No. 29 Rheem “Chasing the Cure” Chevrolet
AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway
Budweiser Racing Team Notes of Interest
• Kevin Harvick and the No. 29 Rheem “Chasing the Cure” Chevrolet picked up a 10th-place finish in Sunday’s AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway and inherited the lead in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Chase for the Championship point standings. Harvick and Carl Edwards are technically tied for first place but Harvick is considered the leader by virtue of the tiebreaker which is number of wins (Harvick has four wins while Edwards has one).
• The No. 29 Rheem “Chasing the Cure” Chevrolet was fast early in Sunday’s 400-mile race as Harvick quickly made forward progress from the 22nd starting spot, moving into the top 10 within the first 30 laps of the race. The handling on the car was so good that the team elected to not make any changes while making their first pit stop during the competition caution at lap 40.
• The team would keep the No. 29 car “as is” through most of the first half of the race, not making their first adjustment until the fifth caution at lap 174 during which time they made a slight air pressure adjustment in an effort to provide Harvick with more grip. The team elected to only take right side tires in an effort to secure track position. The decision paid off as Harvick moved to second place for the restart at lap 179. Harvick made a pass on race leader A.J. Allmendinger at lap 185 to take over the top spot. He maintained the lead for the next 10 laps when he was passed by Jimmie Johnson at lap 195.
• While two-tire stops helped with the issue of track position, it went on to create a loose-handling condition on the No. 29 Chevrolet. As a result, Harvick had dropped back to sixth place by lap 204. The team changed four tires and made a track bar adjustment at lap 244 in an effort to tighten up the car.
• Harvick was riding in the 10th position when the eighth caution of the race waved at lap 299 and was still battling a loose-handling car. Crew Chief Gil Martin called for wedge and air pressure adjustments, four tires and fuel during the stop and sent Harvick back out on the track in 14th place.
• The ninth caution of the race was displayed at lap 351 while Harvick was competing in the 11th position. The majority of the lead lap cars came down pit road for what would be their last stop of the race. A lot of two-tire stops took place up and down pit road including the No. 29 team. The two-tire call placed Harvick in fifth place for the restart.
• Green-flag racing resumed at lap 358 and the loose-handling condition resurfaced on the No. 29 car as the laps wound down. Harvick lost a few more positions in the closing laps and was in 10th place by the time the checkered flag waved.
• Kurt Busch picked up the win on Sunday afternoon. Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards, Kasey Kahne and Matt Kenseth completed the top-five finishing order at Dover.
• Harvick is listed as the point leader with Edwards in second place. Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch are nine points back in third and fourth while Jimmie Johnson sits 13 points back in fifth place.
• 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.
Harvick on the team’s run at Dover International Speedway: “Obviously we circled this one (Dover) as a place to come to, to overcome some things, and the guys did a good job today. We were just so loose on two tires, which is kind of backwards from what it should be, but we had to put two tires on there at the end to protect the track position side of it. So all in all it was okay.”
The following is the finish position of the other beverage-sponsored cars participating in the AAA 400:
• Kasey Kahne, driver of the No. 4 Red Bull Toyota, finished fourth
• Matt Kenseth and the No. 17 Crown Royal Ford team finished fifth
• Brian Vickers and the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota team finished 14th
• Brad Keselowski, driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge, finished 20th
• Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the No. 88 National Guard/AMP Energy Chevrolet team finished 24th
• Mike Bliss and the No. 32 Street King Ford team finished 36th
• Reed Sorenson and the No. 7 SPEED Energy/MAPEI/Menards Dodge team finished 38th
The following is the finish position of the other Richard Childress Racing teams participating in the AAA 400:
• Clint Bowyer and the No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet finished eighth
• Jeff Burton and the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet team finished 11th
• Paul Menard, driver of the No. 27 Pittsburgh Paints/Menards Chevrolet, finished 16th
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams will travel to Kansas Speedway for next Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400. ESPN will provide the TV broadcast of Sunday’s race starting with the pre-race show at 1 p.m. ET. MRN Radio affiliates and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio will provide the radio coverage of the race.