Kevin Harvick wins at the Brickyard for Second Straight Year

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INDIANAPOLIS, IN – RIS – Kevin Harvick won the NASCAR Cup Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 for the second straight year at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday.  It was Harvick’s fourth win of the season, and 53es of chis career, coming within one of NASCAR Hall of Fame member Lee Petty.  Harvick led 68 of the 161 scheduled laps., besting Chase Elliott by 42 laps.

Harvick took the lead when leader Denny Hamlin crashed with seven laps to go. Harvick tied Hamlin with four victories this season.

Hamlin and Harvick had been the class of the field in the second half of the race. Harvick won Stage 2 and William Byron took Stage 1.

Matt Kenseth, the 48-year-old who took over for the fired Kyle Larson, finished second, and Aric Almirola third. Brad Keselowski and Cole Custer rounded out the top five.

Tire trouble was the theme of the afternoon, with Alex Bowman and William Byron also losing their treads.  What was seen were violent crashes when tires failed.  At least four cars had to be retired due to tires failed and several others were able to get new tires before crashing.

"We knew he (Hamlin) was really close on tires so (crew chief) Rodney (Childers) said on the radio to keep the pressure on him," Harvick said. "It's the Brickyard, this is what I grew up wanting to do so to come here and win for the third time is something I couldn't have dreamed up."

The win gave Stewart-Haas Racing a sweep of the weekend following Chase Briscoe's win Saturday in the Xfinity Series race. For the third straight race, Harvick and Hamlin were in a league of their own.

Until the stunning twist as the sun was setting over the historic 2.5-mile oval, it looked as if Harvick and Hamlin would sweep the top two spots for the third consecutive race. It was not to be. Each has won four times, tied for the most in the series. And since racing resumed at Darlington in mid-May, Hamlin and Harvick have combined to win seven of 12 races, but the crash ended Hamlin's run of four straight top-five finishes with Joe Gibbs Racing.

"It's just, it's tough. I hate it for the FedEx team," Hamlin said. "It was just kind of roulette if it stays together or not and mine didn't."

NASCAR's weather problems continued, too, with the start delayed 55 minutes because of lightning strikes within an eight-mile radius of the track.

On Lap 16, the race was red-flagged briefly after a six-car pileup near the entrance of pit road. Five of those involved didn't finish the race and each was checked at the infield medical center and was released.

But NASCAR officials said Ryan Blaney's tire changer, Zachary Price, was transported to a hospital after getting pinned between Blaney's car and another. Price appeared to be smiling as he was placed on a stretcher before he was taken away in an ambulance.

Blaney continued racing in the No. 12 Ford and Justin Allgaier got in three more laps before calling it a day. Allgaier replaced Jimmie Johnson in the No. 48 after Johnson tested positive for coronavirus on Friday.

 Johnson's absence, because of a positivw test for Covid-10. ended the longest active streak of consecutive starts at 663 -- fifth overall -- and perhaps his quest to join Jeff Gordon and former Formula One star, Michael Schumacher as the only five-time winners at Indy. The 44-year-old Johnson said he would be watching from his home in Aspen, Colorado. It's the first time since 1993 that the No. 48 was used in a points race without Johnson driving.

"I didn't know if I got the gentleman on the No. 12 or not," Justin Allgaierpinch-hitting for Johnson said. "Once the wreck started happening in front of us and we all got bottled up there, one car after another was getting run into. It's just a shame. I hate it for these guys."

Unofficial Results: Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 Powered by Big Machine Records, Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Fin, St, Driver, Car, Laps, St1, St2, Tms Led, Laps Led, Playoff Pts, Pts, Status
1) 11, Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Busch Light Patriotic Ford, 161, 5, 1, 3, 68, 6, 56, Running
2) 21, Matt Kenseth, No. 42 McDelivery Chevrolet, 161, , 6, 1, 12, , 40, Running
3) 5, Aric Almirola, No. 10 Smithfield Ford, 161, , , , , , 34, Running
4) 9, Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Discount Tire Ford, 161, 9, , , , , 35, Running
5) 30, Cole Custer #, No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford, 161, , , , , , 32, Running
6) 7, Kyle Busch, No. 18 Skittles Red White & Blue Toyota, 161, 8, 7, , , , 38, Running
7) 27, Michael McDowell, No. 34 carparts.com Ford, 161, , , , , , 30, Running
8) 13, Tyler Reddick #, No. 8 Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet, 161, , , , , , 29, Running
9) 17, Bubba Wallace, No. 43 World Wide Technology Chevrolet, 161, , , , , , 28, Running
10) 1, Joey Logano, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, 161, , , 1, 14, , 27, Running
11) 10, Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, 161, 4, 2, 1, 26, , 42, Running
12) 35, Christopher Bell #, No. 95 Rheem Toyota, 161, , 9, , , , 27, Running
13) 2, Kurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Chevrolet, 161, , 8, , , , 27, Running
14) 29, Ty Dillon, No. 13 GEICO Military Chevrolet, 161, , , , , , 23, Running
15) 19, John Hunter Nemechek #, No. 38 Fire Alarm Services Ford, 161, , , , , , 22, Running
16) 22, Clint Bowyer, No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Cummins Ford, 161, 10, 10, , , , 23, Running
17) 32, Ross Chastain(i), No. 77 Melon Man Brand Chevrolet, 161, , , 1, 1, , 0, Running
18) 16, Austin Dillon, No. 3 Dow Salutes Veterans Chevrolet, 161, 3, 5, 1, 5, , 33, Running
19) 15, Matt DiBenedetto, No. 21 RED KAP/Menards Ford, 161, 7, 4, , , , 29, Running
20) 37, * Daniel Suarez, No. 96 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Toyota, 160, , , , , , 17, Running
21) 34, JJ Yeley(i), No. 27 GREENLIGHT Ford, 160, , , , , , 0, Running
22) 40, * BJ McLeod(i), No. 78 Koolbox Chevrolet, 160, , , , , , 0, Running
23) 33, Quin Houff #, No. 00 Mane 'n Tail Chevrolet, 159, , , , , , 14, Running
24) 28, Garrett Smithley(i), No. 53 AXELE.COM Chevrolet, 159, , , 1, 1, , 0, Running
25) 39, * Josh Bilicki(i), No. 7 Insurance King Chevrolet, 158, , , , , , 0, Running
26) 25, Joey Gase(i), No. 51 Red Rock Secured Ford, 157, , , , , , 0, Running
27) 18, William Byron, No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet, 156, 1, , 2, 15, 1, 20, Running
28) 6, Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota, 153, 6, 3, 1, 19, , 22, Accident
29) 38, * Timmy Hill(i), No. 66 ROOFCLAIM.COM Toyota, 153, , , , , , 0, Running
30) 3, Alex Bowman, No. 88 ChevyGoods.com/Adam's Polishes Chevrolet, 132, , , , , , 7, Accident
31) 20, Chris Buescher, No. 17 SunnyD Ford, 99, , , , , , 6, Accident
32) 12, Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Menards/Atlas Ford, 96, , , , , , 5, DVP
33) 23, Erik Jones, No. 20 STANLEY Security Toyota, 73, 2, , , , , 13, Accident
34) 14, Ryan Newman, No. 6 Oscar Mayer Ford, 60, , , , , , 3, Accident
35) 26, Brennan Poole #, No. 15 Spartan Mosquito Chevrolet, 24, , , , , , 2, DVP
36) 24, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Kroger Chevrolet, 20, , , , , , 1, DVP
37) 4, Justin Allgaier(i), No. 48 Ally Chevrolet, 17, , , , , , 0, Accident
38) 8, Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Auto Owners Insurance Toyota, 16, , , , , , 1, Accident
39) 31, Corey LaJoie, No. 32 Trump 2020 Ford, 15, , , , , , 1, Accident
40) 36, Ryan Preece, No. 37 Kleenex Chevrolet, 14, , , , , , 1, Accident
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie

Race Length: 161 laps, 402.5 miles
Time of Race: 3 hr, 16 min, 5 sec.
Average Speed: 123.162 MPH
Margin of Victory: 0.743 sec

Stage 1 Top 10: 24, 20, 3, 9, 4, 11, 21, 18, 2, 14
Stage 2 Top 10: 4, 9, 11, 21, 3, 42, 18, 1, 95, 14

Comments: Kevin Harvick won the Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 Powered by Big Machine Records at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, his 53rd victory in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Prior to the start, the following vehicle(s) dropped to the rear of the field under penalty for the reasons indicated: No. 48 (driver change), No. 66 (two inspection failures).

Caution Flags: 9 for 43 laps;
Laps: 14-19 (Competition Caution [Red Flag: 00:11:17] [None]);
42-46 (No. 6 Incident Turn 3 [53]);
52-55 (Stage 1 Conclusion [51]);
76-82 (No. 20 Incident Turn 3 [34]);
84-87 (Debris On Backstretch [51]);
89-91 (No. 2, 12 Incident Turn 3 [78]);
102-105 (Stage 2 Conclusion [88]);
134-138 (No. 88 Incident Turn 1 [43]);
155-159 (No. 11 Incident Turn 1 [1]).

Lead Changes: 11 among 9 drivers;
J. Logano 1-14;
R. Chastain(i) 15;
G. Smithley(i) 16;
K. Harvick 17-41;
W. Byron 42-51;
C. Elliott 52-77;
W. Byron 78-82;
A. Dillon 83-87;
K. Harvick 88-122;
M. Kenseth 123-134;
D. Hamlin 135-153;
K. Harvick 154-161.

American Ethanol Green Flag Restart Award:  Christopher Bell, No. 95
Sunoco Rookie of the Race:  Cole Custer, No. 41

 

Ron Fleshman with John Davison

RIS NASCAR Editor.  Has been with RIS since the middle 90's. Writes on each of the three main series of NASCAR.

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Volume 2020, Issue 7, Posted 10:16 PM, 07.05.2020