{"id":5658,"date":"2016-09-25T20:01:00","date_gmt":"2016-09-26T01:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=5658"},"modified":"2016-10-01T17:13:53","modified_gmt":"2016-10-01T22:13:53","slug":"harvick-gets-stress-relieving-chase-victory-at-new-hampshire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2016\/09\/25\/harvick-gets-stress-relieving-chase-victory-at-new-hampshire\/","title":{"rendered":"Harvick gets stress-relieving Chase victory at New Hampshire"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Reid Spencer<\/b><\/p>\n

LOUDON, N.H. \u2013 Remember last week, when Kevin Harvick<\/strong> was trapped a lap down at Chicagoland Speedway, finished 20th and fell out of the top 12 in the Chase for the NASCAR<\/a> Sprint Cup standings?<\/p>\n

\"Kevin

Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 ditech Chevrolet, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Bad Boy Off Road 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on September 25, 2016 in Loudon, New Hampshire. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Remember last year, when Harvick crashed at Chicagoland and ran out of fuel while leading at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and had to win at Dover to advance in the Chase?<\/p>\n

That\u2019s all moot, now that Harvick redeemed himself with a victory in Sunday\u2019s Bad Boy Off Road 300 at New Hampshire, the second race in the Chase.<\/p>\n

Surging ahead of Matt Kenseth after a restart with six laps left in the 300-lap event at the 1.058-mile track, Harvick pulled away to win by .442 seconds and joined Chicagoland winner Martin Truex Jr. in the Chase\u2019s Round of 12.<\/p>\n

“One of our main goals this year was to not stress ourselves out so bad,” said Harvick, who won last year\u2019s Dover race to escape the Round of 16 in his last opportunity. “I feel like the performance of the car and the things that we\u2019re doing are good enough to be competitive, and we just need to not make mistakes and go from there.”<\/p>\n

\"Kevin

Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 ditech Chevrolet, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Bad Boy Off Road 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on September 25, 2016 in Loudon, New Hampshire. (Photo by Rainier Ehrhardt\/NASCAR via Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Harvick got his opportunity to win the race when Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Reed Sorenson collided on the backstretch on Lap 291 to bring out the sixth and final caution of the race.<\/p>\n

Starting on the inside lane and timing the restart perfectly, Harvick stayed side-by-side with Kenseth entering the first corner and cleared Kenseth\u2019s No. 20 Toyota through Turn 2. Kenseth was unable to get back to the rear bumper of Harvick\u2019s No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet over the final six laps.<\/p>\n

“Man, that worked out really good,” said Harvick, who won for the second time at the Magic Mile, the third time this season and the 34th time in his career. “The car was pretty good on the restarts. Once we got clean air there at the end, it wound up being really good up front. I\u2019m just really proud of our team. They did a great job.”<\/p>\n

NASCAR admonished Kenseth before the final restart not to slow down in the restart zone, as the sanctioning body believed he had done on the previous restart, when Kenseth held off Truex for the lead.<\/p>\n

\"Kevin

Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 ditech Chevrolet, leads Matt Kenseth, driver of the #20 Dollar General Toyota, during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Bad Boy Off Road 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on September 25, 2016 in Loudon, New Hampshire. (Photo by Matt Sullivan\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

“They made it sound like I slowed down the last time,” Kenseth said. “But in my opinion, the leader is always supposed to have the advantage. He’s the leader. He earned that advantage. They said I slowed down a little bit last time, which I’ve got to re-watch it.<\/p>\n

“I don’t really think I did, but if I did at all, it’s because the inside car (Truex) was laying back a little bit, and you want to make sure he gets up to your nose so it’s a fair restart. If he’s back at your door and anticipates a little bit, it’s not a fair restart. He’s going to be equal to you or a little bit better.”<\/p>\n

Then Kenseth second-guessed the way he handled the final restart with Harvick beside him.<\/p>\n

“I saw Kevin at my door, and I should have known better,” Kenseth said. “I should have went deep in the box and waited, and the acceleration was probably better down there anyway, but I didn’t. I went right at the first line, and he anticipated a little bit of that and got rolling good through the gears, and then I got through the gears bad. I spun the tires in second (gear), I spun the tires in third, so I had a really bad restart besides all that.”<\/p>\n

\"Kevin

Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 ditech Chevrolet, celebrates with a burn out after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Bad Boy Off Road 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on September 25, 2016 in Loudon, New Hampshire. (Photo by Rainier Ehrhardt\/NASCAR via Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Kyle Busch finished third behind Harvick and Kenseth after pitting for fresh tires under caution on Lap 265 and charging through the field. Brad Keselowski ran fourth and took over the Chase points lead by one point over Truex, who led a race-high 141 laps in a seventh-place run but wore out his tires trying to pass Kenseth after a restart on Lap 269.<\/p>\n

Kurt Busch came home fifth, followed by polesitter Carl Edwards, Truex, Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne and Kyle Larson.<\/p>\n

Harvick escaped the bottom four in the standings, and that left Jamie McMurray, Austin Dillon, Tony Stewart and Chris Buescher all needing to improve their positions to avoid elimination next Sunday at Dover International Speedway.<\/p>\n

McMurray and Dillon (19th and 16th, respectively, at New Hampshire) are five points behind Larson in 12th place. Stewart is 11 points back of Larson after a 23rd-place run on Sunday, and Buescher trails by 30 points, needing a Dover miracle.<\/p>\n

\"Kevin

Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 ditech Chevrolet, and his son, Keelan, place his name on the Chase Grid in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Bad Boy Off Road 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on September 25, 2016 in Loudon, New Hampshire. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race – Bad Boy Off Road 300<\/b><\/p>\n

New Hampshire Motor Speedway<\/b><\/p>\n

Loudon, New Hampshire<\/b><\/p>\n

Sunday, September 25, 2016<\/b><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 1. (19) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 300.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 2. (8) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 300.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 3. (12) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 300.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 4. (11) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 300.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 5. (13) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 300.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 6. (1) Carl Edwards, Toyota, 300.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 7. (2) Martin Truex Jr, Toyota, 300.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 8. (4) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 300.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 9. (9) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 300.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 10. (6) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 300.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 11. (15) Joey Logano, Ford, 300.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 12. (16) * Ryan Blaney #, Ford, 300.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 13. (10) Chase Elliott #, Chevrolet, 300.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 14. (18) Alex Bowman(i), Chevrolet, 300.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 15. (5) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 300.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 16. (29) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 300.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 17. (26) Aric Almirola, Ford, 300.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 18. (24) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, 300.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 19. (7) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 300.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 20. (3) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 300.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 21. (17) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 300.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 22. (37) Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet, 300.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 23. (22) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 299.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 24. (21) Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Ford, 299.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 25. (14) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 299.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 26. (20) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 298.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 27. (31) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 298.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 28. (33) Matt DiBenedetto, Toyota, 298.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 29. (34) Landon Cassill, Ford, 298.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 30. (28) Chris Buescher #, Ford, 298.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 31. (25) Brian Scott #, Ford, 298.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 32. (23) David Ragan, Toyota, 297.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 33. (32) Greg Biffle, Ford, 297.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 34. (30) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 297.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 35. (36) * Cole Whitt, Chevrolet, 294.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 36. (38) * Reed Sorenson, Toyota, 293.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 37. (40) Jeffrey Earnhardt #, Ford, 290.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 38. (27) Trevor Bayne, Ford, Accident, 282.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 39. (39) * Josh Wise, Chevrolet, 268.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 40. (35) Michael Annett, Chevrolet, Steering, 236.<\/p>\n

Average Speed of Race Winner:\u00a0 109.291 mph.<\/p>\n

Time of Race:\u00a0 02 Hrs, 54 Mins, 15 Secs. Margin of Victory:\u00a0 0.442 Seconds.<\/p>\n

Caution Flags:\u00a0 6 for 31 laps.<\/p>\n

Lead Changes:\u00a0 14 among 8 drivers.<\/p>\n

Lap Leaders:\u00a0\u00a0 C. Edwards 1-30; M. Truex Jr 31-75; C. Edwards 76; Kyle Busch 77-78; B. Keselowski 79-80; M. Truex Jr 81-124; Kyle Busch 125; M. Truex Jr 126-166; C. Elliott # 167; M. Truex Jr 168-178; M. Kenseth 179-231; K. Harvick 232-233; D. Patrick 234-242; M. Kenseth 243-294; K. Harvick 295-300.<\/p>\n

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):\u00a0 M. Truex Jr 4 times for 141 laps; M. Kenseth 2 times for 105 laps; C. Edwards 2 times for 31 laps; D. Patrick 1 time for 9 laps; K. Harvick 2 times for 8 laps; Kyle Busch 2 times for 3 laps; B. Keselowski 1 time for 2 laps; C. Elliott # 1 time for 1 lap.<\/p>\n

Top 16 in Points: B. Keselowski – 2,087; M. Truex Jr – 2,086; Kyle Busch – 2,085; M. Kenseth – 2,078; J. Logano – 2,073; K. Harvick – 2,071; D. Hamlin – 2,071; J. Johnson – 2,070; C. Elliott # – 2,068; C. Edwards – 2,068; Kurt Busch – 2,067; K. Larson – 2,057; J. Mcmurray – 2,052; A. Dillon – 2,052; T. Stewart – 2,046; C. Buescher # – 2,027.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Reid Spencer LOUDON, N.H. \u2013 Remember last week, when Kevin Harvick was trapped a lap down at Chicagoland Speedway, finished 20th and fell out of the top 12 in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings? Remember last year, when Harvick crashed at Chicagoland and ran out of fuel while leading at New […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5664,"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":[16],"class_list":["post-5658","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nascar","tag-nascar"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/NHMS2_NSCS_Harvick_VL_092516.jpg?fit=1912%2C1292&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-1tg","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5658","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=5658"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5658\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5666,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5658\/revisions\/5666"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5664"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5658"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5658"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5658"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}