Budweiser Racing Team Notes of Interest
• Kevin Harvick and the No. 29 Budweiser is Back Chevrolet team finished 19th in Sunday’s Goody’s Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway.
• The race started off on a high note for the team as Harvick took the lead from pole sitter Kasey Kahne on the first lap and held the point position until the No. 24 car got around him on lap 22. Harvick radioed to the team that the car’s handling was loose from the center of the corner-off and that he had no drive up off the corner.
• Harvick continued to drop back as the laps added up. When the caution flag waved for the first time at lap 97, he was ranked 13th. The No. 29 Budweiser is Back team pitted at lap 100 for four tires, fuel and significant chassis adjustments, and Harvick restarted 16th when the field took the green flag.
• Harvick gained ground at the start of the following run and told the team that the car was a lot better as he raced his way up to 11th, but as the laps wore on he radioed to the team that he’d lost rear grip and was struggling with the car’s handling once again. He fell back to 20th during the long green-flag run and ended up going a lap down to the leader at lap 197.
• Wilson called Harvick to pit road for a green-flag stop at lap 225. The team changed tires, added fuel and made adjustments to try to help the car’s handling. Once the pit stops cycled through, Harvick was running in the 18th position.
• The caution flag waved again at lap 244 and the team elected to pit for another round of adjustments in an effort to continue to improve the car’s handling. They changed tires, added fuel and added spring rubbers to the left rear spring.
• Harvick was running in the 17th position when the caution flag waved again at lap 314 and he told the team the car was too tight in the center of the corner, so when he came down pit road the team made another round of changes to the car.
• The No. 29 Budweiser is Back Chevrolet restarted from the 19th position at lap 328 and Harvick raced his way up to 16th just eight laps later.
• When the caution flag waved at lap 360, several cars opted to take the wave around to get back on the lead lap instead of pitting. Wilson called Harvick to pit road so the team could make adjustments as they continued to try to improve the car’s handling.
• Harvick restarted in the 19th position at lap 368. He went another lap down to the leader on the long green-flag run that followed and was ranked 20th as they approached the scheduled distance of the race.
• The caution flag waved at lap 497, setting the field up for a green-white-checkered finish. Since they didn’t have anything to lose and had the potential to gain a spot or two, Wilson called Harvick to pit road for one last stop at lap 501.
• Harvick lined up 20th when the field took the green flag for the first attempt at a green-white-checkered restart. The leaders made contact, sparking a chain-reaction incident that brought out the caution flag once again and setup the field for a second attempt at a green-white-checkered finish. Harvick was able to gain a spot in the final laps and the No. 29 Budweiser is Back Chevrolet took the checkered flag in the 19th position.
• Ryan Newman scored the win in Sunday’s race. A.J. Allmendinger, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Matt Kenseth and Martin Truex Jr. completed the top-five positions.
• Greg Biffle continues to lead the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver point standings following the sixth race of the season. Earnhardt is six points back in second. Tony Stewart, Kenseth, Harvick and Truex are all tied at 214 points each, but are ranked third, fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively, based on their finishes so far this year.
• Follow along each weekend with Harvick and the team on Twitter. Check out @KevinHarvick for behind-the-scenes information straight from the driver of the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet. Get live updates from the track each weekend from @Black29Car, the PR team for Harvick. Also, follow @RCRracing and @RCR29KHarvick for additional information about the Richard Childress Racing organization. Fans can also interact with Harvick on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/OfficialKevinHarvick.
Kevin Harvick on his finish at Martinsville Speedway:
“We just went in the wrong direction with the setup for today and learned what not to do when we come back in the fall.”
The following is the finish position of the other beverage-sponsored cars participating in the Goody’s Fast Relief 500:
• Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the No. 88 AMPEnergy/Diet Mountain Dew/National Guard Chevrolet team finished third.
• Brad Keselowski, driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge, finished ninth.
• Travis Kvapil and the No. 93 Burger King/Dr. Pepper Toyota team finished 27th.
• Landon Cassill and the No. 83 Burger King/Dr. Pepper Toyota team finished 29th.
The following is the finish position of the other Richard Childress Racing teams participating in the Goody’s Fast Relief 500:
• Jeff Burton and the No. 31 BB&T Chevrolet team finished 22nd.
• Paul Menard, driver of the No. 27 LIBMAN/Menards Chevrolet finished 26th.
• Hermie Sadler and the No. 33 Anderson’s Pure Maple Syrup Chevrolet team finished 31st.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams will enjoy a weekend off before traveling to Texas Motor Speedway for the Samsung Mobile 500 on Saturday night, April 14.