Pennzoil

KEVIN HARVICK FINISHES RUNNER-UP AT INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

Driver of the No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet Extends His Championship Point Lead to 184

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (July 25, 2010) — After racing inside the top-five for most of the day at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Kevin Harvick and the No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil team utilized pit strategy to make a late-race charge for the win in the 17th Running of the Brickyard 400.

The No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet rolled off in ninth-place to begin the 160-lap event and Harvick was luckily in front of the melee that transpired off of turn 2 during the opening lap. A multi-car pile-up ended the day of several competitors and caused complications for many others in the form of flat-tires and debris covered grills, but Harvick was able to continue the event without any problems.

During the early portion of the race Harvick raced inside the top-ten although he struggled a bit working through traffic. The Shell-Pennzoil team continued to make minor changes to their Chevy Impala to zero-in on the exact balance that Harvick needed to race around the 2.5-mile oval.

By the fourth caution on lap 117 Harvick called in to the crew to state that his car was a little tight through the center, but overall he was pretty happy with the No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet. The 2003 Brickyard 400 Champion warned the team not to make too drastic of a change, but asked for a minor adjustment. When the race restarted, Harvick had a problem shifting through the gears raising questions regarding the ability of his motor throughout the remaining restarts. Luckily, the driver of the No. 29 Shell Pennzoil Chevrolet resolved the issue by switching to his backup ignition box.

Harvick brought the No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet down pit road for the team’s final stop of the day during the lap 138 caution period. Crew chief Gil Martin called for a two-tire stop allowing Harvick to move from eighth to third in the running order.

When the race restarted, Harvick wheeled the No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet into second-place and raced Jamie McMurray down the front straightaway to take over the lead on lap 146 just as the caution flag was displayed. Harvick led the field back to the green flag on Lap 150, but just one lap later was passed by McMurray as the Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet tightened up.

Harvick held on to cross the finish line in the second position, just 1.391 seconds behind the race winner. The finish allowed Harvick to extend his championship points lead to 184 points over second place, representing a gain of more than 80 points.

“Well, it was a good day,” said Kevin Harvick during the post-race press conference. “We had a solid top five car. We took a gamble there at the end to take two tires. On the first restart, it took off great. We were able to run Jamie down and pass him. Second restart, it didn't take off so great. Just got tight. He drove around the outside of me. … But still a great day. Took a chance to try to win the race. All but capitalized on it and came up one short.”

Next week, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will return to Pocono Raceway for the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 on Sunday, August 1. Flag-to-flag coverage will be aired on ESPN beginning at 1:00 p.m. EST. Meanwhile, MRN and Sirius Satellite Radio will both have a live radio broadcast of the 500-mile event beginning at 12:00 p.m. EST. Qualifying from the 2.5-mile tri-oval will be broadcast on SPEED beginning at 3:30 p.m. EST on Friday, July 30.