JR Motorsports Race Report
Saturday, July 23, 2016
Race 18 of 33: Lilly Diabetes 250 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Track Specs: 2.5-mile oval / 60 laps (Main)
Weather: Sunny; 92 degrees
Race Winner: Kyle Busch
Harvicks’s finish: 2nd
Kevin Harvick was the highest-finishing Chevrolet driver after finishing second in the Lilly Diabetes 250 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This finish marks Harvick’s third top-10 finish in 2016 and his fourth overall at the 2.5-mile speedway.
Harvick qualified fourth for Saturday’s race, which placed the No. 88 Hunt Brothers Pizza Chevrolet in the second heat. After 20 laps, Harvick maintained the second position throughout the heat race and finished second.
By finishing second in the heat race, the No. 88 Chevrolet rolled off fourth for the Main race. The California native was scored in the sixth position by lap 17 and was quiet on the radio. Harvick brought the Hunt Brothers Pizza Chevrolet to the attention of the crew on lap 26 for the first pit stop of the day for four tires, fuel and an adjustment. On lap 32, Harvick came over the radio to report that the handling had become worse after the adjustments made on the previous stop.
The No. 88 machine was scored in the fifth position on lap 45. With 12 laps remaining, the caution flag waved for an incident on track. Harvick came to pit road under this caution for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment. After taking the green, the caution flag flew for the final time of the day with six laps to go. On the restart, the No. 88 Chevrolet was scored in the third position.
Harvick would advance one position on the restart and finish the 60-lap race in the second position. The No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet maintains the second position in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Owner Standings.
Kyle Busch led the field to the checkered flag and was followed by Harvick, Paul Menard, Larson and fifth-place Justin Allgaier.
Dave Elenz, crew chief No. 88 Hunt Brothers Pizza Chevrolet team
“All in all we had a good day with our No. 88 Hunt Brothers Pizza Chevrolet. Kevin (Harvick) and the No. 88 guys worked hard in the heat and we were there at the end. We will take this second-place finish and move on to Iowa next week.”