Team 29 Takes Fifth in Texas!

Kevin Harvick and the No. 29 REESE’S RACING Chevrolet team utilized a great Impala SS, determined driver and excellent pit road strategy to literally coast to a fifth-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday.

When the green flag flew under partly sunny skies on Sunday, Harvick began a methodical and strategic climb forward through the running order. Caution-free racing forced several green-flag pit stops throughout the event.

A caution pit stop for fuel, tires and air pressure adjustments on lap 88 moved them from 16th to 15th for the restart. Another green-flag stop on lap 147, netted Harvick three more positions on pit road moving him to 15th.

After pitting for fuel, tires and a chassis adjustment on a lap 207-caution pit stop, Harvick restarted eighth. That was another gain of two positions on pit road by Gil and the REESE’S RACING crew.

Knowing they needed to stop again for fuel, Martin started to coach Harvick on conserving fuel when and where he could throughout the remaining laps.

Green-flag stops started again on lap 265 with Martin calling Harvick down pit road two circuits later. After packing the car with fuel, bolting on four fresh Goodyears, making a chassis and air pressure adjustment, Harvick was shown eighth in the running order.

By lap 305, Martin was telling Harvick to keep saving fuel wherever he could by not slowing too much. By lap 315, several leaders in front of Harvick came down pit road for fuel under green.

After a conversation with team engineers and the gasman with Harvick now running sixth with 10 laps remaining, Martin made the decision to race until the end; as long as the green flag was out.

On lap 327, the fifth-place car ran out of fuel and coasted down pit road. On lap 329, the fourth-place car ran out. Three laps later, the leader was out and heading for pit road with Harvick now in third place.

When the white flag flew, Harvick was shown in second place needing only the leader to run out of fuel so the REESE’S RACING team could capture the checkered flag. However, after taking the white, Harvick exited Turn 2 and radioed in that he was now out of fuel.

Coasting down the backstretch, through Turns 3 and 4 and just making it to the checkered flag, only three cars got by Harvick as he registered a solid fifth-place finish. The No. 29 Impala SS only made it to the Turn 1-end of pit road where Harvick climbed out to walk down pit road for post-race interviews.

On a side note, the No. 29 REESE’S RACING crew was so good in servicing the car they won the Tissot Pit Road Precision Award and the O’Reilly Auto Parts People, Service and Performance Award, as well.

Kevin Harvick Quote:

“The REESE’S RACING Chevy was a good car all day. We had a solid top-10 car the second half of the race. I think we were running seventh or eighth there and just decided to go for it at the end (on fuel). So, we just kind of went into fuel-conservation mode because we had a big gap with our REESE’S RACING Chevy. We gave up a couple of spots and those guys ran out of gas and we kept going and we ran out with one to go. It was still a good day and those are the chances we’re supposed to take right now. Came up about a lap short there, but a great call by Gil (Martin, crew chief) to just give it a whirl and see what happened in the end.”

Team 29 Takes Top Ten in Martinsville

Kevin Harvick and the No. 29 REESE’S RACING Chevrolet team turned a top-10 qualifying position into their seventh top-10 finish of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season at Martinsville Speedway in Sunday’s 500-lap race.

After posting the 17th quickest time in Friday’s afternoon practice session, Gil Martin and team made a few tweaks to the set up on the red and yellow Chevy for qualifying later in the day. Harvick was able to make the most of the adjustments and was clocked at 19.774 seconds, a lap fast enough to earn his top-10 starting position of 10th.

When the green flag flew, the Bakersfield, Calif., native wasted little time showing the strength of the No. 29 Chevrolet Impala SS by climbing to sixth by lap 20. The first round of pit stops took place under caution on lap 47.

A slight chassis adjustment was called for to assist Harvick with the handling through the tight, flat turns. Though able to remain in the top-10 running order, Harvick was still in need of grip up off the corners, a condition that continued throughout the race, despite various adjustments in the early stages of the event.

After pitting on lap 160, with Harvick running 16th when the caution flew on lap 176, Martin called for the REESE’S RACING Chevy to remain on the track to gain back their earlier track position. Restarting sixth, Harvick was finally able to flex the muscles of his No. 29 machine motoring his way up to third place by lap 190.

With the strategy working well, Martin once again decided to forego pit road through the next two caution periods in favor of track position. This allowed the No. 29 Chevy to remain in the top 10 through the midway point of the Tums Fast Relief 500.

As the laps clicked off in the 263-mile event, small adjustments proved to be the way to go for the remainder of the day as Martin worked through minor chassis and air pressure changes during each of the final four stops.

The adjustments allowed the 11-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series winner to race with the front pack throughout the final laps, and to claim his 10th-place finish in the REESE’S RACING Chevrolet.

Kevin Harvick Quote:

“Good job all around today by the REESE’S RACING team. This is the closest we have been in a long time to putting a total weekend together. Great job to all the guys.”

Another Top-Ten Showing for Harvick, REESE’S RACING Team!

Following last weekend’s runner-up finish, Kevin Harvick and his No. 29 REESE’S RACING team posted another impressive run this weekend at Richmond International Raceway, scoring their second top-10 finish in as many races.

The ninth-place finish in Saturday night’s Chevy Rock & Roll 400 also gained Harvick another spot, to 22nd, in the NSCS point standings with 10 races remaining in the 2009 season.

Rolling off from the 19th position, Harvick quickly demonstrated his brand new REESE’S RACING Chevrolet was a force to be reckoned with.

The 33 year-old driver charged forward five positions in just the first 12 laps of the 400-lap event, and by lap 36 his machine was posted in 10th on the leader board.

A loose handling condition on Harvick’s entry caused crew chief Gil Martin to call for minor tire pressure adjustments on the team’s first pit stop on lap 45, and Harvick retained his position inside the top 10 over the next 200-plus laps. When he did fall back, it was never very far, as Harvick was shown no lower than 11th for the remainder in the event.

As the air temperature cooled and track conditions changed, Harvick and Martin continued making minor tire pressure and chassis adjustments on almost every pit stop to help the handling on the REESE’S RACING Chevy. The changes kept Harvick comfortably inside the top 10 over the race’s last 100 laps, resulting in his team’s fifth top 10 showing of 2009.

Kevin Harvick Quote:

"I’m happy to get another top 10, but I think we had a top five car. The guys had a tough time on pit road tonight. It’s frustrating. Still, it was a decent finish, so we’ll take it and try to improve next week."

REESE’S RACING Displays Dominance in Atlanta!

Kevin Harvick and the No. 29 REESE’S RACING crew put on an impressive show for the 100,000-plus fans in attendance at Sunday’s Pep Boys Auto 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

For most of the 325-lap event, Harvick’s No. 29 Chevrolet Impala SS was the class of the field on longer runs, often posting times in excess of a half-second faster than the rest of the competitors. At one point, the 33 year-old driver stretched his lead over the second-place car to well in excess of four seconds.

In all, Harvick was shown atop the leader board six different times for a total of 66 laps, just two laps less than pole winner Martin Truex, Jr., who led the most (68).

In the end, the No. 29 team’s long green-flag success fell victim to a short green-flag finish. On the final restart, Harvick was passed by Kasey Kahne, who stretched his lead to 1.766 seconds in a 10-lap dash to the finish to claim the victory in the first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series night race held at AMS.

Harvick and his crew posted a second-place finish, their third top-five result of 2009 and Harvick’s best finish at the 1.5-mile track since his first NSCS victory there, which came eight years ago in just his third series start. With the finish, the team moves up one spot, to 23rd, in the NSCS point standings.

Next weekend brings another night race, as NASCAR’s premier division heads to the Dominion State for the second and final stop of the season at the three-quarter mile Richmond International Raceway.

Kevin Harvick Quotes:

"We had a great car tonight. The guys did a great job preparing the car. I knew we were in trouble there at the end because it took our car 15 or 20 laps to get going, but hey, that’s a long ways from where we’ve been. We led a bunch of laps tonight, something we haven’t been able to do in awhile."

"I’m happy. Obviously, you want to go out and win, but from where we’ve been this year, I think tonight feels like a win. We’ll just take this momentum and hopefully keep it going."

REESE’S RACING Takes Top 10 Finish at The Brickyard!

A fast race car, combined with a solid team effort and a little good luck resulted in a top-10 finish for Kevin Harvick and the REESE’S RACING team in Sunday’s Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Starting in 19th, Harvick drove his Chevrolet Impala SS to a sixth-place result in the 16th running of the 400-mile event, one of the most prestigious races on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule.

Rolling off from the inside of the 10th row, Harvick reported to his crew in the opening laps that his No. 29 REESE’S RACING Chevrolet was extremely fast. As the field stretched out over the long 2.5-mile track, Harvick found it difficult to pass on the spacious layout.

A caution flag on lap 58 allowed Harvick to come in for fresh tires, fuel and chassis adjustments. Following the lap-62 restart, the REESE’S RACING Chevrolet really came to life, with Harvick charging his way from 19th to 11th over the next 20 circuits.

The No. 29 team broke into the top 10 on lap 121 and never looked back. After pitting for the final time on lap 124, Harvick’s lap times allowed him to gain several more positions in the closing laps and on lap 145 he took over sixth place.

The finish moves Harvick and his No. 29 team up two spots, to 23rd, in the NSCS point standings after 20 events of the 2009 season.

Kevin Harvick Quote:

"It was a good day overall. We had a little trouble on pit road for a few stops. The last stop was good. The car was good all day. The REESE’S RACING Chevrolet has run like that the last few weeks, we just haven’t had anything to show for it. The guys did a good job all day and the car was fast all day."

REESE’S RACING Posts Strong Finish at Darlington!

Kevin Harvick and his No. 29 REESE’S RACING team used a combination of hard work and creative pit strategy to score an 11th-place finish in last Saturday night’s Southern 500 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.

The result moved Harvick up two spots to 21st in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers’ point standings and marks his Richard Childress Racing team’s best finish in the past five NSCS events.

Harvick started the 367-lap event from the 12th row after posting a 24th-place qualifying effort Friday afternoon at the egg-shaped oval. Once the race got underway, it took just five laps for the first caution flag to fly at the legendary track “Too Tough to Tame.”

When the second caution flag came out on lap 22, crew chief Gil Martin called Harvick to pit road, allowing the REESE’S RACING over-the-wall crew to make adjustments and top off the fuel cell on their No. 29 Chevrolet Impala SS. The 33-year old driver then worked his way up to 12th position over the next 50 laps before the fourth caution of the event.

Martin informed Harvick the No. 29 was posting some of the fastest lap times of any car in the race. On the next pit stop, Martin called for a four-tire stop with a slight tire pressure adjustment, which helped the No. 29 break into the top 10 on lap 95.

On lap 216, another caution flag came out. To gain valuable track position, Martin called for a “fuel only” pit stop. Since most other teams elected to change tires on their stops, this strategy vaulted Harvick up to sixth for the lap 219 restart.

After being passed by several cars on newer tires, the No. 29 team caught a break when a wreck brought out the caution flag on lap 223. Harvick and Martin decided putting new tires on the REESE’S RACING Chevrolet was a better long-term strategy, so Harvick came to pit road for service.

After another fuel-only pit stop on lap 298, Harvick found himself running as high as fourth just past lap 300. As the run progressed, a tight condition dropped him back to eighth by the time the 15th caution flag of the race fell on lap 321.

Over the next 30 laps, Harvick fought his way into 10th position. It appeared the Bakersfield, Calif. native was headed for his third top-10 finish of the 2009 season, but the tight condition returned on his REESE’S RACING machine, allowing Matt Kenseth to take over the 10th spot with just two laps remaining.

The 11th-place result was Harvick’s best Darlington NSCS result since an eighth-place run there in March, 2004.

Kevin Harvick Quote:

"It was a good night for the REESE’S RACING team. The guys worked hard all weekend. Our Chevrolet was really pretty good all night. I just got too tight at the end and couldn’t hold off the (No.) 17. We had to throw a lot of different pit strategy at it tonight to get some track position, but I felt like Gil (Martin) made good adjustments and the pit stops were solid. We needed a good finish after the past few weeks, so I’m happy we were able to give REESE’S RACING and RCR a strong run."

REESE’S RACING Takes Top-Five Finish in Atlanta!

Starting the race in 10th position, Harvick found himself dealing with a loose handling condition on his REESE’S RACING machine. Crew chief Todd Berrier took advantage of an early caution flag to bring Harvick to pit road for fresh tires, fuel and a tire pressure adjustment.

Just after Harvick returned to the track following his lap 65 pit stop, a caution flag came out when a crewman from another team ran across the infield to retrieve a tire that had gotten away from him on a pit stop.

The miscue was a huge detriment to almost the entire 43-car field. The REESE’S RACING crew was one of the unlucky ones, and the No. 29 was shown two laps down on NASCAR’s timing and scoring monitors.

His team took advantage of the 10-minute break between the race’s first and second segments to repair the damage and give Harvick a shot at the victory.

Harvick was in 19th position for the restart and slowly worked his way back into contention. By the time another caution flag came out on lap 216,the REESE’S RACING Chevrolet had made up its two lap deficit and was sitting 13th position. After refueling on lap 272, the REESE’S RACING car had moved up to the 6th position with 24 laps remaining in the race.

Broadcasters were reporting that only two cars had enough fuel to make it to the end if the race ended under green flag conditions - the No. 29 and the No. 9 of Kasey Kahne, who was being shown one position ahead of Harvick.

The REESE’S RACING crewmen held their collective breath to see if any drivers would run out of fuel, but that scenario went out the window when the No. 7 machine shredded a tire with just three laps remaining to bring out the final caution of the event. By the time track workers finished cleaning up the debris, the race had gone into overtime, setting up a green-white-checkered flag finish.

The race restarted on lap 329, with Harvick in fifth position. As the field came to the start/finish line, Harvick was able to get by one of his competitors to take over the fourth place spot. The finish is REESE’S RACING team's second top-five result of 2009, and moves Harvick up three sport to eighth, in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers’ point standings.

Kevin Harvick Quote:

"Our REESE’S RACING Chevrolet was good all day, and the guys just hung in there. Our car was decent enough to make up some ground there and we were able to get those two laps back. It just took us 130 or 140 laps to get back on the lead lap. They all just hung in there and it made for a good day. It was a long day’s work. To come back from two laps down and get a top five out of the thing just shows a lot about our race team."

Harvick Pulls Off Final Lap Pass for Shootout Win!

For the first time since his thrilling win over Mark Martin in the 2007 DAYTONA 500, Harvick put his No. 29 REESE’S RACING Chevrolet Impala SS back in Victory Lane at DAYTONA, pulling off a last-lap pass on Jamie McMurray to win the Budweiser Shootout on Saturday night.

The 75-lap race featured a record number of cautions, lead changes, and leaders as the drivers took to the track for the first time since the 2008 season finale and put on a wild show for the fans.

Early in the event, Harvick’s REESE’S RACING Chevrolet was forced into the outside retaining wall, knocking in the fenders on the right side of his car and forcing him to drop out of the draft.

His team took advantage of the 10-minute break between the race’s first and second segments to repair the damage and give Harvick a shot at the victory.

On lap 64, Harvick narrowly avoided a crash, but flat-spotted his tires while trying to avoid the incident. He came to pit road for new tires and returned to the race in 12th position for the lap 69 restart.

When the caution flag flew again five laps later for another accident, Harvick found himself in fifth position as he prepared for what would be a green/white/checkered flag finish.

Harvick jockeyed for position following the final restart. Heading down the backstretch for the final time, he managed to slide through a narrow opening between McMurray and the outside retaining wall.

As Harvick completed the pass, chaos erupted behind him. Several cars made contact, setting off a chain reaction crash and brought out the caution flag as Harvick’s REESE’S car crossed the finish line.

Kevin Harvick Quote:

"I think there’s just a lot of ingredients that go into having a good race tonight. I think it was not being at the race track for all that time. I think everybody really wanted to go out and see what they had and push as hard as they could because there wasn’t anything on the line. I think we just got a lot better handle on the race cars from where we were last year at this time … but it’s just a lot of ingredients that go into it. I think a great positive came out of tonight. I think the fans are going to be pumped up. I know the drivers are pumped up to do whatever we can. (I’m) just excited to be a part of the sport right now."