Category: Post-Race Reports, General News
02/13/10
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (February 14, 2010) — Two-time Nationwide Series champion Kevin Harvick and the No. 33 Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) Jimmy John’s team finished third in the Nationwide Series season opener at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway (DIS) after overcoming a mid-race on-track incident. Harvick’s teammate, Tony Stewart, claimed his third consecutive win and fifth in the last six season openers at DIS.
“The guys did a great job overcoming the accident and getting this Jimmy John’s Chevrolet back to the front,” said Harvick following the race. “We worked really hard during the winter and really focused on our superspeedway program. For the guys to come back and have a strong finish tells a lot about their character. I had a lot of fun. The car was awesome from the start and even after the accident, it was still strong. It shows how fast our cars are; now I’m looking forward to going to Talladega and seeing what we can do.”
Starting the race from the fourth position, Harvick quickly took the lead on lap one and soon realized he had a fast car with great handling. With a few quick cautions where Harvick stayed on the track, the team made a scheduled green-flag pit stop on lap 43 for four fresh tires and fuel. With a slow stop, Harvick was shuffled back in the field as stops continued to cycle through the field.
On lap 49, Harvick moved back into the top 10 and with a caution on lap 50, crew chief Ernie Cope made the call for pit stop number two of the day. Giving up the ninth position, the No. 33 team quickly changed four tires and topped off with fuel. The race restarted on lap 55 with Harvick in the 13th spot.
With a “freaky fast” car, Harvick again began his move to the front of the pack taking over the second position on lap 65 behind KHI teammate and eventual race winner Stewart. Continuing to run in second place, Harvick was clipped by a spinning car on lap 91 that sent the No. 33 Jimmy John’s Chevrolet sliding through the grass. With damage to the car and following a red flag to clean the track, the No. 33 team diligently worked to make repairs and return Harvick to the competition. The race restarted on lap 95 with Harvick in the 19th position.
Following one green-flag lap, the caution again waved on lap 96 and Harvick told Cope that everything with the car was good. As the race restarted on lap 100, Stewart continued to lead the field with Harvick in the 11th spot. Running fast laps and maneuvering his way through the field, Harvick was able to take over the fifth position on lap 119 and one lap later, crossed the finish line in the third spot.
Stewart, piloting the No. 4 car for KHI, won the DRIVE4COPD 300 followed by Carl Edwards, Harvick, Justin Allgaier and Brain Vickers.
STATS RECAP
February 13, 2010
Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway
DRIVE4COPD 300
Race: 1 of 35
Driver: Kevin Harvick
Started: 4th
Finished: 3rd
Owner’s Point Standings: 3rd (+/- 0 spots, 25 points out of 1st)
Race length: 120 laps/300 miles
Banking: 31-degrees in the turns
3-degrees on the straight-a-ways
Track layout: 2.5 miles
Shape: Tri-oval
Number of Laps Led: One Time for 37 laps
Number of Race Cautions: 7 for 32 Laps
Red Flag: One Time for 11 minutes, 0 seconds
First Practice: 14th (49.044 seconds; 183.509 mph)
Final Practice: 22nd (49.705 seconds; 181.068 mph)
Qualifying: 4th
*Due to inclement weather, qualifying was cancelled and the starting line-up was set by the NASCAR rule books. The No. 33 team started based on the 2009 season-ending Owner’s Point standings.
Next on the Nationwide Series Schedule:
Date: February 20, 2010
Track: Auto Club Speedway
Event Name: Stater Bros. 300
Driver: Kevin Harvick
Sponsor: Rheem Tankless Water Heaters
Broadcast Time: 5:00 p.m., ET on ESPN2 and 5:00 p.m., ET on MRN Radio