Race Winner: Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner: Clint Bowyer of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner: Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-105):
● Harvick started first, finished 15th.
● Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford Mustang led early on and pitted on lap 26 for two tires and fuel. He said the car was a bit tight in turns one and two.
● On lap 28, Harvick was leading and brushed the SAFER Barrier on the outside retaining wall exiting turn two. He was forced to pit for two tires and repairs. He returned to the track in 38th place, one lap down.
● Harvick pitted on lap 50 for four tires and fuel. The crew, including car chief Robert Smith, looked at the car and made repairs.
● Several days later, when the race resumed after a lengthy rain delay, Harvick pitted on lap 53 for more repairs to the right side. He returned one lap later for more repairs.
● He restarted 37th, one lap down.
● When a caution came out on lap 60 due to an accident between Bubba Wallace and Matt Kenseth, Harvick got his lap back due to the lucky dog rule. He was 33rd.
● On lap 66, Harvick pitted for fuel only and so the crew could clean some trash off the grill. He was in 31st, but on the lead lap.
Stage 2 Recap (Laps 106-210):
● Harvick started 12th, finished 10th and earned one bonus points.
● Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford Mustang pitted on lap 108 for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment. Said his car was just too tight.
● On lap 136, Harvick pitted for two tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment. He was eighth.
● Harvick pitted on lap 176 for four tires, fuel and a tire pressure adjustment. He was sixth.
Final Stage Recap (Laps 211-334):
● Harvick started 14th, finished 16th.
● Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford Mustang pitted for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment on lap 213. He was 10th.
● On lap 270, Harvick pitted for four tires, fuel and a chassis and tire pressure adjustment. He was 18th.
Notes:
● Kyle Busch won the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 to score his 57th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his first of the season and his fourth at Texas. His margin of victory over second-place Martin Truex Jr., was .468 of a second.
● There were eight caution periods for a total of 47 laps.
● Only 15 of the 40 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
● Harvick remains the championship leader after Texas with a 15-point advantage over second-place Denny Hamlin.
● Harvick led once for 28 laps to increase his laps-led total at Texas to 682.
● Harvick has now led 11,139 laps since joining SHR in 2014. He has led 15,565 laps in his entire NASCAR Cup Series career.
● Harvick has led 1,531 laps in the 34 races held this season. He was the first of two drivers to hit the 1,000 laps led mark this season. Next best is Denny Hamlin with 1,041 laps led and then Brad Keselowski with 933 laps led.
● This was only the fifth time this season that Harvick has finished outside the top-15
Playoff Standings (with one race to go before the Championship 4):
1. Joey Logano (4,094 points) 1 Win
2. Kevin Harvick (4,137 points) +42 points
3. Denny Hamlin (4,122 points) +27 points
4. Brad Keselowski (4,120 points) +25 points
5. Alex Bowman (4,095 points) -25 points
6. Chase Elliott (4,095 points) -25 points
7. Martin Truex Jr. (4,084 points) -36 points
8. Kurt Busch (4,039 points) -81 points
Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Xfinity 500 on Sunday, Nov. 1 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. It is the penultimate race of the 10-race playoffs and the final race in the Round of 8. It starts at 2 p.m. EST with live coverage provided by NBC and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
TSC PR
