Harvick Finishes 17th at Dover

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-120):

● Kevin Harvick started ninth, finished eighth and earned three bonus points.

● The Busch Beer Ford entered the top-five on lap 30 while reporting a tight-off handling condition.

 Harvick gave up the second position to come to pit road under the green flag on lap 83 for four tires, fuel and small adjustments.

● The No. 4 Ford lost a lap due to the pit cycle while racing in the seventh position when the caution flag was displayed on lap 88.

● Harvick opted to take the wave-around to return to the lead lap on lap 90.

● The No. 4 team pitted at the end of the stage for four tires, fuel and a small adjustment.

 

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 121-240):

● Started sixth, finished 23rd.

● The Busch Beer Ford came to pit road under caution in the third position on lap 168 for four tires and fuel.

● Harvick reported a loose rear wheel on lap 204 and dropped from fourth to sixth before pitting under the green flag on lap 217.

 He returned to the track two laps down to the leaders in the 27th position and regained one lap by lap 228.

● The No. 4 team pitted for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment at the conclusion of Stage 2.

 

Final Stage Recap (Laps 241-400):

● Started 23rd, finished 17th.

● Harvick reported he was tight in traffic with 100 laps remaining as he raced in 22nd a lap down to the leaders.

● The Busch Beer Ford had raced into sixth by lap 336 during a green-flag pit cycle as he tried to regain his lap.

● The No. 4 Ford came to pit road on lap 336 for four tires, fuel and small adjustments and rejoined the field in 20th one lap down.

● Harvick raced hard to gain three positions in the closing laps.

Notes:

● Apache Warrior 400 at Dover is the third of the 10 playoff races to determine the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series champion.

● There were four caution periods for a total of 24 laps.

● Only 12 of the 40 drivers in the Apache Warrior 400 finished on the lead lap.

● Harvick finished eighth in Stage 1 to earn three bonus points.

 

Playoff Standings (at the conclusion of the Round of 16):

1.   Martin Truex Jr. (3,059 points)

2.   Kyle Busch (3,041 points, -18)

3.   Kyle Larson (3,034 points, -25)

4.   Brad Keselowski (3,020 points, -39)

5.   Jimmie Johnson (3,017 points, -42)

6.   Kevin Harvick (3,015 points, -44)

7.   Denny Hamlin (3,013 points, -46)

8.   Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (3,010 points, -49)

9.   Ryan Blaney (3,008 points, -51)

10. Chase Elliott (3,006 points, -53)

11. Matt Kenseth (3,005 points, -54)

12. Jamie McMurray (3,003 points, -56)

 

Failed to Advance to Round of 12:

13.  Ryan Newman (2,067 points)

14.  Austin Dillon (2,065 points)

15.  Kasey Kahne (2,046 points)

16.  Kurt Busch (2,044 points)

Next Up:

The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Bank of America 500 on Sunday, Oct. 8 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. It is the fourth race of the 10-race playoffs and starts at 2 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBC beginning at 1 p.m.

TSC PR/Photo Getty Images for NASCAR

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