Harvick Finishes 13th at Kansas

Race Winner: Brad Keselowski of Team Penske (Ford) in overtime

Stage 1 Winner: Kevin Harvick of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)

Stage 2 Winner: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)

 

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-80):

Kevin Harvick started first, finished first and collected 10 bonus points and one playoff point.

● On lap 10, Harvick was leading but said the No. 4 Busch Beer Ford Mustang was a bit loose.

● At the competition caution on lap 30, Harvick led by 3.92 seconds, but he said his car was quite loose. He pitted for four tires, fuel and a tire pressure adjustment. Several cars took just two tires, and Harvick restarted 11th.

● After going from 11th to fourth in one lap on the restart, Harvick then retook the lead on lap 49.

● On lap 62, Harvick pitted for right-side tires and fuel. Several cars stayed out, so Harvick restarted 10th.

● By lap 72 Harvick had passed Chase Elliott for the lead.

 

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 81-160):

Started second, finished second and collected nine bonus points.

● Harvick pitted on lap 84 for four tires, fuel and a tire pressure adjustment. He restarted second behind Kurt Busch, who took only two tires.

● On lap 123, while leading, Harvick pitted for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment.

● Harvick said his car was out of control in the back and shoving the front on lap 145, but he finished the stage in second place.

 

Final Stage Recap (Laps 161-271):

Started first, finished 13th.

● On lap 163, Harvick pitted for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment.

● Harvick pitted on lap 178 while leading, thinking he had a flat tire. He took on two tires and fuel, and the crew cleaned a large piece of debris off the grille. He restarted 27th and the crew found no issues with the tire. It is believed that the debris caused the issue.

● With 50 laps to go, a caution came out and Harvick was 11th, one lap down, as cars were pitting. Harvick was not the Lucky Dog so did not get his lap back. He pitted for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment.

● On lap 224, Harvick restarted 14th, one lap down.

● He pitted on lap 242 for four tires and fuel.

● Harvick pitted for the final time on lap 265 for two tires and fuel and restarted ninth. He finished the race in 13th.

 

Notes:

●  Harvick won Stage 1 to earn 10 bonus points and one playoff point and finished second in Stage 2 to earn an additional nine bonus points.

●  Harvick led five times for a race-high 104 laps to increase his laps-led total at Kansas to 855.

●  Brad Keselowski won the Digital Ally 400 to score his 30th career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory, his third of the season and his second at Kansas. His margin of victory over second-place Alex Bowman was .205 of a second.

●  There were seven caution periods for a total of 41 laps.

●  Only 14 of the 40 drivers in the Digital Ally 400 finished on the lead lap.

●  Joey Logano leaves Kansas as the new championship leader with a nine-point advantage over second-place Kyle Busch.

 

Next Up:

The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the nonpoints Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race on Saturday, May 18 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. The race starts at 8 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio beginning at 6 p.m. with the undercard Monster Energy Open.

TSC PR