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Chase grid expands again after rain-postponed Duck Commander 500

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FORT WORTH, Texas — Joey Logano’s "Final Four" at Texas Motor Speedway had nothing to do with the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship set for Monday night in nearby Arlington.
 
Logano and crew chief Todd Gordon’s decision to pit for four Goodyear Dual Zone tires during the final caution period of the rain-delayed Duck Commander 500 propelled the Team Penske star to his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory of 2014.
 
"We’ve been in contention every race this year to win, and I’m proud to be a part of that," said Logano, who extended a streak that has produced seven different winners in as many Sprint Cup races. "I felt very confident about this race. For some reason, I told Todd, I said, ‘We’re going to win this week,’ and I was mad when we didn’t get the pole. But I felt like we had a car that could win today."

Logano, 23, scored his first career victory on the 1.5-mile quad-oval and fourth in 190 career Sprint Cup starts at the expense of four-time series champion Jeff Gordon under a green-white-checkered-flag finish that extended the race to 340 laps from the originally scheduled 334.
 
Logano, driver of the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil/Hertz Ford Fusion, passed Gordon via a crossover move on the inside heading into Turn 1 on Lap 340 en route to margin of victory of 0.476 seconds. Kyle Busch finished third with Brian Vickers and Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate Kyle Larson rounding out a top five that was shuffled by the day’s seventh and final caution on Lap 333.
 
Logano was working on a 3.053-second lead over teammate Brad Keselowski when Kurt Busch, winner of last week’s race at Martinsville Speedway, brushed the outside wall in Turn 2. During the ensuing pit stops, Logano and Keselowski opted for four tires and fuel. Gordon, of Hendrick Motorsports, and Vickers, of Michael Waltrip Racing, opted for right-side rubber only and exited pit road 1-2.
 
"When you’ve got 40-something laps after the last pit stop and a pretty sizeable lead, really, all you’re thinking is, ‘Where’s the white flag?’" Logano said. "Brad was able to catch us a little bit and then you go into Turn 1 and see the No. 41 (of Kurt Busch) up against the wall and you’re like, ‘Please, no caution.’ And, of course — boom — it comes out and you’re like, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’ So you get so mad that you can barely control yourself. Really, I was just so mad.
 
"And then he (Todd Gordon) made a last-minute decision to put fuel in it, gave me better balance for what I needed and the guys made the ‘money stop.’ I was the first guy out with four tires on."
 
Similarly, Gordon praised crew chief Alan Gustafson for a "great call" to go with two tires on the final stop given his standing when the yellow flew. "I mean, coming in sixth, you’re in that position that you can gamble," said Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Axalta/Texas A&M School of Engineering Chevrolet SS. "You’re not going to win it with four (tires),you’re not going to win it with none. I knew it was going to be hard to hold those guys off.
 
"I got a pretty good restart, so I was happy about that. Got through (Turns) 1 and 2. I was shocked I was leading off of 2, to be honest. I wish I would have run a little bit higher down (Turns) 3 and 4. I’m sure Joey was going to go wherever I didn’t. Probably would have been a little bit better off on the top. He crossed over and got into the back of me pretty good. At that point I was just thinking, ‘I want to finish.’ Looked out my mirror, those guys were racing hard behind me. A great second-place finish for me."
 
Kyle Busch, winner of this event last year, said he was looking at solid third-place results before the final sequence. "Of course, the inevitable comes out with the yellow and you have to come down and get tires — just way too long out there on tires," said Busch, driver of the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry fielded by Joe Gibbs Racing. "I chose four just because I absolutely killed my stuff about three laps prior to that caution coming out so I knew that was our only chance. Just drove the hell out of it there those last two laps and got all she could and come home third. Good, deserving finish for us here."
 
Keselowski was poised to give team owner Roger Penske a slam-dunk 1-2 finish behind his teammate when the final caution flew. Keselowski exited the pits fourth with four tires, one spot behind Logano. But he was charged with speeding off pit road — a miscue that dropped him to 15th.
 
"That last caution was a shame," said Keselowski, driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford. "I was just trying to get a little too much on pit road and wanted to get us out front to be able to win the race and tried a little too hard. We’re in it for wins. We’re not in it for finishing second."
 
Gordon emerged as the new points leader after HMS teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. crashed out of the event on Lap 12, finished 43rd and dropped to sixth in the standings. Gordon holds a four-point (259-255) lead over Matt Kenseth of Joe Gibbs Racing heading into Saturday night’s Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.

 

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Posted on by Holly Cain

Another top-five finish shows that rookie can hang with the big boys

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FORT WORTH, Texas — As the final laps wound down in Monday’s Duck Commander 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, Chip Ganassi Racing crew chief Chris Heroy asked his rookie driver Kyle Larson over the team radio a typical litany of questions about his race car. Then he followed it up by simply asking if Larson was having fun.

“Yeah,’’ the 21-year old Larson replied without hesitation.

“That’s what it’s all about,’’ answered Heroy.

Of course racing is a lot more fun when you’re enjoying the kind of results this pair has recently put up in the No. 42 Target Chevrolet.

Larson’s fifth place finish in his first Cup start on the 1.5-mile Texas high banks Monday was his third top-10 in the last four races and second top-five. The Californian finished runner-up at Auto Club Speedway two weeks ago — tying the best showing for the 42-team since former driver Juan Pablo Montoya won at Watkins Glen, N.Y., in 2010.

The car collected six top-five finishes total in the last three years. Yet only seven races into Larson’s rookie year, this team feels absolutely on the verge of victory.

And that’s fun.

“I think if we just keep keeping ourselves in contention, things will work out late in the races or we might have a dominating car one day and get our first win,’’ Larson said.

“I feel like right now it could come at a mile‑and‑a‑half or a little bit bigger track. Hopefully that comes soon because there’s a lot on the schedule.”

Certainly it looks like Larson has taken a liking to these big and mid-size tracks — a little ironic considering his roots stem from sprint car racing.

Monday’s race was indicative of the potential Larson has shown all year, minus a frustrating Daytona 500.

“He’s really good on these type of tracks and he did a great job on that (final) restart today,’’ Heroy said. “I was really proud of the team today because of how the Target Chevy unloaded, I swear we were a 30th-place car, we were really bad (in opening practice).

“So it’s a good day to come home fifth. We’re really happy with that.

“Everybody’s behind him. He’s a great kid and here for the right reasons. And he’s fast.

“We expect to win a race this year.’’

Not only does the team have a good vibe, Larson’s competitors have taken note. As he did in California, he made himself a factor right up through the final restart on Monday, dicing it up with champions and veterans.

“Kyle (Larson) is just super talented,’’ four-time Cup champion and Monday’s runner-up Jeff Gordon said. “He has great car control, really knows how to be aggressive and search the race track.  

“I only wish I had the talent those two [Larson and Texas Nationwide race winner 18-year old Chase Elliott] have. I think that the future obviously looks very bright for our sport."

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Posted on by Holly Cain

Points leader runs into trouble early at Texas Motor Speedway

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FORT WORTH, Texas — Dale Earnhardt Jr. didn’t mince words despite the disappointment and frustration so apparent on his face from his short day as he walked out of the Texas Motor Speedway infield care center only 12 laps into Monday’s rain-delayed Duck Commander 500.

"Just a mistake on my part, didn’t know I was that close to the grass," Earnhardt said shaking his head.

Although Earnhardt insisted he was fine physically, the single-car accident looked frightening as his No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet’s left side tires drove through the wet, slick infield grass and turned hard back up the track — flames shooting out of the car as it made hard contact with the outside wall. While some drivers had reported damp spots on the 1.5-mile Texas high banks, Earnhardt was adamant that he didn’t consider it a concern.

"It didn’t have anything to do with what happened to me, I just ran into the grass on the apron," Earnhardt said. "I was following the 43 (Aric Almirola) and just couldn’t see the grass, how close I was.

"I thought I was taking a decent line by the dogleg, I was getting around the 42 (Kyle Larson) so was lower than normal, but I just misjudged it."

It was definitely not the ending Earnhardt envisioned after sitting through an entire day’s rain delay on Sunday only to crash on the second lap of green flag racing Monday. But more significantly, Earnhardt came to Fort Worth as the Sprint Cup Series points leader — by nine points over Matt Kenseth — thanks to a Daytona 500 victory and four top-three finishes in the first six races.

Earnhardt’s Hendrick Motorsports team briefly looked over the car in hopes of repairing it enough to return to the track and salvage any championship points. Ultimately, though, the team decided there was just too much damage and Dale Jr. would finish the day in 43rd-place.

Earnhardt’s crew chief, Steve Letarte, later said on Twitter that the car was so badly damaged he spent time on flight back home to North Carolina ordering a new chassis. He added the fire was caused by damage to "oil line/oil cooler/oil pump/oil tank. … You get the idea."

Debris from Earnhardt’s car also damaged his Hendrick teammate Jimmie Johnson‘s Chevy, forcing the six-time champ to pit multiple times for repairs and putting him two laps down. Johnson would finish the race in 25th place.

"I’m disappointed," Earnhardt said. "Don’t like it when I made the mistake there and that’s going to bother me for a while.

"We’ve got a test Tuesday in Michigan and going into Darlington which is a difficult track. It’s going to be a long week."

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Posted on by Holly Cain

After pit stops during opening laps, the No. 2 gets hit with crucial late penalty

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FORT WORTH, Texas — Leaning against his No. 2 Miller Lite Ford in the Texas Motor Speedway garage following Monday’s rain-delayed Duck Commander 500, Brad Keselowski was calm, cool, collected — even encouraged.

And that was without a trophy.

Despite getting a pit road speeding penalty on the final pit stop moments before a green-white-checkered finish, the 2012 Sprint Cup Series champ employed perspective over emotion after a tough ending to an impressive afternoon.

He would have restarted fourth for the final scramble — the second driver with four fresh tires — but instead was penalized for speeding out of the pits and had to line up 18th — the last car on the lead lap.

Instead of dicing it up with his Penske Racing teammate — and eventual race winner Joey Logano — for the victory, the Las Vegas winner finished 15th.

“I’m sure I was [speeding],’’ Keselowski told reporters, even managing a slight smile. “NASCAR has its telemetry and all that stuff to make sure it’s right.

“I knew I was there on the limit so I wasn’t really that surprised. We were trying all we can to get out front and get ourselves in position to win these races. I probably reached a little too far, but that’s OK. Everyone had an all-in effort and it’s about wins not seconds, thirds, fourths or fifths.”

Keselowski’s day was actually bookended with pit road activity. He and a half dozen other cars were slightly damaged during the race’s pace laps in one of the more bizarre occurrences.

The massively powerful jet dryers finishing up their track drying work after a full day of rain Sunday, blew up the hood flaps on some cars when passing them on track.

NASCAR allowed the cars to pit and make repairs (Keselowski’s team used duct tape and Bondo putty to keep the hood in tact) and then return to track and assume their starting positions — for Keselowski that was the front row for the fourth time in seven weeks.

“I’m not sure I understand the whole scenario but I’m thankful NASCAR gave us a little bit of a break and I think it was a fair break,’’ Keselowski said.

Even after the inauspicious start, Keselowski positioned himself to become the first two-time winner of the season. He led three times and his 85 laps out front was second best on the day to his teammate Logano’s 108. He was trailing Logano by 2-seconds when the caution came out a half-lap shy of the white flag.

Logano’s win helped Team Penske join Stewart-Haas Racing as only the second organization to have multiple drivers win in 2014.

But it wouldn’t have happened if up to the fiercely competitive Keselowski. He was genuinely happy to see Logano win and appreciative of how that reflects on the overall team. However, Keselowski completely dismissed any suggestion that he might have settled for second or raced Logano any less intensely to “take one for the team.”

In fact, he laughed out loud at the very notion.

“I hope they know that wasn’t the case, because I definitely wasn’t doing that,’’ Keselowski said with a grin. “I was giving 105 percent, that’s why I got a speeding penalty. I broke the rules the other way.”

 

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Moments that changed the course of the eighth race of the season

HARVICK DOMINATES AT DARLINGTON
The 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season has been one of feast or famine for Kevin Harvick — and on Saturday night at Darlington Raceway, Harvick enjoyed the delectable taste of victory.
 
Passing Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the next-to-last lap of the second attempt at a green-white-checkered-flag finish, Harvick won Sunday’s Bojangles’ Southern 500 and all but locked himself into the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup as the first two-time winner in the series this year (he still needs to finish in the top 30 and attempt to qualify for every race).
 
The victory was Harvick’s first at Darlington and the 25th of his career. It was the third win of the season for Stewart-Haas Racing.
 
Harvick led 239 of 374 laps in a race that went seven laps past its scheduled distance.

"The restart at the end, I was talking to the guys on the radio and they said the outside was kind of the place to be," Johnson said. "I hadn’t seen the front all night long and I was talking to Junior as I got out of the car and he said that was a bad move."

UPS


JOHNSON LOSES AFTER CHOOSING HIGH LINE ON RESTART

On the next-to-last restart, Jimmie Johnson took the lead on pit road with a two-tire stop and chose the outside lane. He was quickly passed on his way to a third-place finish. After talking with teammate Earnhardt Jr., he later regretted the move.

"The restart at the end, I was talking to the guys on the radio and they said the outside was kind of the place to be," Johnson said. "I hadn’t seen the front all night long and I was talking to Junior as I got out of the car and he said that was a bad move."

The six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion sits fifth in points and is still seeking his first win of the season.

HARD NIGHT FOR MENARD ENDS EARLY

Paul Menard brought out the fifth caution of the night at Lap 202 after hitting the Turn 1 wall hard following a tire failure.

"I hit the wall like 10 laps before and I guess the right-front tire just went down," Menard said. "Kind of rode the wall in (Turns) 3 and 4 and I guess I was just in denial, I guess I didn’t realize the right-front tire was down.

"It felt fine going down the front stretch and let go it killed Turn 1. A lot of damage, the guys are going to try to fix it."

The No. 27 Richard Childress Racing team was able to fix his Chevrolet SS and get it out on track but another hit ended his night in 41st place, 104 laps down.

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Former NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion has rough start to Duck Commander 500

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NASCAR.com’s Lap-By-Lap chronicles 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Brad Keselowski’s rough start and rise to the lead in the Duck Commander 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.

Lap 2: Brad Keselowski and Ryan Newman have received permission from the scoring tower to reset their cowl flaps and keep their position. They may perform no other service on the cars.

Lap 3: Keselowski regroups back on the front row, but his Team Penske crew seemed to be unable to completely lower the hood on the No. 2 Ford.

Lap 4: Keselowski is back on pit road, and Jamie McMurray brings the No. 1 Chevy down for the same issue.

Lap 5: Keselowski’s crew has tape ready to close the seams in the hood. Danica Patrick, Justin Allgaier also swing down pit road for the same issue.

Lap 11: Green flag: Tony Stewart and fellow front-row starter Brad Keselowski guide the field into Turn 1 at speed.

Lap 56: Carl Edwards is the new second-place driver, scooting past Keselowski through turns 1 and 2.

Lap 59: Keselowski returns the favor and retakes second from Edwards in the same corner.

Lap 78: Keselowski has closed in on Stewart, moving past in turns 3 and 4 to take the lead for the first time today.

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At work or at home, here’s how to keep up with the Duck Commander 500

Today’s green flag is scheduled to wave at 12:10 p.m. ET on FOX and PRN, and the 501-mile race likely won’t be over before your lunch break is. Here’s how to keep up with all the Duck Commander 500 on-track action for viewers at home or stuck in the office today.

NASCAR.com’s live leaderboard updates in real-time and offers constant text updates of lead changes, cautions, strategies, strong runs and everything in between. On the go? Download the NASCAR Mobile app to follow the leaderboard live from your device.

Lap-by-Lap will keep you caught up even if you can only take a peek here and there while doing, well, your day job. Check in now and then to read back through all the laps you’ve missed, or keep an eye on the feed for real-time race updates.

We’ll also be sending race updates through twitter through the official @NASCAR and @NASCARStats handles, as well as curating NASCAR tweets from the Twitter universe with a social timeline here.

Haven’t tried RaceView yet? This weekend is a good chance to cash in your one-week free trial if you can’t be stationed on a couch this afternoon. Get virtualized video of cars on the track from various angles and hear what your favorite team is saying over the radio. Just want to scan the radios? You can have that too with RaceView Audio. On a mobile device? Get RaceView Mobile here.

If yesterday’s rain ruined watching the race with your usual NASCAR viewing crew, fill the gap with fellow fans on NASCAR.com using our live chat page.

There may not be much hope left in anyone’s NCAA bracket, but it’s still early in the NASCAR Fantasy season. Follow your team’s performance in NASCAR Fantasy Live this week with live standings.

Live Press Pass streams will keep the NASCAR action rolling even after the winner rolls in and out of Victory Lane. Catch interviews with the top finishers immediately following the checkered flag, and stay tuned to NASCAR.com throughout the week for the latest news.

NASCAR fans can put their prediction skills to the test — against other fans in real time — with a predictive gaming app from OneUp Sports. Download NASCAR Connect, on iOS devices.

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Catch up on everything that has happened halfway through the Sprint Cup Series race

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Race info: Race Center | Live Leaderboard

Time Elapsed: 1 hour, 55 minutes

Lap leaders:
Tony Stewart, Laps 1-25
Kevin Harvick, Lap 26
Tony Stewart, Laps 27-51
Reed Sorenson, Lap 52
Tony Stewart, Laps 53-77
Brad Keselowski, Laps 78-97
Jeff Gordon, Laps 98-99
Brad Keselowski, Laps 100-122
Denny Hamlin, Laps 123-141
Jeff Gordon, Laps 142-143
Kyle Busch, Laps 144-153
Jeff Gordon, Laps 154-167

Lead changes as of Lap 167: 11
Record at Texas Motor Speedway: 33, achieved in in fall 2010

Cautions:
Laps 1-10 (Competition caution)
Laps 13-24 (The No. 88 of Dale Earnhardt Jr. hits the wall after dipping into the infield)
Laps 49-54 (Competition caution)

Best lap: Tony Stewart | 27.714 seconds
 
Top speed: Tony Stewart | 194.847 mph

Average speed: 131.233 mph
 
What to watch for:

New record: Tony Stewart became the all-time Sprint Cup Series lap leader at Texas Motor Speedway.

Tire strategy: With a clean race track, drivers are going to have to make the most out of their tires without risking one going down.

Newcomer to the Chase club? Halfway through the race, two of the six previous race winners are in the garage: Kevin Harvick and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Harvick’s No. 4 went up in smoke and headed to the garage with engine issues, while a dip into the grass sent Earnhardt’s up in fire.

Bad luck for Hendrick: Not long after the race went green, things started heading downhill for Hendrick Motorsports. Dale Earnhardt Jr. hit the infield while closely following Aric Almirola. The impact did serious damage to the No. 88, but flying mud and debris did some significant harm to teammate Jimmie Johnson behind him. It wasn’t until several pit stops and repairs that the No. 48 could begin the battle back from laps down. Kasey Kahne had some issue on pit road, leaving him fighting his way into the top ten from the back of the pack. Jeff Gordon has been the saving grace for the team, leading at the halfway point.

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Team Penske driver passes Gordon on last lap, becomes seventh winner in seven races

MORE: Full race results | Series standings
RELATED: Full coverage of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup format changes | Official news release | Changes explained | Chase Facts and FAQ | Chase Grid (PDF)

Joey Logano became the latest contender in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup by winning the Duck Commander 500 at Texas Motor Speedway in a thrilling finish on Monday.

For the first time in 11 years, seven different drivers have won the first seven races of the season.

Logano led a race-high 108 of the 340 laps. He was in control late and looked like he would cruise to victory when a caution was issued on Lap 334.

Jeff Gordon started first in the green-white-checkered restart, but Logano passed him on the last lap and beat him by nearly a half-second (.476).

Gordon placed second, followed by Kyle Busch, Brian Vickers and rookie Kyle Larson.

Gordon, a four-time series champion, has taken over the Sprint Cup Series points lead with 259 points. Matt Kenseth is second (255), while Carl Edwards (247), Logano (235) and Kyle Busch (231) round out the top five.

Brad Keselowski was hit hardest by Monday’s late restart. Keselowski was running second when the final caution came out, but he was penalized for speeding off pit road and finished 15th. Keselowski qualified second and led 85 laps.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., who went to Texas with the points lead, hit the wall on the 14th lap and caught fire. He finished last (43rd) and is now tied for sixth in the points standings.

Earnhardt Jr.’s early exit impacted Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson, who was running behind him at the time. Johnson suffered windshield and front-end damage from the debris but remained in the race. Johnson finished 25th, two laps down, and is now tied with Earnhardt Jr. for sixth place.

Kevin Harvick, who won at Phoenix, led a lap at Texas and was running with the lead pack when he blew his engine. Harvick completed 28 laps and placed 42nd.

Logano joins the Busch brothers, Keselowski, Harvick, Earnhardt Jr. and Edwards as winners of Sprint Cup Series races this season.

If any of those seven drivers win at least one more time this season, they would be guaranteed a spot in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

Drivers with one win through the first 26 races must rank among the top 30 in the points standings to qualify for the Chase.

Kurt Busch, who won the previous week at Martinsville, was the reason for the final caution (blown tire) and placed 39th. He’s now 25th in the points standings and Harvick is 26th.

After the seventh race of NASCAR’s regular season, here is how the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings look:

Pos. Driver Chase berth
1. Carl Edwards Winner: Bristol
2. Joey Logano Winner: Texas
3. Kyle Busch Winner: Fontana
4. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Winner: Daytona
5. Brad Keselowski Winner: Las Vegas
6. Kurt Busch Winner: Martinsville
7. Kevin Harvick Winner: Phoenix
8. Jeff Gordon Points leader
9. Matt Kenseth 2nd in points
10. Jimmie Johnson 7th in points
11. Brian Vickers 9th in points
12. Paul Menard 10th in points
13. Ryan Newman 11th in points
14. Austin Dillon 12th in points
15. Denny Hamlin 13th in points
16. Tony Stewart 14th in points


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Moments that changed the course of the seventh race of the season

LOGANO PASSES GORDON FOR THE WIN

Joey Logano won the Duck Commander 500 under a green-white-checkered, expanding the number of drivers to win a race this season to seven. Logano looked primed for a victory with teammate Brad Keselowski behind him when Kurt Busch shredded a tire, drawing out the seventh and final caution of the day.

Logano restarted in third, with Jeff Gordon and Brian Vickers winning the race off pit road by only taking two tires. Logano’s fresh tires would give him the edge, regaining the lead position and taking the checkered flag.

Kyle Busch won the battle for third, with Vickers a position behind him.

UPS


FIRE ENDS DAY EARLY FOR EARNHARDT JR.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. didn’t mince words despite the disappointment and frustration so apparent on his face from his short day as he walked out of the Texas Motor Speedway infield care center only 12 laps into Monday’s rain-delayed Duck Commander 500.

"Just a mistake on my part, didn’t know I was that close to the grass," Earnhardt said shaking his head.

Although Earnhardt insisted he was fine physically, the single-car accident looked frightening as his No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet’s left side tires drove through the wet, slick infield grass and turned hard back up the track — flames shooting out of the car as it made hard contact with the outside wall. While some drivers had reported damp spots on the 1.5-mile Texas high banks, Earnhardt was adamant that he didn’t consider it a concern.

"It didn’t have anything to do with what happened to me, I just ran into the grass on the apron," Earnhardt said. "I was following the 43 (Aric Almirola) and just couldn’t see the grass, how close I was.

"I thought I was taking a decent line by the dogleg, I was getting around the 42 (Kyle Larson) so was lower than normal, but I just misjudged it."

It was definitely not the ending Earnhardt envisioned after sitting through an entire day’s rain delay on Sunday only to crash on the second lap of green flag racing Monday. But more significantly, Earnhardt came to Fort Worth as the Sprint Cup Series points leader — by nine points over Matt Kenseth — thanks to a Daytona 500 victory and four top-three finishes in the first six races.

ENGINE FAILURE COSTLY FOR HARVICK

Kevin Harvick exited Monday’s Duck Commander 500 after just 28 laps of the scheduled 334-lap event due to a blown engine in his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet.

The race, originally scheduled for Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway, was delayed one day due to inclement weather.

"Something happened with the engine right after that restart," Harvick said. "The Jimmy John’s Chevrolet SS was really fast. It’s frustrating. I don’t know what else I can say. I didn’t get any indication that anything was going wrong. Hendrick engines are among the fastest and most reliable engines in the garage. We’ll take it back to the shop and figure out what happened. But that’s a disappointing end to the day."

The resulting 42nd-place finish was the latest setback for the veteran driver, who won earlier this year at Phoenix International Raceway but has battled mechanical problems of various sorts in several of this year’s first seven NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events.
 
Following his Phoenix win, Harvick was saddled with a 41st-place finish the following week in Las Vegas due to a left front hub failure.
 
At Bristol, it was a cut oil line late in the race resulted in a 39th-place finish.
 
Tire problems, which impacted several teams at Auto Club Speedway, derailed Harvick as well, and left him 36th at day’s end.
 
Although he scored a seventh-place finish at Martinsville, Harvick and his team had their share of issues there as well — one of two chains connected to the rear tires broke and resulted slower pit stops and a loss of track position each time Harvick came onto pit road.