The unfavorable finish dropped Harvick four spots, to 13th, in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings. Fortunately, the Bakersfield, Calif., native only sits two points out of 12th and 39 points out of the top 10.

In qualifying, Harvick toured the hallowed “Yard of Bricks” in 50.319 seconds (178.859 mph), locking down the18th starting position for the 15th running of the Sprint Cup Series annual mid-summer classic just west of downtown Indianapolis.

Saturday afternoon’s practice sessions showed great promise for the Shell-Pennzoil team as Harvick and Company fine-tuned the handling of the No. 29 machine and posted some of the quickest and most consistent laps in the field.

As the green flag waved before an estimated 240,000 race fans, Harvick grabbed three spots before the field was slowed for the first time for a two-car incident in turn two. About one-third of the field decided to hit pit road during this caution period allowing Harvick to restart 13th on lap nine.

Unfortunately, on lap 14 Kurt Busch lost control of his No.2 machine in turn one and slid down the track into Harvick’s path, leaving the No. 29 Chevy with significant damage.

Harvick brought the injured yellow and red machine to the garage for repairs as crew chief Todd Berrier guided his crew in completing the work necessary to return the car to the track. After spending 15 laps in the garage, Harvick went back on the speedway and logged laps for the remainder of the day to earn as many valuable points as possible.

In the end, Harvick and Company were left with a 37th-place finish, 13 laps down to the leaders. At the same time, the hard work by the Shell-Pennzoil crew to get the 11-time Sprint Cup winner back out on the track extended his streak of races without a DNF (did not finish) to 64.

Jimmie Johnson now shares a piece of history with Harvick by becoming only the second driver to win the Allstate 400 from the pole position. The top five was rounded out by Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Elliott Sadler and Jeff Gordon. Harvick’s Richard Childress Racing teammates Jeff Burton and Clint Bowyer crossed the finish line ninth and 19th, respectively.

Next up for Harvick and the Shell-Pennzoil Racing team is the Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway. Live coverage of the event begins Sunday, August 3 at 2 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on ESPN. The race will also be covered live on the Motor Racing Network and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the 21st of 36 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races is scheduled for Friday, August 1 at 3:40 p.m. EDT.

“Our Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet was going to be really good today. My guys did a great job getting me back out on the race track after the accident. They have done a great job the last couple of months. I want to thank the fans for supporting us and the other cars and staying out here today to watch despite the situation we had out there. We are going to go to Pocono and try and get the best finish we can and get ourselves back in the top 12 in points.”