Harvick Finishes Fifth at Phoenix

Race Winner: Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

Stage 1 Winner: Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

Stage 2 Winner: Joey Logano of Team Penske (Ford)

 

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-75):

Kevin Harvick started seventh and finished ninth, earning two bonus points.

● The No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang pitted on lap 69 for four tires and fuel.

● Harvick told the team that his racecar was loose in turn three.

 

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 75-150):

Harvick started seventh and finished seventh, earning four bonus points.

● The No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang was brought to pit road on lap 155 for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment.

● Harvick said the car was still loose.

 

Final Stage Recap (Laps 151-312):

Harvick started eighth and finished fifth.

● The No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang hit pit road while in fifth place for four tires and fuel.

● Harvick said the car was a bit loose entering the turns.

● After a late caution, Harvick pitted on lap 306 for four tires and fuel.

● He worked his way from sixth to fifth, where he finished the race.

 

Notes:

● Harvick earned his 14th top-five and 25th top-10 of the season, and his 17th top-five and 23rd top-10 in 34 career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Phoenix.

● Harvick has finished in the top-five 14 times in the last 18 races at Phoenix.

● This is Harvick’s 13th straight top-10 at Phoenix. He finished ninth in the series’ last visit to the track in March.

● Harvick’s nine wins, 16 top-fives, 22 top-10s and 1,595 laps led at Phoenix are the most among active Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers. (NOTE: The only driver close to him in any of the numbers is Jimmie Johnson with 15 top-fives and 21 top-10s.)

● This is Harvick’s fourth straight top-10 and his 14th top-10 in the last 16 races. He won the series’ previous race at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth.

● Since joining SHR in 2014, Harvick has never finished outside the top-10 at Phoenix. He has finished in the top-two six times, five of which were wins.

● Denny Hamlin won the Bluegreen Vacations 500kto score his 37th career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory, his sixth of the season and his third at Phoenix. His margin of victory over second-place Kyle Busch was .377 of a second.

● There were five caution periods for a total of 32 laps.

● Only 15 of the 39 drivers in the Bluegreen Vacations 500kfinished on the lead lap.

● Ford took five of the top-10 finishing positions in the Bluegreen Vacations 500.

 

Kevin Harvick, Driver of the No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“I’d say (the race went) about like I thought it was gonna go. The Gibbs cars were strong, and we were probably about where we finished, about a fifth-place car. I’m just really proud of everybody on our Mobil 1 Ford for battling through the day, and we’ll see what happens next week in Homestead.”

 

Championship 4 Drivers:

1.    Kevin Harvick (5,000 points)

2.    Martin Truex Jr. (5,000 points)

3.    Denny Hamlin (5,000 points)

4.    Kyle Busch (5,000 points)

●  Harvick will compete in the Championship 4 for the fifth time in the last six years. He won the championship in 2014.

 

Failed to Advance to Championship 4:

1.    Joey Logano

2.    Ryan Blaney

3.    Kyle Larson

4.    Chase Elliott

 

Next Up:

The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the season-ending Ford EcoBoost 400 on Sunday, Nov. 17 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The final race of the 10-race playoffs starts at 3 p.m. EST with live coverage provided by NBC and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

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