Kevin Harvick and the No. 29 Budweiser team collected a 16th-place finish in the Southern 500 after battling handling issues at Darlington Raceway. The Richard Childress Racing veteran started the 367-lap event from the 23rd position and moved into the top15 while battling a loose handling condition during the early portion of the race. As the race progressed and minor adjustments were made during the first green-flag pit stop, Harvick informed the Shane Wilson-led crew that his Chevrolet was becoming too tight in the same areas it was previously loose. Over the course of several additional pit stops, the Budweiser crew made multiple adjustments to the car to alleviate the handling issues their driver was facing. With 100 laps remaining in the race, Harvick had worked his way into the top 10 and maintained position until multiple late-race cautions were displayed, which proved detrimental to the Budweiser Chevrolet as the car was slower on takeoff and became faster during longer green-flag runs. The Bakersfield, Calif. native continued to battle the handling on the No. 29 Chevrolet and fellow competitors to bring home a 16th-place finish at the track deemed “Too Tough To Tame”. Harvick now sits eighth in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship driver point standings.
KEVIN HARVICK QUOTE:
“All of the pieces were there, we just need to put them in the right places. We had a seventh or eighth-place car, but the Budweiser Chevrolet was better on long runs so the last couple of runs and all the restarts at the end really hurt us. We’ll get back at it and look forward to the Sprint All-Star race next weekend.”