Harvick locks into “Eliminator” round with win at Charlotte

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Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Budweiser Chevrolet SS, secured a spot in the third round of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup with his win in the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the fifth race in the 10-race run for the series title. It was Harvick’s third win of the 2014 season, and 16th top-10 finish thus far this season, and it was the 16thwin for the Chevrolet SS.

“We came here and tested thinking that this was going to be the hardest round to get through because of Talladega,” said Harvick.  “There’s so much that you can’t control there. We wanted to try to control the things that we could control. We felt like Kansas and here (Charlotte) were playing to our strengths; and just see where it fell after that once we get to the next round. So I’m really proud of everybody at SHR. I’m really proud of all my guys on this team. I just can’t thank everybody enough.”

Chevrolet swept the races at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2014 with Chevrolet SS driver Jimmie Johnson winning the Coca-Cola 600 in May and Jamie McMurray emerging victorious in the All-Star race.

“Kevin, Rodney and the entire No. 4 Chevrolet SS team hit on all cylinders tonight with true team work, great driving and execution in the pits,” said Jim Campbell, U.S. Vice President of Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. “We’re excited that they are locked in to the next round of the Chase.  Now the focus is on Talladega, and getting as many Team Chevy drivers into the ‘Eliminator’ round as possible.”

Four-time Cup champion, Jeff Gordon, posted a strong runner-up finish in his No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet SS; marking his 24th top 10 in 44 races at Charlotte Motor Speedway.  Jamie McMurray, behind the wheel of his No. 1 McDonald’s Monopoly Chevy SS was third, giving Team Chevy a 1-2-3 finish in the 500-mile race under the lights.

Team Chevy ‘Chaser’ Ryan Newman had an eventful night in the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet SS spinning to avoid an accident and overcoming a slow pit stop on pit road due to a broken jack to rally and earn a seventh-place finish.  Kasey Kahne earned a solid 10th place finish in the No. 5 Pepsi Chevrolet SS.  Kahne currently holds the eighth transfer position in the point standings heading into the ‘Contender’ round cut-off race at Talladega Superspeedway next weekend.

Chevrolet SS Chase competitors Johnson and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. both encountered issues during the 334-lap event.  On lap 136 the driver of the No. 88 Diet Mountain Dew Chevrolet SS had his shifter break.  The team pitted multiple times to fix the issue, eventually going one lap down to the leader relegating Earnhardt, Jr. to a 20th-place finish. 

Johnson piloting the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet SS had moved up from a 21st-place starting position to the fourth, but a trip down pit road for four tires late in the race dropped him from earning a top 10 finish.

Team Chevy PR

Speedway Digest Staff
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