Kevin Harvick and the No. 29 Rheem team picked up their sixth-consecutive top-10 finish Sunday afternoon after utilizing pit strategy to collect a 10th-place result at Sonoma Raceway. The California native started the 110-lap event from the 12th position and worked his way into the top 10 by lap 31 when he brought the red and black machine down pit road for fuel, four tires and a chassis adjustment. Varying pit strategy by other teams forced Harvick to restart from the 34th position on the ensuing restart. As the race progressed, the Richard Childress Racing veteran worked his way back into the top 10 on lap 61, but once again fell victim to varying pit strategies on lap 63 when the team visited pit road for fresh tires and fuel, placing Harvick 19th when the field resumed green-flag racing. During the restart, the Rheem Chevrolet was shuffled back to the 22nd spot, but moved up to 11th on lap 83 when the team opted not to pit when several teams hit pit road. During the final laps, Harvick worked his way up to as high as sixth, before ultimately crossing the finish line 10th. Following his eighth top-10 finish of the season, Harvick remains fourth in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver championship point standings.
KEVIN HARVICK QUOTE:
"This wasn't the finish we were looking for today, but the Rheem team did a great job getting us into the position we needed to be at the end to collect a solid finish."