Harvick Finishes Solid Seventh at Richmond

Race Winner: Brad Keselowski of Team Penske (Ford)

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

Stage 2 Winner: Brad Keselowski of Team Penske (Ford)

 

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-80):

Harvick started first and finished fifth and earned six bonus points.

● Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Hunt Brothers Pizza / FIELDS Ford Mustang led the first 20 laps before getting passed by Austin Dillion.

● On lap 32, Harvick pitted for four tires, fuel and a chassis and tire pressure adjustment.

 

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 81-235):

Harvick started second and finished 10th and earned one bonus point.

● Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Hunt Brothers Pizza / FIELDS Ford Mustang, pitted on lap 85 for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment. Said car was still too tight.

● On lap 141, Harvick pitted for four tires, fuel and a tire pressure adjustment.

● Harvick pitted from second-place on lap 185 for four tires, fuel and a tire pressure adjustment. Unfortunately, he had a commitment line violation on entry and had to serve a drive through penalty. He was 27th and one lap down on lap 195.

● On lap 227, Harvick got his lap back and was in 16th place.

 

Final Stage Recap (Laps 236-400):

Harvick started eighth and finished seventh.  

● On lap 240, Harvick pitted for four tires, fuel and a tire pressure adjustment.

● Harvick pitted on lap 294 for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment. Was fifth, but said car was too tight and lacked rear grip.

● On lap 348, Harvick pitted for four tires, fuel and a tire pressure adjustment.

 

Notes:

●  Brad Keselowski won the Federated Auto Parts 400 to score his 34th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his fourth of the season and his second at Richmond. His margin of victory over second-place Martin Truex Jr., was 1.568 seconds.

●  There were three caution periods for a total of 21 laps.

●  Only 11 of the 38 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.

●  Harvick remains the championship leader after Richmond with a 21-point advantage over second-place Denny Hamlin.

●  Harvick earned his series-leading 23rd top-10 of the season and his 26th top-10 in 39 career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Richmond.

●  This was Harvick’s fifth straight top-10 at Richmond. He finished seventh in the series’ previous visit to the track last September.

●  Harvick’s 26 top-10s at Richmond are the most among active drivers. Next best is Kyle Busch with 23 top-10s.

●  Since joining SHR in 2014, Harvick has not finished outside the top-15 at Richmond.

●  This was Harvick’s second straight top-10. He won in the series’ previous race at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.

●  Harvick has finished among the top-10 in 23 of the 28 races held this year. He has only three finishes outside the top-15.

●  Harvick finished fifth in Stage 1 to earn six bonus points and 10th in Stage 2 to earn one additional bonus point.

●  Harvick led three times for 41 laps to increase his laps-led total at Richmond to 1,180.

●  Harvick has now led 10,798 laps since joining SHR in 2014. He has led 15,224 laps in his entire NASCAR Cup Series career.

●  Harvick has led 1,190 laps in the 28 races held this season. He is the only driver to hit the 1,000 laps led mark this season. Next best is Hamlin with 835 laps led.

 

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