Kevin Harvick and the No. 29 Rheem team salvaged a ninth-place finish in the AAA Texas 500 Sunday afternoon after battling handling issues for the majority of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event at Texas Motor Speedway. The Richard Childress Racing driver started the scheduled 334-lap event from the 23rd position before alerting crew chief Gil Martin that the black and red Chevrolet had an extremely tight-handling condition. The pit crew made multiple adjustments during four-tire pit stops throughout the 502.5-mile affair to alleviate the handling issues Harvick was battling. As the race progressed, and the sun set over the 1.5-mile facility, the car transitioned from a tight to loose-handling condition as Harvick maneuvered into the top 15 in the running order. The Rheem pit crew continued to make adjustments that helped to improve the handling of the No. 29 Chevrolet allowing Harvick to break into the top 10 during the final laps, ultimately crossing the finish line in the ninth position. Harvick remains 11th in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, 101 points out of the lead.
KEVIN HARVICK QUOTE:
“The team did a great job keeping us in the game today. We had a tough time making the right adjustments to get the Rheem Chevrolet handling the way I needed it to be, but the pit crew was solid today and I have to thank them for all their hard work this weekend.”