Sunday, July 7, 2019

Kevin Harvick struggles at Daytona

Harvick Finishes Disappointing 29th at Daytona
Jimmy John’s Ford Mustang Driver Involved in Midrace Incident

Date: July 7, 2019
Event: Coke Zero Sugar 400 (Round 18 of 36)
Series: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway (2.5-mile oval)
Format: 160 laps, broken into three stages (50 laps/50 laps/60 laps)
Start/Finish: 4th/29th (Running, completed 124 of 127 laps in rain-shortened race)
Point standing: 3rd with 625 points, 75 out of first

Race Winner: Justin Haley of Spire Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Winner: Joey Logano of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner: Austin Dillon of Richard Childress Racing (Chevrolet)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-50):
● Kevin Harvick started fourth, finished fourth and earned seven bonus points.
● Early on, Harvick and the No. 4 Jimmy John’s Ford Mustang were in second place, right behind leader Joey Logano.
● On lap 36, while in second place behind Logano, Harvick pitted for fuel only.
● Harvick came out in first place and led until turn three on lap 50. Logano, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Ryan Blaney got by at the end of the stage. Harvick wound up fourth.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 51-100):
● Started sixth, finished 31st.
● On lap 52, Harvick pitted for four tires and fuel.
● Harvick pitted on lap 59 for fuel only and came out in 12th.
● On lap 83, Harvick was involved in a six-car incident on the frontstretch. After several pit stops for repairs, the No. 4 Jimmy John’s Ford team was able to get back on track.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 101-160):
● Started 31st, finished 29th.
● Harvick was riding around in the back of the pack one lap down when he cut a tire, further damaging the No. 4 Ford.
● Harvick was able to continue until, on lap 127, the red flag was issued for weather and then the race was called short, with the No. 4 finishing in 29th.

Notes:
● Harvick finished fourth in Stage 1 to earn seven bonus points.
● Harvick led once for 12 laps to increase his laps-led total at Daytona to 256.
● Justin Haley won the Coke Zero Sugar 400 to score his first career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory.
● There were six caution periods for a total of 25 laps.
● Only 18 of the 40 drivers in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 finished on the lead lap.
● Joey Logano remains the championship leader after Daytona with an 18-point advantage over second-place Kyle Busch.

Next Up:
The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Kentucky 400 on Saturday, July 13 at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta. The race starts at 7:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBCSN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

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