Mobil 1 Driver Clinches Chase Berth With Runner-up Result
Date: Aug. 3, 2014
Event: GoBowling.com 400 (Round 21 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Location: Pocono (Pa.) Raceway (2.5-mile triangle)
Start/Finish: 6th/2nd (Running, completed 160 of 160 laps)
Point Standing: 11th (608 points, 149 out of first)
Winner: Dale Earnhardt Jr. of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS, overcame a pit-road speeding penalty and a wreck to lead the four-car Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) contingent Sunday at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway by finishing second in the GoBowling.com 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. The second-place finish also secured the No. 4 team’s berth in the NASCAR Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship.
Harvick started sixth and consistently ran in the top-10 for much of the race. On lap 96 of the 160-lap event, Harvick brought his Mobil 1 Chevrolet to pit road as the leader under green-flag conditions for a scheduled four-tire pit stop. As he left his pit stall, NASCAR determined he was too fast exiting pit road and forced the No. 4 Chevrolet to serve a pass-through penalty.
Harvick dropped to 28th as a result of the penalty, but the team kept calm and went to work making their way back through the field.
On lap 117, Harvick lined up 19th for a restart but was caught up in a 14-car wreck. The No. 4 car suffered mostly cosmetic damage but required three trips to pit road for repairs. The incident worked in Harvick’s favor as several of the leaders came to pit road late for fuel while the No. 4 was able to stay out and gain track position.
A late-race caution on lap 154 gave Harvick one last chance at the win. Harvick restarted in the second position on lap 157 and chased down leader Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the final lap, but he was unable to make the pass for the win.
“This hasn't been one of my best tracks, but I just have to thank all my guys on this Mobil 1 Chevrolet for putting us in position to at least pull some strategy there,” Harvick said. “I made a lot of mistakes today, and they made up for it with a fast race car.”
Harvick led twice for five laps en route to his sixth top-five this season and his sixth top-five in 28 career Sprint Cup starts at Pocono. It was also his 106th top-five in 487 career Sprint Cup starts.
Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet SS for SHR, started fourth and finished 13th after leading three times for 30 laps.
Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet SS for SHR, started 10th and finished 30th. Patrick finished the race despite a hard hit with the wall in turn one, the result of a flat right-rear tire sustained when she brushed the turn-two wall a lap earlier. It was Patrick’s 67th career Sprint Cup start and only her fourth at Pocono.
Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Code 3 Associates/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS for SHR, started 16th and finished 36th after being caught up in a multicar accident on lap 117. Stewart spent multiple laps in the garage undergoing substantial repairs, but he was able to return and finish the race.
Earnhardt won the GoBowling.com 400 to score his 22nd career Sprint Cup victory, his third of the season and his second consecutive win at Pocono.
Harvick finished .228 of a second behind Earnhardt in the runner-up spot, while Joey Logano, Clint Bowyer and Greg Biffle rounded out the top-five. Jeff Gordon, Jamie McMurray, Ryan Newman, Denny Hamlin and Kasey Kahne comprised the remainder of the top-10.
There were eight caution periods for 35 laps, with nine drivers failing to finish the 160-lap race.
With round 21 of 36 complete, Harvick leads the SHR contingent in the championship point standings. He is 11th with 608 points, 149 behind series leader Gordon. Stewart is 19th with 537 points, 220 out of first. Busch is 23rd with 488 points, 269 out of first. Patrick is 28th with 396 points, 361 out of first.
The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule is the Cheez-It 355k at The Glen on Sunday, Aug. 10 at the Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International road course. The race starts at 1 p.m. EDT, with live coverage provided by ESPN beginning with its prerace show at noon.
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