Harvick fell one position, to 13th, in the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings but sits just two points shy of 12th. Additionally, the 32-year-old driver trails 11th-place Greg Biffle by 10 points, 16 points behind 10th-place and Richard Childress Racing teammate Clint Bowyer, 23 markers behind Matt Kenseth in ninth and 176 points out of the top five.

During Friday afternoon’s qualifying session, Harvick toured the historic two-and-a-half mile Daytona Beach tri-oval in 48.772 seconds (184.532 mph). The lap was good enough to line up the Reese’s Chevy on the outside of the seventh row for Saturday night’s main event.

Fighting a tight-handling race car, Harvick flirted inside the top 15 during the early portion of the race. With the No. 29 Reese’s Chevy lacking the handling necessary to win, the team received a much-needed caution on lap 19.

Four tires, fuel and tire air pressure adjustments were in order as Harvick brought the bright orange machine down pit road to the attention of his over-the-wall crew. Back on track for the restart on lap 24, the 2007 Daytona 500 winner was listed in the ninth position.

Vigorously trying to make his way up through the field, Harvick radioed to crew chief Todd Berrier that his car was a little tight through the center of the corners.

The second caution flag flew on lap 43, with Harvick bringing the Reese’s Chevy down pit road two laps later. Team Reese’s went to work replacing all four tires, adding fuel and making a chassis adjustment, including a piece of tape to the grill to help plant the nose on the No. 29 machine.

Team Reese’s went to work replacing all four tires, adding fuel, making a chassis adjustment and addiing of a piece of tape to the front of the grill of the No. 29 machine.

The 2006 NASCAR Nationwide champion pitted a lap later than the leaders to try to and lead a lap and gain five valuable bonus points but was unsuccessful. Harvick restarted the race 37th on lap 47.

For the next 62 laps, Harvick sliced and diced his way into the top 20 but was now fighting a Reese’s Chevrolet Impala SS that was too loose coming off the corners.

The fourth caution flag of the evening flew on lap 109 and Harvick made the hard left turn down pit road. A routine four-tire pit stop that included air pressure and chassis adjustments were in order. A lightning-fast pit stop by the over-the-wall crew netted Harvick three spots on pit road and he restarted 12th.

Side-by-side racing continued as Harvick clawed his way through the field. With less than 20 laps to go, he found himself racing three-wide in the corners but still managed to charge his way into the top five.

Over the closing laps, Harvick continued to race in the top five until he made a bold move to the outside to take over the top spot. The move proved to be fruitless when he had no followers and he was listed 18th when the 10th caution flag flew on lap 158.

A green-white-checkered-flag finish set the tone for the final two laps but several incidents on the speedway forced NASCAR to throw the caution before the field took the checkered flag. Fortunately, Harvick was able to gain six spots and cross the finish line 12th.

Kyle Busch won his sixth race of the 2008 season. The top five was rounded out by Carl Edwards, Kenseth, Kurt Busch and David Ragan. Bowyer crossed the finish line ninth. Jeff Burton, Harvick’s fellow RCR teammate, was caught up in two separate incidents on the race track and finished 37th, his first finish outside of the top 15 this season.

Next weekend, NASCAR rolls into the Windy City for the annual double-header for the Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series’ at Chicagoland Speedway where Shell-Pennzoil colors will adorn Harvick’s No. 29 entry.

The LifeLock.com 400 from Chicagoland Speedway will take the green flag Saturday, July 12 at 8 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The race will be televised live on TNT beginning at 6:30pm EDT and broadcast coast-to-coast on the Motor Racing Network and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying will be televised live on SPEED Thursday, July 10 at 8:30 p.m. EDT.