Catchfence

DOVER, Del. (May 31, 2009) — Arriving at Dover (Del) International Speedway for the Heluva Good! 200, Kevin Harvick looked to score his first Nationwide Series win at the famous Monster Mile track. Starting the race from the fifth position, Harvick and the No. 33 Copart team earned a 13th-place finish after recovering from a late-race incident that left the car with right-side damage.

“The guys did a really good job,” said Harvick following the race. “They worked hard all weekend and did a great job recovering after we got caught up with the (number) six car (David Ragan) when he spun in front of us. We were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Our car was really fast from the start and we were making our move back to the front when we got caught in the wreck. Ernie (Cope) and the guys did a good job coming back and we were able to get a good finish with our Copart Chevrolet.”

With the race underway, Harvick moved from fifth to third by lap 16 and along with Joey Logano and Kyle Busch, began to pull away from the field. The second caution of the race came on lap 28 and the No. 33 Copart team changed four tires, added fuel and made an air-pressure adjustment. Harvick restarted the race on lap 34 in the second position.

After a pass by Busch on the restart, Harvick settled back into the third position. The caution flag waved again on lap 72 and Harvick came to pit road for four tires, fuel and a trackbar adjustment. Restarting the race in the fourth position on lap 78, Harvick quickly radioed crew chief Ernie Cope that the car was too loose.

Running in the top six, Harvick made another stop on lap 130 under caution for four tires, fuel and an air-pressure adjustment to tighten the car. Restarting the race from the sixth position on lap 138, Harvick was swept up in an accident on lap 144 when the No. 6 car spun directly in front of the No. 33 Copart Chevrolet and Harvick had nowhere to go. The team feverishly worked to repair the right front fender, but Harvick lost one lap to the leaders.

With 50 laps remaining, Harvick was scored in the 19th position. Fortunately for the Copart team, the caution flag waved on lap 158 and Harvick received his lap back as the recipient of the “Lucky Dog” award. Under the caution, Harvick came down pit road and the team made a trackbar and air-pressure adjustment, changed four tires and added fuel. Restarting the race from the 18th position on lap 166, Harvick was able to gain several more spots to finish the race in the 13th position.

STATS RECAP

May 30, 2009

Dover (Del.) International Speedway
Heluva Good! 200

Race: 12 of 35
Driver: Kevin Harvick
Started: 5th
Finished: 13th
Owner’s Point Standings: 4th (-1 spot, 72 points out of 1st)
Race length: 200 laps/200 miles
Banking: 24-degrees in turns
9-degrees on straight-a-ways
Track layout: 1.0-mile
Shape: Oval
Number of Race Cautions: 9 for 50 Laps
Final Practice: 1st (23.417 seconds; 153.734 mph)
Qualifying: 8th (23.350 seconds; 154.176 mph)

Next on the Nationwide Series Schedule:

Date: June 6, 2009
Track: Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway
Event Name: Federated Auto Parts 300
Driver: Cale Gale
Sponsor: Rheem
Broadcast Time: 7:00 p.m., ET on ESPN2 and MRN Radio

- Kevin Harvick Inc., Press Release