Harvick Finishes Fifth at Chicagoland

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In: NASCAR Cup Series News

Kevin Harvick looked to be in championship form for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup opener on Sunday afternoon at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois.

Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Jimmy John’s Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), started the MyAFibStory.com 400 in 12th and was on his way to the front of the field in the early going. He climbed as high as fourth by the first caution on lap 68 but had to overcome a loose wheel on the early pit stop before racing his way back to the lead. Harvick was forced to make a second pit stop under caution to fix the issue and restarted 22nd on lap 72.

Harvick and the No. 4 Jimmy John’s team remained calm and methodically went to work to regain the lost positions. The Bakersfield, California, native raced the No. 4 Chevrolet back up to 13th by the next caution on lap 100. He came to pit road under caution for a four-tire stop, and the quick work of the pit crew helped Harvick gain two positions to restart 11th on lap 104.

Following that restart the No. 4 Chevrolet came to life and began turning the fastest lap times on the track. By lap 151 Harvick and the Jimmy John’s team captured the lead, where they would stay for the next 77 laps. The No. 4 gave up the lead to the No. 42 driven by Kyle Larson shortly before pitting under green-flag conditions on lap 230.

Just two laps after the green-flag pit stop the caution flag flew, but Harvick and the leaders stayed out to maintain their track position. Harvick restarted second and battled Larson for the lead following the restart. Harvick briefly regained the lead on lap 249 and again on lap 251 before the final caution came on lap 259.

The final restart on lap 261 led to an exciting six-lap sprint to the finish that saw Harvick take the checkered flag in the fifth position.

“Well, the No. 42 (Larson) was better than us,” said Harvick, who has two career Sprint Cup wins at Chicagoland. “He passed us the run before and was able to get track position and restart on the bottom. On the restarts, for whatever reason, I was tight those last several restarts up on exit, so I had to kind of go into defensive mode. Obviously Kyle wants to win a race and that’s how you’re supposed to race, and everybody was going after it pretty hard. It was a fun day. I’m proud of all my guys on my Jimmy John’s Chevrolet for the job that they did, and it’s a solid start to the Chase.”

Harvick led three times for a race-high 79 laps en route to his ninth top-five of 2014 and his eighth top-five in 14 career Sprint Cup starts at the 1.5-mile oval.

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