The much-needed top-five finish vaulted Harvick to ninth in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings. The 32-year-old driver now trails eighth-place Matt Kenseth by nine points, 10 points behind Greg Biffle in seventh, 76 markers behind Jeff Gordon in sixth and 186 points of the top five.

Severe weather, including hail and thunderstorm warnings at Chicagoland Speedway, cancelled Thursday’s qualifying session. The starting grid was set based on the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series owners’ point standings, lining the No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet 13th for Saturday night’s main event.

The green flag flew just past 7:15 p.m. local time before an estimated sell-out crowd of 80,000. Harvick powered his way to eighth in the opening laps but a tight-handling race car kept him from battling with the leaders. A predetermined competition caution was displayed on lap 35 and crew chief Todd Berrier summoned his driver to pit road for four tires, fuel and a minor air pressure adjustment. The Bakersfield, Calif., native restarted the 267-lap event in eighth.

It didn’t take long for Berrier’s adjustment to culminate and before long, the Shell-Pennzoil Chevy was running lap times as fast as the leaders. Harvick was listed sixth when green-flag pits stops began on lap 91.

Berrier summoned his veteran driver to pit road 13 laps later for a routine four-tire pit stop. Once the field cycled through the stops “Happy” Harvick was listed seventh on the scoring pylon.

The adjustments made to the No. 29 machine continued to help the handling and Harvick was listed in the top five when the fourth caution flag flew on lap 141. The 2007 Daytona 500 winner hit pit road for four fresh Goodyear tires, fuel and another slight air pressure adjustment. Sound work on pit road allowed Harvick to gain two spots in the pits and when the green flag waved again on lap 146, the Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet Impala SS was third.

Over the next 115 laps, Harvick continued to run in the top five and was slowly gaining ground on the leaders. The final caution flag flew on lap 261, giving Harvick one last chance to make a charge for the lead.

On the final restart, Harvick barreled his bright yellow and red Chevrolet into turn one trying to grab the lead from Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch. Unfortunately, Harvick was unable to make the pass and he crossed the finish line third. The solid finish was Harvick’s third top-five and sixth top-10 finish of the season.

Busch continued his domination by bringing home his seventh win of the 2008 season. The top five was rounded out by Johnson, Harvick, Biffle and Tony Stewart. Harvick’s Richard Childress Racing teammates Jeff Burton and Clint Bowyer crossed the finish line 19th and 22nd, respectively.

After a well-deserved weekend off, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series returns to action in two weeks at the hallowed ground of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Live television coverage of the 15th running of Allstate 400 at the Brickyard will take the green flag Sunday, July 27 beginning at 2 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on ESPN. The race will also be broadcast on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway radio Network and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the 20th point’s-paying races on the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series calendar will be televised live on ESPN 2 Saturday, July 26 beginning at 10 a.m. EDT and be broadcast live on the IMS Radio Network and Sirius Satellite Radio.