Race/Date: Meijer 300/June 17, 2006
Location: Kentucky Speedway – Sparta, Ky.
Start Position: 13th
Finish Position: Sixth
Owners’ Points Position: First
Kevin Harvick and Team Coast Guard clawed their way to a sixth-place finish Saturday night in the Meijer 300 at Kentucky Speedway despite damaging the right-front fender after spinning out on the first lap.
The teamwork by Team Coast Guard helped Harvick claim his 14th top-10 finish of the season and increase his lead in the NASCAR Busch Series standings by 372 over Carl Edwards, who battled motor issues and finished 36th.
This was the second consecutive weekend where Harvick traveled between the NEXTEL Cup event and the non-companion NASCAR Busch Series race. “Happy” Harvick, along with his Richard Childress Racing teammate Clint Bowyer, made the trip from the Michigan International Speedway to the Kentucky Speedway for Friday night’s final practice and for qualifying and the main event Saturday. With Harvick absent from first practice, Team Coast Guard relied on Randy LaJoie to practice the No. 21 machine during Friday’s first practice session.
In qualifying, Harvick’s fast lap was 30.708 seconds (175.850 mph) and lined up the No. 21 Coast Guard Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS in the 13th starting spot for Saturday nights 200-lap race.
Making only his second career Busch Series start at Kentucky Speedway, “Happy” Harvick was hoping to do what he did the first time around – win. However, just surviving came to mind after spinning out on lap one coming off of turn four bringing out the first of a record-tying 10 caution flags.
With only minor damage to the front fender, Team Coast Guard was able to repair the blue and red machine and keep Harvick on the lead lap in the 40th position.
Back under green, Harvick knew he had plenty of time to return to the front, but he chose to get there as soon as he could. It took the 20-time NASCAR Busch Series winner just 17 laps to move into the 23rd position and was soon listed 13th after a “gas and go” pit stop on lap 27. Still on the move, the No. 21 Coast Guard Chevy was shown in the 10th spot just prior to a caution flag on lap 29 for an accident that would later bring out a 20-minute red flag.
Harvick took over the sixth spot on lap 44, just prior to telling his crew that he was experiencing a bad vibration. Four laps later, the caution waved over the speedway. Team Coast Guard crew chief Shane Wilson made the call to bring the No. 21 Chevy to pit road for four fresh tires and fuel, hoping the fresh rubber would make the vibration would go away. Unfortunately, Harvick continued to experience the vibration and diagnosing it as a brake rotor problem.
Since not all 43 cars pitted during the caution, Harvick restarted in the 15th spot. The Bakersfield, Calif., native again began picking off positions and was listed fifth on lap 71. With 100 laps remaining, the field began their green flag pit stops, but since Harvick and Team Coast Guard pitted on lap 50, they were able to stay on the track longer. This came into play when a caution flew on lap 116 leaving majority of the field one lap down.
Harvick made the hard left turn toward pit road to the attention of his crew. With no chassis adjustments needed, the team changed four tires and added fuel, then sent Harvick back on track in the third position.
Once the race went back under green, Harvick made the most of it and moved the No. 21 Chevy into the third position on lap 149. However, on lap 162, the blue and red machine started to lose its handling and Harvick started going backward. The loss of handling was later diagnosed as a flat right front tire.
Finally, a caution came out on lap 182, allowing Harvick to hit pit road for the final stop of the night. Team Coast Guard changed four tires and added fuel, then sent Harvick on his way in the 11th spot. “Happy” Harvick was able to pick up five spots in the closing laps, crossing the finish line in the sixth spot.
Harvick’s teammate, Bowyer, finished 12th.
David Gilliland, became the first non-NEXTEL Cup driver to win a Busch Series race this season. J.J. Yeley finished second, followed by Denny Hamlin, Mike Wallace and Ashton Lewis, respectively.
Next weekends AT&T 250 at The Milwaukee Mile will mark the third consecutive weekend where Harvick will travel between the NEXTEL Cup events and non-companion NASCAR Busch Series races. Randy LaJoie will once again practice the No 21 Coast Guard Chevy. The race will take the green flag Saturday, June 24 at 8:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) and will be telecast live on FX. The event will also be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network (MRN) and XM Satellite Radio.
KEVIN HARVICK - NO. 21 COAST GUARD CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO SS –
“We proved why we are a championship team. I made a really big mistake and spun out coming off turn four on lap one and damaged the front fender. The Coast Guard team did a great job repairing the car and I was able to finish in the top 10. It was just unfortunate because we had a car that could have won the race.”
