No. 4 SHR driver led a race-high 75 laps, finishes third
RELATED: Full race results | Updated series standings
SPEEDWAY, Ind. -- Kevin Harvick led a race-high 75 laps but not the final one in Sunday's Jeff Kyle 400 at the Brickyard and if there is a silver lining to the disappointment, he still remains first in NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series points standings, a hefty 69 points ahead of the guy (Joey Logano) he finished behind in the race and second in the Chase grid behind Jimmie Johnson thanks to his two wins and points accumulation.
Harvick's No. 4 Chevrolet paced the field four times and for much of the day looked well on its way to handing the reigning Sprint Cup champ his second Brickyard 400 trophy. But late race restarts proved his undoing and he finished third behind race winner Kyle Busch and Logano. Ironically a 1-2 finish for Toyota and Ford after 12 consecutive wins by Chevrolet.
Obviously disappointed by the final outcome, Harvick was still philosophical and upbeat after the race.
"We had a great day," he said. "I think everybody did a great job, just in that second or third-to-last restart where the 22 (Logano) and 18 (Busch) were able to get hooked up and kind of drive by us and I lost control of the race there and didn't really have what I wanted on the restarts.
Fellow Chevrolet driver and fourth place finisher Martin Truex Jr. took responsibility for part of Harvick's woes.
"Just feel a little bad for Kevin (Harvick) there," Truex said. "I kind of screwed him. I was trying to push him, just mistimed it. It's hard to see the lines down there when you are behind a guy.
"I just totally forgot to ask my spotter for help and a heads up when we were getting 5-10 feet from that line. I feel bad I messed him up a bit there. I kind of messed Kyle (Busch) up on the last one too and he still won."