LOUDON, N.H. (September 25, 2011) – Kevin Harvick and the No. 2 JEGS Chevrolet team brought home a solid third-place finish in Saturday’s F.W. Webb 175 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway after starting from the second position.
As the green flag waved, the No. 2 settled into the third position and Harvick notified crew chief Bruce Cook that his truck was extremely loose. However, the sun began to peek out behind the clouds and the JEGS Chevrolet became too tight for the driver’s liking.
As the field was preparing for the first round of green-flag pit stops, the caution waved on lap 61 for debris on the track. Harvick brought the No. 2 Chevrolet down pit road to the attention of his JEGS crew for a chassis and air-pressure adjustment to alleviate the truck’s tight condition on lap 62.
The field returned to green-flag racing on lap 65 with Harvick in the third position but was slowed again by another caution on lap 70 for debris. A slow restart on lap 73 by the No. 3 truck of Austin Dillon caused the No. 2 to slip to the fourth position.
As the laps wound down, Harvick, running fifth, reported that the JEGS crew had made the truck much better, but it was extremely hard to pass as most of the field ran single file the majority of the day. Cook and Harvick continued to discuss possible adjustments that would improve the JEGS Chevrolet’s handling for the last scheduled pit stop of the day.
Cook called Harvick to pit road on lap 133 for two right-side tires and fuel. While most of the lead-lap trucks took four tires, the team’s strategy would pay off as they were able to gain two spots during the green-flag pit stop exchange. Harvick would hold on to the position and crossed the finish line third.
Ron Hornaday will climb behind the wheel of the No. 2 Hollywood Casino Chevrolet when the Truck Series heads to Kentucky Speedway on October, 1 for the Kentucky 225. Don’t miss the action live on SPEED at 8:00 p.m. ET and MRN at 7:45 p.m. ET.
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