point.  Harvick was finally able to battle with the cars around him and was awarded the “Lucky Dog” free pass, allowing him to pass the pace car and move back on to the lead lap.

Once Harvick worked his way back on the lead lap, he began a slow and steady climb up the leaderboard.  He was 21st on lap 248, cracked the top 20 on lap 305 and was listed 13^th when the final caution of the night on lap 329. 

The 2006 NASCAR Nationwide Series champion hit pit road two laps later with Berrier calling for four fresh Goodyear tires, fuel and a slight chassis adjustment.   Harvick restarted the final 100 miles14th and once again climbed up the scoring pylon. 

He was 11th on lap 342 but Berrier informed his driver they were seven laps short on fuel and needed to stop for a splash of gas in order to complete NASCAR’s longest race of the year.  Fortunately, all but three other teams had to do the same. 

Green flag stops began on lap 384 and the Shell-Pennzoil driver peeled off the racing surface on lap 388.  Harvick returned to the race track in the 20th spot and was able to pick up six spots in the closing laps, ultimately crossing the finish line 14th.

Kasey Kahne won his first points-paying race of the 2008 season and beat second-place finisher Greg Biffle to the line by a margin of 10 seconds.  Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. rounded out the top-five finishers.

Harvick’s Richard Childress Racing teammates Jeff Burton, Clint Bowyer and Ken Schrader finished sixth, 25th and 33rd, respectively.      

This weekend, NASCAR’s senior circuit heads north for this year’s first stop at the “Monster Mile” in Dover, Del.

The Best Buy 400 benefiting Student Clubs for Autism Speaks takes the green flag Sunday, June 1 at 2 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. Flag-to-flag coverage will be televised live on FOX beginning at 1:30 p.m. EDT. The race will also be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the 13th points-paying race on the 2008 NASCAR Cup Series schedule will be telecast live on SPEED Friday, May 30 at 3 p.m. EDT.

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

"The Shell-Pennzoil guys did a great job today. We fell behind early and lost a lap but Todd (Berrier, crew chief) made some great calls and we were able to get the lucky dog. A 14th-place finish isn't want we wanted but we will take it here at Charlotte."