Jimmy John’s Driver Leads Late, Scores Fourth Top-10 of 2014
Date: May 4, 2014
Event: Aaron’s 499 (Round 10 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Location: Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway (2.66-mile oval)
Start/Finish: 8th/7th (Running, completed 188 of 188 laps)
Winner: Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Kevin Harvick drove his No. 4 Jimmy John’s Chevrolet SS to a strong seventh-place finish in Sunday’s Aaron’s 499 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.
“We were in a good spot there at the end and what you would want to put yourself in a position to win,” said Harvick, who recorded his 11th top-10 finish in 27 career Sprint Cup starts at Talladega and his fourth top-10 result this season. “I felt like I got a good restart with our Jimmy John’s Chevrolet, but our line just never formed up.”
Harvick’s plan was to take the beginning of the race as it came, staying up front if he was able to do so or dropping back if things got hairy around him. While Harvick’s position fluctuated every lap as a result of the multicar draft that keeps the field bunched closely together, his Jimmy John’s Chevrolet had the strength it needed to hold position at the front of the field. For the majority of the race, the Bakersfield, California, native was able to maintain a position inside the top-10. Despite early concerns over high water temperature, Harvick was able to focus on the task at hand, racing for his third win of the 2014 season.
Green-flag racing dominated much of the race, but a series of late-race cautions seemed to play in Harvick’s favor. Knowing the fuel window would be tight, crew chief Rodney Childers instructed the Jimmy John’s driver to save whenever possible. With lengthy caution periods, Harvick was able not only to accomplish the task and ensure that he could make it to the checkered flag, but also to race aggressively for position. He took the lead on lap 168 and was scored on the point a total of three times in the closing stages for 15 laps.
Over the closing laps Harvick’s position fluctuated as the field raced three wide, side by side. Just as the white flag waved, a multicar incident unfolded on the front stretch. With the field frozen, Harvick, who was in the seventh position when the yellow flag waved, was credited with his 213th Sprint Cup top-10 finish.
“The bottom stayed together, and I guess the 40 pulled out of line, and our line just never got formed up,” Harvick said. “All in all, it was a good day for our Jimmy John’s Chevrolet. I don’t think it would have made a difference if the caution hadn’t come out on the last lap. Our line just wasn’t formed whatsoever. We needed the caution before that to not have come out so we could have kept going.”
Harvick’s Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) teammate Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet SS, started seventh and finished 22nd. Patrick led twice for six laps in her 56th career Sprint Cup start and her third at Talladega.
Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet SS for SHR, started ninth and finished 33rd after being caught up in a multicar crash on lap 175 that collected eight drivers. Busch was unhurt, but his car was too damaged to continue.
Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet SS for SHR, started 12th and finished 43rd after getting caught up in a multicar accident on lap 136 that collected 14 drivers. Stewart was unhurt, but his car was too damaged to continue.
Denny Hamlin won the Aaron’s 499 to score his 24th career Sprint Cup victory in his 300th start. It was his first win of the season and his first at Talladega.
Greg Biffle finished behind Hamlin in the runner-up spot, while Clint Bowyer, Brian Vickers and A.J. Allmendinger rounded out the top-five. Paul Menard, Harvick, Kasey Kahne, Kyle Larson and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. comprised the remainder of the top-10.
There were eight caution periods for 31 laps, with 12 drivers failing to finish the 188-lap race, which ended under caution.
With round 10 of 36 complete, Harvick leads the SHR contingent in the championship point standings. He is 19th with 258 points, 89 behind first-place Jeff Gordon. Stewart is 21stwith 244 points, 103 out of first. Busch is 27th with 196 points, 151 out of first. Patrick is 29th with 176 points, 171 out of first.
The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule is the 5-hour Energy 400 on Saturday, May 10 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City. The race starts at 7:30 p.m. EDT, with live coverage provided by FOX beginning with its prerace show at 7 p.m.
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