Harvick Finishes Sixth in Budweiser Duel; Will Start 11th in 57th Daytona 500
Date: Feb. 19, 2015
Event: Race No. 1 of the Budweiser Duel at Daytona (non-points qualifying races for the 57th Daytona 500)
Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Location: Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway (2.5-mile oval)
Start/Finish: 14th/6th (Running, completed 60 of 60 laps)
Winners: Budweiser Duel No. 1 – Dale Earnhardt Jr. of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Budweiser Duel No. 2 – Jimmie Johnson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Budweiser/Jimmy John’s Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), finished sixth in his Budweiser Duel on a crisp and cool Thursday night at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. The Budweiser Duel twin qualifying races set the 43-car field for the season-opening Daytona 500. Harvick’s sixth-place finish in his Budweiser Duel earned him the 11th starting spot for the 57th Daytona 500 on Sunday.
Harvick, who qualified 29th in group qualifying last Sunday, improved his starting position in the Daytona 500 by 18 positions as a result of the sixth-place finish in the Budweiser Duel.
The Budweiser/Jimmy John’s Chevrolet began the 60-lap race around the 2.5-mile superspeedway in the 14th position and raced in the top-15 until the first caution on lap 16. That allowed Harvick to bring the No. 4 to pit road for fuel and a small chassis adjustment. The team gained four positions and restarted 11th on lap 22.
Harvick, who won the 2013 Budweiser Duel, raced his way up to sixth by the second caution of the night on lap 29. The No. 4 team chose to stay out, restarted in the sixth position on lap 32 and was racing solidly in the top-10 when the race’s final caution came out on lap 51.
The subsequent restart set up a five-lap shootout to the checkered flag. Harvick raced as high as fourth in the final laps but got shuffled to sixth by the time he reached the finish line.
“We did what we needed to do tonight, and that was bring home our Budweiser/Jimmy John’s Chevrolet in one piece and improve our starting position for the Daytona 500,” Harvick explained. “We’re looking forward to Sunday.”
Forty-nine drivers were split among the two Duels, putting 25 drivers in the first 150-mile race and 24 drivers in the second 150-mile race.
Harvick’s SHR teammate Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS, joined Harvick in the first Budweiser Duel race. Stewart finished fourth and will start seventh in the Daytona 500.
Fellow SHR drivers Danica Patrick and Kurt Busch were in the second Duel. Patrick, driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet SS, finished 10th to earn the 20th starting spot in the Daytona 500. Busch, driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet SS, finished 12th. He’ll start 24th in the Daytona 500.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the first Budweiser Duel by .165 of a second over Jeff Gordon. Joey Logano, Stewart and Clint Bowyer took spots three through five. The rest of the top-10 consisted of Harvick, Kasey Kahne, Jamie McMurray, Landon Cassill and Cole Whitt.
Jimmie Johnson won the second Budweiser Duel by .125 of a second over Kyle Busch. Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle and Martin Truex Jr. took spots three through five.The rest of the top-10 consisted of Ryan Blaney, Reed Sorenson, Mike Wallace, Justin Allgaier and Patrick.
With the Budweiser Duel now complete, the field for the Daytona 500 is set. On the pole is Gordon, and alongside him is Johnson. By notching the two quickest times during qualifying on Sunday, both drivers were able to lock themselves into the front row for the Daytona 500.
Failing to qualify for the Daytona 500 were Alex Bowman, Jeb Burton, Ron Hornaday Jr., Justin Marks, Brian Scott and Josh Wise.
The Daytona 500 gets underway at 1 p.m. EST Sunday, Feb. 22, with live coverage provided by FOX beginning with its prerace show at noon.
-SHR-