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KEVIN HARVICK – 2019 Talladega II Race Report

Event: 1000Bulbs.com 500 (Round of 31 of 36)
Series: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway (2.66-mile oval)
Format: 188 laps, broken into three stages (55 laps/55 laps/78 laps)
Start/Finish: 15th/17th (Running, completed 188 of 188 laps)
Point Standing: 6th with 3,094 points, 36 points ahead of top-eight cutoff
Note: Race was red-flagged after 57 laps on Sunday due to rain, with remainder of race postponed to Monday.

Race Winner: Ryan Blaney of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 1 Winner: William Bryon of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Clint Bowyer of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-55):

Kevin Harvick started 15th and finished 12th.
● The Busch Light Ford Mustang driver was up to second by lap 15.
● Harvick pitted on lap 35 for fuel only.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 55-110):

Harvick started 12th and finished 19th.
● The Busch Light Ford Mustang driver pitted on lap 59 for four tires and fuel.
● On lap 93, Harvick pitted for fuel only while in seventh place.
● A multicar accident occurred on lap 108, and Harvick spun in the grass. He pitted for four tires and fuel, and the crew reported the damage was minimal.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 111-188):

Harvick started 20th and finished 17th.
● On lap 114, Harvick stopped for fuel only.
● Harvick pitted on lap 134 for four tires and fuel. There was an issue with one of the air guns, which caused a bit of a delay. He then stopped for fuel only on lap 136.
● On lap 154, Harvick pitted for four tires and fuel.
● Harvick was involved in a multicar accident on lap 181, and his Busch Light Ford Mustang sustained damage to the right front. He pitted three times and limped the car home to a 17th-place finish.

Notes:

● Ryan Blaney won the 1000Bulbs.com 500to score his third career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory, his first of the season and his first at Talladega. His margin of victory over second-place Ryan Newman was .007 of a second.
● There were nine caution periods for a total of 43 laps.
● Only 20 of the 40 drivers in the 1000Bulbs.com 500finished on the lead lap.
● Ford took six of the top-10 finishing positions in the 1000Bulbs.com 500.

Playoff Standings (with one race to go before Round of 8):

1.       Kyle Larson (3,069 points) 1 win
2.       Ryan Blaney (3,056 points) 1 win
3.       Denny Hamlin (3,113 points, +56)
4.       Martin Truex Jr. (3,106 points, +48)
5.       Kyle Busch (3,099 points, +41)
6.       Kevin Harvick (3,094 points, +36)
7.       Brad Keselowski (3,078 points, +20)
8.       Joey Logano (3,076 points, +18)
9.       Alex Bowman (3,058 points, -18)
10.     Chase Elliott (3,054 points, -22)
11.     Clint Bowyer (3,052 points, -24)
12.     William Byron (3,049 points, -27)

Kevin Harvick, Driver of the No. 4 Busch Light Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“You always want to do better. I would have loved to have scored stage points and finish better, but we didn’t. You can’t put much merit into this. It’s kind of like bumper cars with your friends that don’t know how to drive at the go-kart track.”

Next Up:

The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Hollywood Casino 400 on Sunday, Oct. 20 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City. It is the sixth race of the 10-race playoffs and the final race in the Round of 12. It starts at 2:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBC and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.