Bad luck puts Harvick and Logano in early Chase hole

CONCORD, N.C. — Kevin Harvick and Joey Logano found themselves in a hole early in the Round of 12 after trouble struck both of them in the Queen City.

The weekend for the driver of the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet got off to a fast start by scoring his first pole of the season on Thursday. He led the first 12 laps and remained close to the front for most of the first half of the race.

He was running third on lap 156 when his car started fading. He brought the car down pit road, they eventually took it behind the garage and retired from the race.

He was asked if he had any idea what caused the engine to shut off.

“No, it just suddenly shut off and the things that it points to are no oil pressure,” Harvick said. “It’s definitely not a power issue with the battery or anything like that. They are trying to diagnosis it. I hate it for everybody on our Busch team they made some great adjustments today and got our car back where we needed to be to run up front and everything was going fine. Lots of things can go wrong and today they did.”

Harvick was credited with a 38th-place finish.

He leaves Charlotte 12th in points 41 back of Jimmie Johnson and eight back of Denny Hamlin for the eighth-place Round of 8 cutoff.

Logano also had a day that started out solid and turned south quickly.

He assumed the lead under the first round of green flag stops on lap 115 from Chase Elliott, suffered a tire blowout two laps later and slammed the wall in turn 1. He managed to sustain only minor damage and remained on the lead lap in eighth.

On the same lap Harvick had his engine issue, however, Logano suffered another tire blowout and slammed the wall in turn 1 a second time.

He was asked what the major issue in the race.

“I don’t know,” Logano said. “Tires are popping. We’re not the only car that had the issue, but we’re the ones that hit the wall when it happen, so that’s not the best place to have them go down. We had a fast car. Our car was capable of winning the race. We drove up from 10th and were up to third and running down the leaders, so I felt really good about what we had. I don’t know. Things happen. It’s part of racing, I guess.”

The damage, while more severe on this hit, didn’t stop him from continuing on in the race. He was running at the finish in 36th 80 laps down.

Logano leaves Charlotte 11th in points 39 back of Johnson and six back of Hamlin for the eighth-place Round of 8 cutoff.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SpeedwayMedia.com

Tucker White
Tucker White
I've followed NASCAR for well over 20 years of my life, both as a fan and now as a member of the media. As of 2024, I'm on my ninth season as a traveling NASCAR beat writer. For all its flaws and dumb moments, NASCAR at its best produces some of the best action you'll ever see in the sport of auto racing. Case in point: Kyle Larson's threading the needle pass at Darlington Raceway on May 9, 2021. On used-up tires, racing on a worn surface and an aero package that put his car on the razor's edge of control, Larson demonstrated why he's a generational talent. Those are the stories I want to capture and break down. In addition to NASCAR, I also follow IndyCar and Formula 1. As a native of Knoxville, Tennessee, and a graduate of the University of Tennessee, I'm a diehard Tennessee Volunteers fan (especially in regards to Tennessee football). If covering NASCAR doesn't kill me, down the road, watching Tennessee football will. I'm also a diehard fan of the Atlanta Braves, and I lived long enough to see them win a World Series for the first time since 1995 (when I was just a year old). I've also sworn my fan allegiance to the Nashville Predators, though that's not paid out as much as the Braves. Furthermore, as a massive sports dork, I follow the NFL on a weekly basis. Though it's more out of an obligation than genuine passion (for sports dorks, following the NFL is basically an unwritten rule). Outside of sports, I'm a major cinema buff and a weeb. My favorite film is "Blazing Saddles" and my favorite anime is "Black Lagoon."

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