Kevin Harvick Scores Third-Place Finish in Door-To-Door Race (NASCAR/JEGS)

Kevin Harvick Scores Third-Place Finish in Door-To-Door Race at New  
Hampshire Motor Speedway
 
LOUDON, N.H.  (September 19, 2010) - It was a 175-lap drag race at New  
Hampshire Motor Speedway, where Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) co-owner Kevin Harvick 
 earned a third-place finish with new sponsor JEGS.com on board the No. 2  
Chevrolet Silverado. Harvick battled door-to-door for the lead with the No. 
18  of Kyle Busch throughout the 185.15-mile race, but the JEGS.com machine 
was too  tight at the end, and Harvick came just shy of a victory. 
 
"We had a good day despite the fact that we didn't get the win today," said 
 Harvick. "We put on a really good show with the No. 18, and we were evenly 
 matched throughout the race. We were a little tighter than I wanted to be 
at the  end and I just couldn't get by him. I'm really glad we were able to 
give  JEGS.com a great showing today, even though it wasn't the result we  
wanted."
 
After qualifying on the outside pole for TheRaceDayRaffleSeries.com 175,  
Harvick took the green flag and immediately shot into the lead by the 
completion  of lap one, but was passed by polesitter Busch by the time the yellow 
flag waved  for the first time for a spin on lap three. Too early to consider 
pitting,  Harvick remained on the track and restarted in second on lap six. 
 
For the next 40 laps, Harvick and Busch would battle hard, running  
side-by-side and lap times within hundredths of a second of each other, but it  
wasn't until lap 46 that Harvick overtook Busch for the top spot. Only one lap  
later, Busch reclaimed the lead, and the two would swap positions until the 
 second caution flag waved for debris on lap 63. 
 
Harvick relayed to crew chief Butch Hylton that the truck was turning a  
little too tightly in the center of the corners, and Hylton called the No. 2 
to  pit road for four tires, fuel and a track-bar adjustment. Restarting in 
second  on lap 67, Harvick took the lead once again, but relinquished it by 
the time a  spin on the backstretch brought out the yellow on lap 72. Hylton 
encouraged  Harvick, observing that the No. 2 was faster than the No. 18 in 
many places on  the racetrack, and the team opted to remain on the track 
when the caution flag  waved two more times in quick succession on laps 81 and 
86.
 
When green-flag racing resumed on lap 92, so did the door-to-door drag  
racing between Harvick and Busch. Harvick briefly took the lead once again, but 
 relinquished it after only one lap. The trucks ran side-by-side until the 
yellow  waved on lap 129, and Hylton called Harvick into the pits for what 
would be  their final stop of the race. With Harvick stating that the truck 
was still  tight in the center and exit of the turns, Hylton opted for four 
tires, an  air-pressure adjustment and fuel. The No. 2 pit crew made a very 
fast pit stop,  allowing Harvick to beat Busch off of pit road and restart 
the race from the  lead on lap 132. 
 
Immediately after the restart, Harvick, Busch and KHI teammate Ron Hornaday 
 went three wide for the lead, but the JEGS.com Chevrolet was still too 
tight and  slipped into the second position. The yellow flag was displayed on 
lap 160 for a  spin, and Harvick took the lead for the final time following 
the restart on lap  164, but Busch quickly reclaimed the position and the No. 
2 lost another spot to  the No. 31 of James Buescher one lap later. The 
caution flag waved for the final  time on lap 170, setting up the field for a 
green-white-checkered finish when  racing resumed on lap 173. The three lead 
trucks were closely matched until the  checkered flag flew, but Harvick 
remained in the third position when he crossed  the finish line. 
 
The No. 18 of Busch visited victory lane, with Buescher in second, Matt  
Crafton in fourth and Austin Dillon rounding out the top five. The No. 2 
remains  fourth in the Owner's Point Standings, now 302 points out of first 
place. 
 
The Truck Series hits the track again on Saturday, September 25th for the  
Smith's Food & Drug Stores 350 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway where Ken  
Schrader will be behind the wheel of the No. 2 truck. The race can be seen live  
on SPEED at 9:00 p.m.  ET.


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