Harvick Finishes Solid Second in Phoenix

Race Winner:      Joey Logano of Team Penske (Ford)

Stage 1 Winner:  Kevin Harvick of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)

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

 

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-75):

Kevin Harvick started second and finished first, earning 10 bonus point and a playoff point.

● The No. 4 Jimmy John’s Freaky Fast Rewards Ford Mustang was a bit loose early on.

● Harvick was second when he pitted under caution on lap 60 for four tires and fuel.

● The No. 4 car left pit road in first place and led the last 15 laps of Stage 1.

 

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 76-190):

Harvick started first and finished second, earning nine bonus points.

● On lap 134 the No. 4 Jimmy John’s Freaky Fast Rewards Ford Mustang pitted from the lead for four tires and fuel. He came out of the pits in sixth place.

 

Final Stage Recap (Laps 191-316):

Harvick started second and finished second.

● The No. 4 Jimmy John’s Freaky Fast Rewards Ford Mustang pitted on lap 194 for four tires and fuel and a chassis adjustment, then came out in fifth place.

● On lap 216, Harvick pitted for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment. He had to restart sixth, as several cars took only two tires.

● Harvick passed Joey Logano for the lead on lap 251.

● The No. 4 Jimmy John’s Freaky Fast Rewards Ford Mustang pitted on lap 255 for four tires and fuel and remained in first place.

● His final pit stop was on lap 268 for four tires and fuel, but he remained in the top-10.

● There were four late-race cautions, which put Harvick in position to battle Logano for the win, but the No. 4 car fell just .276 of a second behind and had to settle for second place.

 

Notes:

Harvick’s second-place result was his best thus far in 2020. His previous best was fifth in the season-opening Daytona 500.

● This is Harvick’s fourth straight top-10. He finished ninth in the series’ last race at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California.

Harvick earned his second top-five and fourth top-10 of the season, and his 18th top-five and 24th top-10 in 35 career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Phoenix.

● Harvick’s 18 top-fives and 24 top-10s are the most among active drivers at Phoenix.

● This was Harvick’s 12th top-two at Phoenix. Nine of those top-twos are victories, the most among active drivers at Phoenix.

● This is Harvick’s second straight top-five and his 14th straight top-10 at Phoenix. He finished fifth in the series’ most recent visit to the track last November.

● Harvick has never finished outside the top-10 at Phoenix since joining SHR in 2014. He has scored five wins during this time.

● Harvick led four times for 67 laps to increase his laps-led total at Phoenix to 1,662, the most among active drivers.

● Logano won the FanShield 500k to score his milestone 25th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his second of the season and his second at Phoenix. His margin of victory over second-place Harvick was .276 of a second.

● This was Ford’s 17th NASCAR Cup Series victory at Phoenix.

● There were 12 caution periods for a total of 73 laps.

● Twenty-seven of the 38 drivers in the FanShield 500k finished on the lead lap.

● Harvick leaves Phoenix as the championship leader with a one-point advantage over second-place Logano.

 

Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Jimmy John’s Freaky Fast Rewards Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“He (Logano) just had control of the race. After we pitted there, I got stuck behind a couple of cars there, lost five or six spots. He got by and got control of the race. He got to restart where he wanted to. Our Jimmy John’s Ford was better, especially when we could put it in front of his. We just didn’t get the control of the race back there, and he was able to get by us on that restart where I got hung up.”

 

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Folds of Honor 500 on Sunday, March 15, at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The race starts at 2 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FOX and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

 

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