Kevin Harvick and the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet team finished 20th at New Hampshire Motor Speedway Sunday afternoon after battling handling issues during in the SYLVANIA 300. The California native started the 300-lap affair from the eighth position and slipped back to 11th in the early laps when a tight condition through the center of the corners and loose-handling condition on exit developed on the red and white Chevrolet. Though he was struggling with handling issues, Harvick continued to hold a position inside the top-15 for the first half of the 300 mile event. The Budweiser crew made a variety of adjustments during multiple two and four-tire pits stops throughout the race, but the handling issues persisted and Harvick slipped back to 20th at Lap 213. Crew chief Gil Martin called his driver to pit road one final time, with 53 laps remaining, for four tires, fuel and air pressure adjustments. The Richard Childress Racing driver restarted in 23rd and fell back as far as 25th, before working his way back inside the top 20 at lap 269. Harvick maintained his position for the remaining 30 laps to finish 20th at "The Magic Mile." Following the event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Harvick sits in sixth position in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver championship point standings.
KEVIN HARVICK QUOTE:
"We struggled with handling issues all day and never could get it figured out. Even though we didn't get the finish we were looking for today, we're not going to let it get us down. Next week is another race and we'll look for better results heading into Dover."