Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-80):
● Kevin Harvick started fifth and finished second, earning nine bonus points.
● Harvick raced the Mobil 1 Ford to the lead by lap 34.
● He surrendered the lead to come to pit road under green-flag conditions on lap 38 for four tires and fuel.
● The No. 4 Ford raced back to the lead on lap 50.
● Harvick dropped back to second when the No. 78 completed the pass for the lead.
● The Mobil 1 Ford came to pit road at the end of the stage for four tires, fuel and wedge and air pressure adjustments.
Stage 2 Recap (Laps 81-160):
● Harvick started fifth and finished 37th.
● He raced up to the fourth position by the lap-90 caution, and the team decided to stay out.
● The No. 4 Ford restarted fourth on lap 93 and raced up to the second position.
● Harvick brought the No. 4 Ford to pit road for four tires, fuel and air pressure adjustments on lap 112.
● The Mobil 1 Ford dropped back to the seventh position on the restart, and Harvick noted the car wouldn’t turn.
● Harvick raced back into the top-five by lap 137, but again he noted an issue with the tire.
● The No. 4 Ford cut a right-front tire on lap 147, resulting in heavy contact with the wall between turns one and two and ending Harvick’s day.
Notes:
● Harvick finished second in Stage 1 to earn nine bonus points.
● Harvick led twice for 14 laps to increase his laps-led total at Las Vegas to 452.
● Brad Keselowski won the South Point 400 to score his 27th career Cup Series victory, his third of the season and third in a row, and his third at Las Vegas. His margin of victory over second-place Kyle Larson was 1.276 seconds.
● There were 12 caution periods for a total of 59 laps.
● Eighteen of the 40 drivers in the South Point 400 finished on the lead lap.
● A 10-minute, 37-second red-flag period just before the end of the race set up a green-white-checkered finish that sent the race into overtime.
Playoff Standings:
1. Brad Keselowski (2,069 points) 1 win
2. Martin Truex Jr. (2,087 points) +65 points
3. Kyle Busch (2,085 points) +63 points
4. Kevin Harvick (2,060 points) +38 points
5. Joey Logano (2,056 points) +34 points
6. Kurt Busch (2,046 points) +24 points
7. Ryan Blaney (2,042 points) +20 points
8. Kyle Larson (2,041 points) +19 points
9. Aric Almirola (2,034 points) +12 points
10. Austin Dillon (2,031 points) +9 points
11. Clint Bowyer (2,029 points) +7 points
12. Alex Bowman (2,028 points) +6 points
13. Jimmie Johnson (2,022 points) -6 points
14. Chase Elliott (2,019 points) -9 points
15. Erik Jones (2,009 points) -19 points
16. Denny Hamlin (2,008 points) -20 points
Next Up:
The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Federated Auto Parts 400 on Saturday, Sept. 22 at Richmond (Va.) Raceway. It is the second race of the 10-race playoffs, and it starts at 7:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBCSN beginning at 6 p.m.
TSC PR/Photo Credit Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images
