{"id":15169,"date":"2018-03-04T19:36:16","date_gmt":"2018-03-05T01:36:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=15169"},"modified":"2018-03-04T20:41:41","modified_gmt":"2018-03-05T02:41:41","slug":"kevin-harvick-enjoys-another-dominant-victory-in-las-vegas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2018\/03\/04\/kevin-harvick-enjoys-another-dominant-victory-in-las-vegas\/","title":{"rendered":"Kevin Harvick enjoys another dominant victory in Las Vegas"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Jimmy John’s Ford, celebrates in victory lane after winning the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 4, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Brian Lawdermilk\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service<\/em><\/p>\n

LAS VEGAS, Nev. \u2013 If you thought last Sunday\u2019s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series<\/a> race at Atlanta was an aberration on old asphalt, think again.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Jimmy John’s Ford, crosses the finish line to win the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 4, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Robert Laberge\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Kevin Harvick<\/strong> was every bit as dominant on the newer asphalt at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, racking up impressive numbers in winning Sunday\u2019s Pennzoil 400, the third event of the season.<\/p>\n

In winning his second straight race and his second at the 1.5-mile track, Harvick finished 2.906 seconds ahead of runner-up and Las Vegas native Kyle Busch. Third-place finisher Kyle Larson was more than 13 seconds back. Paul Menard in ninth-place was the last driver on the lead lap.<\/p>\n

Harvick won for the 39th time in the Monster Energy Series and the 100th time over all three of NASCAR\u2019s national touring series combined. He is tied with Tim Flock and Matt Kenseth for 19th on the all-time Cup victory list and third among active drivers.<\/p>\n

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Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Jimmy John’s Ford, celebrates after winning the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 4, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Robert Laberge\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

The driver of the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford also took the series lead by three points over second-place Joey Logano and four over third-place Ryan Blaney, who started from the pole on Sunday and led one lap\u2014the first.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs you look at the last two weeks and our 1.5-mile program in general, it has been really good since I started here at SHR,\u201d said Harvick, a Bakersfield, California, native. \u201cThey put a lot of effort into everything we do from every standpoint to get these cars going like they are. It\u2019s great to win on the West Coast for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harvick led 214 of 267 laps, most ever by a Las Vegas winner. His fastest lap was more than .4 seconds better than the quickest circuit posted by anyone else. Harvick won the first two stages of the race with relative ease, picking up two Playoff points in the process.<\/p>\n

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Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #78 Bass Pro Shops\/5-hour ENERGY Toyota, leads a pack of cars during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 4, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Robert Laberge\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

With all that, the outcome wasn\u2019t a foregone conclusion after Harvick lost three spots on pit road under caution at the end of Stage 2. He restarted fourth on Lap 167, fell back to fifth and didn\u2019t regain fourth-place until he passed Chase Elliott on Lap 172.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had some trouble getting through traffic there,\u201d Harvick said. \u201cThat was our worst run, as far as where the car was. I don\u2019t know if it was just the car, tire set, handling, whatever it was. We were just stuck in traffic and needed to come make an adjustment.\u201d<\/p>\n

After two more cautions\u2014the first for Jamie McMurray\u2019s brush with the backstretch wall on Lap 176, the second for a hard crash off Turn 4 that eliminated Kurt Busch and Elliott on Lap 183\u2014Harvick lined up beside eventual seventh-place finisher Logano for a restart on Lap 195 and rocketed into the lead through the first corner.<\/p>\n

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Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 M&M’s Caramel Toyota, and Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #78 Bass Pro Shops\/5-hour ENERGY Toyota, race during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 4, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Brian Lawdermilk\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

At that point, it was game over. Kyle Busch led laps 225-230 after Harvick made a green-flag pit stop on Lap 225, but that was Busch\u2019s last glimpse of the lead. Harvick reclaimed first place after Busch came to pit road on Lap 230 and stayed there the rest of the way.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was no catching that 4,\u201d Kyle Busch said. \u201cThey were on rails today\u2026 Certainly would have liked to have been able to run down the 4 or catch the 4 and put on a race, but they were just so far out there and so far the class of the field all day long, I don’t think anybody was really keeping up with them.\u201d <\/p>\n

Notes: Cole Custer finished 25th, three laps down in his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series debut\u2026 Darrell \u201cBubba\u201d Wallace Jr. was the highest finishing Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender in 21st, also three laps down\u2026 Defending series champion Martin Truex Jr. started fourth and finished fourth. Blaney completed the top five.<\/p>\n

Media Center Interviews:<\/h3>\n

Kevin Harvick, Rodney Childers and Tony Stewart – <\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/LVMS_MENCS_Harvick_Stewart_Childers_030418MP3.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\n

Kyle Busch – <\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/MENCS_LVMS_Busch_030418.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\n

Kyle Larson – <\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/MENCS_LVMS_Larson_030418.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\n

NHRA driver Antron Brown – <\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/MENCS_LVMS_BROWN_030418.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\n

Actor Dylan McDermott – <\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/MENCS_LVMS_McDermott_030418.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\n

Charlotte Motor Speedway Announcement – <\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/MENCS_LVMS_CMS_030418.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\n

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Race – Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube<\/strong><\/p>\n

Las Vegas Motor Speedway<\/strong><\/p>\n

Las Vegas, Nevada<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sunday, March 4, 2018<\/strong><\/p>\n

               1. (2) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 267.<\/p>\n

               2. (13) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 267.<\/p>\n

               3. (5) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 267.<\/p>\n

               4. (4) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 267.<\/p>\n

               5. (1) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 267.<\/p>\n

               6. (8) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 267.<\/p>\n

               7. (10) Joey Logano, Ford, 267.<\/p>\n

               8. (9) Erik Jones, Toyota, 267.<\/p>\n

               9. (12) Paul Menard, Ford, 267.<\/p>\n

               10. (29) Aric Almirola, Ford, 266.<\/p>\n

               11. (25) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 266.<\/p>\n

               12. (14) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 266.<\/p>\n

               13. (16) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 266.<\/p>\n

               14. (7) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 265.<\/p>\n

               15. (28) Chris Buescher, Chevrolet, 265.<\/p>\n

               16. (20) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 265.<\/p>\n

               17. (19) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 265.<\/p>\n

               18. (11) Clint Bowyer, Ford, 265.<\/p>\n

               19. (21) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 264.<\/p>\n

               20. (24) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 264.<\/p>\n

               21. (26) Darrell Wallace Jr. #, Chevrolet, 264.<\/p>\n

               22. (32) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford, 264.<\/p>\n

               23. (23) David Ragan, Ford, 264.<\/p>\n

               24. (31) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 264.<\/p>\n

               25. (30) Cole Custer(i), Ford, 264.<\/p>\n

               26. (18) Daniel Suarez, Toyota, 263.<\/p>\n

               27. (17) William Byron #, Chevrolet, 263.<\/p>\n

               28. (34) Cole Whitt, Chevrolet, 262.<\/p>\n

               29. (33) Ross Chastain(i), Chevrolet, 262.<\/p>\n

               30. (27) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 262.<\/p>\n

               31. (36) Jeffrey Earnhardt, Chevrolet, 255.<\/p>\n

               32. (37) * Joey Gase(i), Chevrolet, 253.<\/p>\n

               33. (35) Gray Gaulding, Toyota, Engine, 195.<\/p>\n

               34. (6) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, Accident, 183.<\/p>\n

               35. (3) Kurt Busch, Ford, Accident, 183.<\/p>\n

               36. (22) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, Accident, 176.<\/p>\n

               37. (15) Michael McDowell, Ford, Engine, 100.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Average Speed of Race Winner:  141.756 mph.<\/p>\n

Time of Race:  2 Hrs, 49 Mins, 31 Secs. Margin of Victory:  2.906 Seconds.<\/p>\n

Caution Flags:  4 for 29 laps.<\/p>\n

Lead Changes:  11 among 6 drivers.<\/p>\n

Lap Leaders:   R. Blaney 1; K. Harvick 2-38; M. McDowell 39-49; K. Harvick 50-121; Kyle Busch 122-125; K. Harvick 126-163; J. Logano 164-176; M. Truex Jr. 177-182; J. Logano 183-194; K. Harvick 195-224; Kyle Busch 225-230; K. Harvick 231-267.<\/p>\n

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  K. Harvick 5 times for 214 laps; J. Logano 2 times for 25 laps; M. McDowell 1 time for 11 laps; Kyle Busch 2 times for 10 laps; M. Truex Jr. 1 time for 6 laps; R. Blaney 1 time for 1 lap.<\/p>\n

Stage #1 Top Ten: 4,78,42,12,22,2,41,9,18,21<\/p>\n

Stage #2 Top Ten: 4,12,42,22,18,2,78,41,9,21<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"

Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe’s for Pros Chevrolet, goes through inspection prior to the start of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 4, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Robert Laberge\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

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Ryan Blaney, driver of the #12 Menards\/Pennzoil Ford, takes the green flag to start the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 4, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Robert Laberge\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

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Ryan Blaney, driver of the #12 Menards\/Pennzoil Ford, leads the field at the start of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 4, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Sean Gardner\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

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Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Pennzoil Ford, leads a pack of cars during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 4, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Sean Gardner\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

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Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe’s for Pros Chevrolet, and Clint Bowyer, driver of the #14 One Cure Ford, race during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 4, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Brian Lawdermilk\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

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Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Jimmy John’s Ford, leads a pack of cars during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 4, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Brian Lawdermilk\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"

Kyle Larson, driver of the #42 Credit One Bank Chevrolet, leads a pack of cars during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 4, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Robert Laberge\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"

Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Jimmy John’s Ford, races during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 4, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Sean Gardner\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

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Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Jimmy John’s Ford, celebrates with a burnout after winning the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 4, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Matt Sullivan\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"

Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Jimmy John’s Ford, poses with the winners sticker after winning the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 4, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Matt Sullivan\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service LAS VEGAS, Nev. \u2013 If you thought last Sunday\u2019s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta was an aberration on old asphalt, think again. Kevin Harvick was every bit as dominant on the newer asphalt at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, racking up impressive numbers in winning Sunday\u2019s Pennzoil […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15181,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11],"tags":[95,67,16],"class_list":["post-15169","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nascar","tag-kevin-harvick","tag-las-vegas-motor-speedway","tag-nascar"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/LVMS_MENCS_VL_030418-e1520213614555.jpg?fit=640%2C469&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-3WF","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15169","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15169"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15169\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15201,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15169\/revisions\/15201"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15181"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15169"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15169"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15169"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}