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Hunt Brothers Pizza Driver Scores Second NASCAR XFINITY Series Top-Five of 2017

Date: April 8, 2017

Event: My Bariatric Solutions 300 (Round 6 of 33)

Series: NASCAR XFINITY Series

Location: Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth (1.5-mile oval)

Format: 200 laps, broken into three stages (45 laps/45 laps/110 laps)

Start/Finish: 14th/3rd (Running, completed 200 of 200 laps)

Race Winner: Erik Jones of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

 

Stage 1 Winner: Erik Jones of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

Stage 2 Winner: William Byron of JR Motorsports (Chevrolet)

 

Stage 1 Recap (Ends on Lap 45):

• Started 14th, finished 10th.
• The No. 41 Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford Mustang stayed out under caution on lap 12 while racing in the 13th position.
• Harvick entered the top-10 on lap 37.
• The team pitted under caution for four tires, fuel, wedge and track bar adjustments to give the car more turn through the center of the corner at the conclusion of Stage 1.

Stage 2 Recap (Ends on Lap 90):  

• Started 10th, finished 14th.
• Harvick received damage to the right rear of the No. 41 Ford, when he attempted to avoid a wreck directly in front of him on lap 66.
• The Hunt Brothers Pizza team came to pit road following the incident for four fresh tires and minor repairs before restarting 20th on lap 70.
• Harvick came to pit road under caution on lap 86 for four tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment and restarted 19th on lap 88.
• He gained five positions in the final two laps of Stage 2 on new tires.
• The No. 41 team opted to stay out following the conclusion of Stage 2 while many of the leaders came to pit road allowing the team to pick up an additional nine positions.

Final Stage Recap (Ends on Lap 200):        

• Started fifth, finished third.
• Harvick came to pit road under caution on lap 158 for four tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment to help the car turn the center of the corner better in Turn 1 and 2.
• He raced the No. 41 Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford Mustang up to the third position with 40 laps to go and maintained that position for the remainder of the event.

Notes:                   

• Harvick scored his 11th top-five finish and 17th top-10 finish in 20 XFINITY Series starts at Texas Motor Speedway.
• It is his 180th top-five finish in 337 XFINITY Series starts.
• Harvick’s SHR teammate Cole Custer finished fifth to score his second career XFINITY Series top-five finish and his first of 2017.
• This is Harvick’s second NASCAR XFINITY Series start for Stewart-Haas Racing.

Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 41 Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“I thought our day was really good when the car wasn’t beat up like it was at the end. We had better speed. We were okay after the crash but for the second time out and six weeks in and everything that we have going on, putting both cars in the top-five is a huge day for us. Everybody on our Hunt Brothers Pizza team is doing a good job. We know we have some areas to work on to be better. Hopefully we can continue to do that and come back to Charlotte.”  

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR XFINITY Series schedule is the Fitzgerald Glider Kits 300 on Saturday, April 22 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. The race starts at 1 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1. Harvick’s next time behind the wheel of the No. 41 Ford Mustang will be Saturday, May 27 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway.

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