Harvick Earns Fifth-Place Finish in NASCAR Nationwide Series at Bristol Motor Speedway

NASCAR Nationwide Series – Bristol 300
March 16, 2013 Bristol Motor Speedway

Kevin Harvick and the No. 33 Armour Vienna Sausages team collected a fifth-place finish in the 300-lap NASCAR Nationwide Series event at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday afternoon. The Bakersfield, Calif., native took the green flag from the seventh spot and quickly began a charge toward the front of the field, settling into second on lap 33. Harvick reported a loose-handling condition during the early stages of the race, but maintained a position in the top five. As the event progressed, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series regular informed his team that the car’s handling had switched from loose to tight, as he continued to run solid lap times, taking over the top spot on lap 196. Persistent handling issues caused Harvick to relinquish the lead on lap 237. The No. 33 Richard Childress Racing team used the final caution period to make one final attempt at improving the car’s handling, taking four fresh tires and adding fuel. Harvick lined up eighth for the final restart and picked up three positions before the checkered flag waved, capturing a fifth-place finish.

We just got too tight at the end and weren’t able to get back out front. The Armour Vienna Sausages Chevrolet was fast today, but we lost the handling at the end. It was a fun race and the team worked hard, but we came here to win and we just couldn’t get it done today. – Kevin Harvick

Race Notes

• Started – 7th, Finished, – 5th,  Laps led – 43, Points – 8th
• According to NASCAR’s Loop Data Statistics, Harvick was the Fastest Driver Early in a Run, maintained the second-best average running position (3.410), ranked second in the Closers category and had the second-best Driver Rating (120.4).
• RCR drivers posted the Fastest Laps Run for 44 circuits with Harvick at 33 laps.