No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet
Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Budweiser Racing Team Notes of Interest
• Kevin Harvick and the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet team battled handling issues and track position all day in the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway before finishing the event in the 21st position.
• After starting the race from the 18th position Harvick patiently made laps while dealing with a car that was too tight in the center and loose getting into the turns. The team made its first big adjustment during the first caution at lap 29, raising the track bar, changing two tires and adding fuel. Harvick was in 15th place when racing resumed at lap 34.
• Varying strategies were exercised up and down pit road while the No. 29 Budweiser Team elected to do two-tire stops for its first three stops of the race in an effort to pick up track position. The strategy worked in that Harvick was up to the seventh position after the first 100 laps of the race.
• Trouble ensued during the second third of the race as the Budweiser Chevrolet fell to the extreme loose side at lap 104. Harvick slid through the field, dropping as far back as the 18th position until the team elected to bring him to pit road for four tires, adjustments and fuel during green-flag conditions at lap 141. The fourth caution waved two laps later placing the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet a lap down. Having just pitted, Harvick took the wave around to get back on the lead lap but was mired deep in the field in the 32nd position.
• Harvick would spend the second half of the race battling persistent handling issues on the Budweiser Chevrolet. As the race started to wind down, fuel mileage became an issue. The No. 29 Budweiser Team could never get their pit activities in sequence with the front runners which resulted in the No. 29 car competing in the 25th position during the closing laps of the event.
• A number of drivers would run out of fuel during the final laps of the race. Harvick and the No. 29 Budweiser Team eventually picked up four more positions to finish in 21st place. The finish dropped Harvick a position in the driver point standings. He is currently in fourth place, 15 points out of first place.
• Ryan Newman scored the win in Sunday’s race at New Hampshire. Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano and Jimmie Johnson completed the top five.
• Carl Edwards is back at the top of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver point standings after Sunday’s race. Johnson sits seven points behind in second place. Kurt Busch, Harvick and Kyle Busch complete the top five in the point standings.
• Follow along each weekend with Harvick and the team on Twitter. Check out @KevinHarvick for behind-the-scenes information straight from the driver of the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet. Get live updates from the track each weekend from @Black29Car, the PR team for Harvick. Also, follow @RCRracing and @RCR29KHarvick for additional information about the Richard Childress Racing organization.
The following is the finish position of the other beverage-sponsored cars participating in the Lenox Industrial Tools 301:
• Kasey Kahne, driver of the No. 4 Red Bull Toyota, finished sixth
• Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the No. 88 National Guard/AMP Energy Chevrolet team finished 15th
• Matt Kenseth and the No. 17 Affliction Ford team finished 20th
• Scott Wimmer, driver of the No. 7 SPEED Energy Dodge, finished 27th
• Brian Vickers and the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota team finished 34th
• Brad Keselowski, driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge, finished 35th
• Mike Skinner and the No. 60 Big Red Toyota Team finished 42nd
The following is the finish position of the other Richard Childress Racing teams participating in the Lenox Industrial Tools 301:
• Jeff Burton and the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet team finished 16th
• Clint Bowyer and the No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet finished 17th
• Paul Menard, driver of the No. 27 Richmond-Menards Chevrolet, finished 24th
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will be off next weekend. Racing will resume at the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, July 31. ESPN assumes the broadcast schedule for the remainder of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. The Brickyard 400 is scheduled for a 1 p.m. EDT start.