Kevin Harvick sits eighth in the championship standings heading to Atlanta. Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images

Harvick rallies to post career-best Vegas finish

After post-qualifying penalty, No. 29 Chevy comes home fifth

LAS VEGAS -- Prior to Sunday's UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400, Kevin Harvick had averaged a 17th-place finish in four Nextel Cup Series starts at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

So the mere fact that he brought the GM Goodwrench Chevrolet home in fifth position was reason enough to smile. But considering what was required of him to get there, he may have to pinch himself.

	CAUGHT! On Friday at Las Vegas, Kevin Harvick became the first driver penalized under a new rule that states that teams must qualify with a full tank of gas.  •   Complete story,  click here •   Berrier knew risks involved

Harvick started the race in 42nd position after NASCAR caught the No. 29 team trying to utilize an illegal fuel cell during qualifying.

And that was just the beginning.

"Our car was awesome fast," said crew chief Todd Berrier. "We had one of the better cars all day, but got caught speeding on the exit of pit road one time, went back to 28th.

"Then, we worked our way back up to 13th and had a bad pit stop, had some lugs fall off the right front, went back to 19th and came back again.

"We went from 28th to 13th and 19th to fifth, so we passed the most cars today.

"The majority of it was my fault in starting 42nd, but he did a heckuva job keeping his composure and doing what he needed to do. That's what we have to do all year."

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Harvick wasn't feeling well after the race, but did quickly echo Berrier's thoughts on the team's chances.

"I'm really proud of my guys," Harvick said. "We came back from a lot of adversity. We had a car capable of winning, we just ran out of laps."

Harvick's top-five effort Sunday, coupled with a sixth-place effort at California, boosts him to eighth in the championship standings - his highest rank since last August.

"We're in as good a shape as we've ever been," Berrier said. "Knock on wood so that something doesn't happen to mess that up, but we've built all new race cars, have nothing left from last year. Everything's entirely different than what we had, and it shows.

"We've put a lot of effort forth to these kinds of places that we historically -- here and California -- haven't been great at. So let's just hope it keeps on going."