Harvick has
strong N'wide finishes despite pit stops
Kevin Harvick isn't one to hold back his feelings. Just ask his
Nationwide Series pit crew.
This season Harvick is splitting time in his Kevin Harvick Inc.
No. 33 Chevrolet and on more than one occasion has criticized
his team for poor pit stops.
But that hasn't stopped the team from running well, and it is
first in owner points heading into Saturday's O'Reilly 300 at
Texas Motor Speedway. Harvick finished in the top 10 in four of
the first five races, and Cale Gale finished eighth in the No.
33 at Nashville.
Harvick will be in the No. 33 at Texas, where he has four wins
in eight starts. But all four wins have come driving for Richard
Childress Racing.
"Any time you win a race it is always exciting, but going for a
fifth win at the same track means a lot," Harvick said. "My
first start at TMS I had a top-10 finish. I am looking forward
to bringing another win home and my first win at Kevin Harvick
Inc."
Harvick has seven top-10 finishes on the 1.5-mile track. His
worst finish is 11th, which came last April, the last time he
drove the No. 33 at Texas. Harvick knows his pit crew will be
crucial to winning Saturday.
"To be successful at Texas you have to have a good handling car
and great stops on pit road to maintain positions and move
forward through the field," he said.
Predictably, Harvick has the best driver rating at Texas at
121.3. Also racing Saturday are Nos. 2 and 3, Jeff Burton
(109.8) and Tony Stewart (107.7). Defending champion Matt
Kenseth has the fourth-best rating (107.0), but he is not
entered.
Burton, the Sprint Cup Series points leader, is winless at Texas
but has finished in the top 10 in all 11 of his races. He also
won the Cup race at Texas last spring. He will be in the RCR No.
29 Chevrolet, which Scott Wimmer took to Victory Lane two weeks
ago at Nashville.
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