Harvick Finishes 40th at Talladega Superspeedway

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series – Aaron’s 499
May 5, 2013 – Talladega Superspeedway

Kevin Harvick and the No. 29 Budweiser team finished 40th in the Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway after being involved in an early race, multi-car incident which led to engine issues that ended the team’s day prematurely. The Richard Childress Racing driver started the scheduled 188-lap event from the 24th position after rain canceled qualifying setting the field by the NASCAR rulebook. Harvick worked his way into the top 10, but spent the majority of the race riding around mid-pack in an attempt to avoid trouble synonymous with superspeedway racing. On lap 44, a multi-car accident broke out in front of the red and white Chevrolet. Harvick attempted to drive around the spinning cars, but was collected forcing the driver to come down pit road for the No. 29 team to assess the damage sustained. After surveying the car, the Budweiser Chevrolet was pushed to the garage for the team to make repairs. Harvick returned to the racing surface on lap 72 in the 36th position, 25 laps down to the leader. Back on track, Harvick reported the engine had expired bringing the team’s day to an early end. Following the 40th-place finish, Harvick is now 12th in the Sprint Cup Series driver championship point standings.

I feel like this race was a flashback to Daytona (International Speedway). We had a great run last weekend, and I was really hoping that we could carry that momentum into this weekend, but we didn’t have a chance to make it to the end. I’ve got to thank the Budweiser team for working so hard to try and get us back on track. Wish we could have had a better result, but that’s part of superspeedway racing. – Kevin Harvick

Race Notes

• Started – 24th, Finished, – 40th,  Laps led – 1, Points – 12th
• With a lap time of 188.611 mph, Harvick ranked second in the post-race loop data category Fastest on Restarts.
• The No. 27 Chevrolet SS team ranks eighth in the Sprint Cup Series owner championship point standings.
• The No. 29 Chevrolet SS team ranks thirteenth in the Sprint Cup Series owner championship point standings