No. 29 Realtree/Bad Boy Buggies Chevrolet
IRWIN Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway
Budweiser Racing Team Notes of Interest
• Kevin Harvick and the No. 29 Realtree/Bad Boy Buggies Chevrolet team scored a 22nd-place finish in Saturday’s IRWIN Tools Night race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
• Harvick started the night from the 15th position and battled handling problems from the beginning of the race. The No. 29 car would start off tight at the beginning of the run and a few laps later Harvick would radio the team that he was loose.
• Crew chief Gil Martin called for the team to stay out when the caution flag waved for the first time at lap 31, earning valuable track position. Harvick restarted in the seventh position and remained inside the top 10 until the caution flag waved again at lap 103. Martin called Harvick in for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment and thanks to a solid pit stop, the No. 29 Chevrolet restarted in the seventh position when the field took the green at lap 110.
• As the laps clicked off, Harvick started dropping back as he battled a loose-handling car. By lap 178 he was running in the 26th position and at lap 200 he went down a lap to the leader.
• Harvick brought the No. 29 Chevrolet down pit road at lap 239 for service and as the field cycled through green-flag stops, he went down a second lap to the leader before the caution flag waved again at lap 297.
• The No. 29 team elected to gamble on pit strategy and opted to stay out instead of pitting so that Harvick could take the wave around to gain one of his laps back. He restarted in the 24th position at lap 310.
• Just as the No. 29 team reached a point where they were going to have to pit for fuel, the caution flag waved at lap 360. Harvick brought the car in for four tires, fuel and additional adjustments and restarted in the 24th position when the field took the green at lap 368.
• The caution flag waved again at lap 413 and once again, Martin called for Harvick to stay out and take the wave around to get back on the lead lap. The No. 29 Chevrolet restarted in the 23rd position at lap 420.
• At lap 463 Harvick went down a lap to the leader again. He then switched to focusing on saving fuel as the team was going to be close on the finish. He was able to save enough gas to make it to the checkered flag and finished in the 22nd position.
• Brad Keselowski scored the win at Bristol. Martin Truex Jr., Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Jamie McMurray completed the top-five finishing positions.
• At the top of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver point standings, Kyle Busch and Johnson both have 830 points, but since Busch has more wins so far this year, he is currently ranked first in the standings. Matt Kenseth is third and Carl Edwards holds the fourth spot. Harvick and Gordon each have 782 points, but since Harvick has earned more wins, he is ranked fifth in the standings.
• 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.
The following is the finish position of the other beverage-sponsored cars participating in the IRWIN Tools Night Race:
• Brad Keselowski, driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge, finished first.
• Matt Kenseth and the No. 17 Crown Royal Ford team finished sixth.
• Kasey Kahne, driver of the No. 4 Red Bull Toyota, finished 11th.
• Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the No. 88 AMP Energy/Bristol 50th Anniversary/National Guard Chevrolet team finished 16th.
• Brian Vickers and the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota team finished 21st.
• Mike Skinner and the No. 60 Big Red Toyota team finished 41st.
• Robby Gordon and the No. 7 SPEED Energy Dodge team finished 43rd.
The following is the finish position of the other Richard Childress Racing teams participating in the IRWIN Tools Night Race:
• Jeff Burton and the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet team finished 15th.
• Clint Bowyer and the No. 33 Hamburger Helper Chevrolet finished 26th.
• Paul Menard, driver of the No. 27 Sylvania/Menards Chevrolet, finished 30th.
Next weekend NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams will travel to Hampton, Ga., for the AdvoCare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday, September 4. ESPN will provide the live television broadcast of the race starting with the pre-race show at 6:30 p.m. ET. PRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio will provide the radio coverage of the race.