Kevin Harvick and the No. 29 Rheem Chevrolet SS team earned a hard fought top-10 result in the Kobalt Tools 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday afternoon. Inclement weather canceled qualifying forcing NASCAR to set the field by the rulebook, lining cars up by 2012 owner championship points and positioning Harvick eighth for the start of the 267-lap event. Early in the race, the Bakersfield, Calif., native reported he was battling a loose-handling condition, but remained a fixture in the top 10 until lap 152. The Gil Martin-led pit crew made multiple two and four-tires pit stops, along with several chassis adjustments throughout the course of the event to help correct the handling issues on the red and black machine. The improved, but persistent condition plagued the veteran driver for the remainder of the event. Harvick fell as far back as 14th in the running order, prior to crossing the finish line ninth. This marks Harvick’s first top-10 finish of the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, and moves him up 11 positions in the driver championship point standings, to 19th.
KEVIN HARVICK QUOTE:
“The Rheem guys battled hard today, and we were able to pick up our first top-10 finish of the season. Our car was fast, but we had a few issues with the handling during the race. The No. 29 team kept at it all day making changes that allowed us to leave here (Las Vegas Motor Speedway) with a good finish.”