Budweiser/Jimmy John’s Driver Led Race-High 154 Laps
Date: March 29, 2015
Event: Martinsville 500 (Round 6 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Location: Martinsville (Va.) Speedway (.526-mile oval)
Start/Finish: 17th/8th (Running, completed 500 of 500 laps)
Point Standing: 1st with 263 points
Winner: Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Budweiser/Jimmy John’s Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), finished eighth in the Martinsville 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway on Sunday.
The eighth-place finish ended his streak of consecutive races finishing in the top-two at eight, dating back to November at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. Harvick did, however, maintain his streak of nine straight top-10s dating back to the same race last season.
The defending Sprint Cup champion started 17th and raced his way into the top-five within the first 50 laps of the race, then raced to the lead for the first time on lap 134. Harvick maintained his position toward the front of the field and led eight times for a race-best 154 laps en route to his sixth top-10 finish of the season.
In 27 previous Sprint Cup starts at Martinsville, Harvick had led a combined 364 laps prior to Sunday.
The Bakersfield, California, native raced securely inside the top-five until, during a restart on lap 440 as he ran in fourth, he got stuck in the outside lane, unable to get to the bottom, and quickly dropped to the 10th position.
“I just got hung on the outside and couldn’t get back down,” said Harvick, who previously won the Sprint Cup race at Martinsville in April 2011. “By the time I got down I was 10th or 11th. It still was a good day for everyone on the Budweiser/Jimmy John’s team. Everybody did a good job, just lost track position at the wrong time.”
Harvick had one final attempt to gain ground on the final restart on lap 467, where he ran 10th and gained two positions before the checkered flag on lap 500.
The No. 4 Budweiser/Jimmy John’s team has led a series-best 670 laps through the first six races of 2015. Harvick has led more laps in a single season on only two other occasions – in 2014 when he led 2,137 laps and in 2006 when he led 895 laps. He has led at least one lap in five of the six Sprint Cup races to start this season. Joey Logano and the No. 22 team have led the second-most laps this season with 305.
Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 10 TaxACT Chevrolet SS, led the four-car SHR contingent Sunday at Martinsville by finishing seventh. It was Patrick’s first top-10 finish of the season and her fifth top-10 in 88 career Sprint Cup starts. Patrick is now tied with Janet Guthrie for the most top-10s by a female driver in the Sprint Cup Series.
Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet SS for SHR, led once for 21 laps before finishing 14th. His laps-led total at Martinsville now stands at 442, and this was Busch’s 10th top-15 finish in 30 career Sprint Cup starts at Martinsville.
Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Code 3 Associates/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS for SHR, led eight laps before finishing 20th. Stewart bumped his laps-led total at Martinsville to 1,234, fourth-best among active Sprint Cup drivers.
Denny Hamlin won the Martinsville 500 to score his 25th career Sprint Cup victory, his first of the season and his fifth at Martinsville.
Brad Keselowski finished .186 of a second behind Hamlin in the runner-up spot, while Joey Logano, Matt Kenseth and David Ragan rounded out the top-five. Martin Truex Jr., Patrick, Harvick, Jeff Gordon and Jamie McMurray comprised the remainder of the top-10.
There were 16 caution periods for 112 laps, with two drivers failing to finish the 500-lap race.
With round six of 36 complete, Harvick leads SHR in the championship point standings. He is first with 263 points, 24 ahead of second-place Logano. Patrick is 16th with 148 points, 115 out of first. Busch is 25th with 113 points, 150 out of first. Stewart is 32nd with 87 points, 176 out of first.
The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule is the Duck Commander 500 on Saturday, April 11 at Texas Motor Speedway. The race starts at 7:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FOX beginning with its prerace show at 7 p.m.
-SHR-