Race Winner: Martin Truex Jr. of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner: Joey Logano of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner: Martin Truex Jr. of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-80):
● Kevin Harvick started third and finished second, earning nine bonus points.
● No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang was tight early on.
● Harvick pitted on lap 42 for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment to try and cure the tight condition.
Stage 2 Recap (Laps 81-160):
● Harvick started first and finished fourth, earning seven bonus points.
● No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang pitted on lap 83 for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment. Harvick came in second and left first.
● On the restart, Harvick fell to sixth and was 4.5 second behind leader Joey Logano on lap 104.
● While in sixth place, Harvick pitted on lap 122 for four tires and fuel.
Final Stage Recap (Laps 161-267):
● Harvick started fourth and finished second.
● No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang was too tight per Harvick on lap 172.
● Under caution, Harvick pitted for four tires, fuel and a tire pressure adjustment. He said the racecar was just too tight.
● Harvick restarted fifth, then took the lead on lap 187 and stayed up front for the next 42 circuits. He raced back to the lead with 20 laps to go but was passed the next lap by race winner Martin Truex Jr. and finished second.
Notes:
● Harvick earned his 10th top-five of the season and his seventh top-five in 21 career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Las Vegas.
● This is Harvick’s second straight top-five at Las Vegas. He finished fourth in the series’ last visit to the track in March.
● This is Harvick’s third consecutive top-five. He won the series’ last race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
● Harvick’s seven top-fives at Las Vegas tie him with Kyle Busch for the most among active Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers.
● Harvick’s 10 top-10s at Las Vegas are the most among active Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers.
● Harvick led three times for 47 laps to increase his laps-led total at Las Vegas to 587.
● Truex won the South Point 400to score his 24th career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory, his fifth of the season and his second at Las Vegas. His margin of victory over second-place Harvick was 4.173 seconds.
● There were four caution periods for a total of 22 laps.
● Only 17 of the 39 drivers in the South Point 400 finished on the lead lap.
Kevin Harvick, Driver of the No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:
“It was good. We had two solid stages and with the way that practice went for us, that was a miracle. To be in contention with a chance to win the race with 25 laps to go says a lot about the guys working on this 4 car and everybody did a great job of making something out of what wasn’t very bright for us on Friday.”
Playoff Standings (with two races to go before Round of 12):
1. Martin Truex Jr. (2,082 points) 1 win
2. Kevin Harvick (2,079 points) +52 points
3. Joey Logano (2,075 points) +48 points
4. Kyle Busch (2,063 points) +36 points
5. Brad Keselowski (2,058 points) +31 points
6. Chase Elliott (2,057 points) +30 points
7. Denny Hamlin (2,056 points) +29 points
8. Kyle Larson (2,044 points) +17 points
9. William Byron (2,040 points) +13 points
10. Ryan Blaney (2,039 points) +12 points
11. Alex Bowman (2,037 points) +10 points
12. Aric Almirola (2,033 points) +6 points
13. Ryan Newman (2,027 points) -6 points
14. Kurt Busch (2,019 points) -14 points
15. Clint Bowyer (2,012 points) -21 points
16. Erik Jones (2,007 points) -26 points
Next Up:
The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Federated Auto Parts 400 on Saturday, Sept. 21 at Richmond (Va.) Raceway. It is the second race of the 10-race playoffs and it starts at 7:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBCSN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
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