Scott Speed climbed behind the wheel of the No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet Impala on Saturday for his debut with the Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) team and first NASCAR Nationwide Series start at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Canada. Speed qualified in the fourth position for the 74-lap event and battled his was way to a sixth-place finish after a late-race incident caused damage to the No. 33 and put the driver as far back as 24th with less than 20 laps to the end of the race.
Fans filled the stands and grassy areas around the 15-turn course as the 43-car field powered up for the start of the race. Speed maintained his fourth starting position for the first three laps before the lead cars opted for early race green-flag pit stops for fuel. By lap 14, the driver took over the lead.
The first full-course caution came on lap 15 for a car blocking the track after spinning through a turn. As the field slowed for the caution, Speed relayed that his Rheem Chevrolet got better on the long run, and no changes would be needed when he made a pit stop for four tires and fuel. As the KHI crew executed the stop, an issue with the left rear caused the car to not come all the way off the ground, and as a result, the No. 33 was slow to leave pit road.
The field went back to green on lap 19 with Speed lined up in the 18th spot. The driver settled into a steady pace and moved up to the 13th position by lap 26. On lap 28, the KHI crew brought Speed to pit road for a fuel-only stop as teams’ scheduled green-flag pit stops started to cycle through the field.
Speed returned to racing in the top 10 and reached the ninth position by the halfway mark. The No. 33 continued to move toward the front of the field and was in fifth when the second full-course caution came on lap 41.
During the caution, Speed brought the No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet to pit road for four tires and fuel, and he returned to the track in the 15th position for the lap 44 restart.
With the wave of the green flag, cars raced three-wide going into turn one. Speed worked his way back into the top 10, and reached the sixth position by lap 50. On lap 51, he made a quick pit stop for fuel only. The field was slowed for a third time for a full-course caution with 22 laps to go to the end. Speed stayed on course, and the event returned to green-flag conditions on lap 55 with the No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet in the fourth position.
In the mid-section of the course on the first lap back under green, contact was made with the No. 33 which left significant right-rear damage to the Chevrolet. The field was slowed for a full-course caution on lap 56, and Speed made the quick call to come to pit road where the Rheem crew added four tires and pulled the right-rear fender away from the tire. After the quick repairs, Speed returned to the track and restarted in the 24th position with 15 laps remaining.
The driver worked his way to the 21st spot when the fifth full-course caution fell with 13 laps to go. Speed opted not to pit and moved into the 20th position for the lap 64 restart.
Back under green-flag conditions with the end of the race approaching, Speed muscled his way forward to the top 15. With seven laps to the end of the race, another full-course caution fell for oil on the track. With no need to make a pit stop, the No. 33 remained on track and moved into 12th as two vehicles in front made stops down pit road.
NASCAR signaled the restart with only three laps remaining in the scheduled 74-lap event. Speed continued to power through the field, and with two laps to go, moved into the ninth position. As the No. 33 maneuvered its way through the 2.71-mile course on the last lap, the driver fought forward and reached the finish line in the sixth position.
Speed’s sixth-place result moves the KHI team up one position from fifth to fourth in the Nationwide Series Owner’s Point Standings with nine races remaining in the season. The top-10 finish is also the No. 33 team’s 16th in 24 races.
Clint Bowyer returns to the driver’s seat of the No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet Impala next Friday as the Nationwide Series makes its second visit of the season to Bristol Motor Speedway. Tune in to ESPN at 7:30 p.m. ET to watch the racing action live and listen to PRN beginning at 7 p.m. ET.
Comments from driver Scott Speed:
“I feel disappointed that things outside of our control kept us from finishing where we should of. This No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet was fast and I definitely thought we had a chance to win today. I want to thank Kevin and DeLana [Harvick] and Rheem for giving me the opportunity to drive such a great car.”