Harvick Soldiers to 14th on Indy Road Course
Unibet Ford Driver Navigates Way Through Multiple Late-Race Incidents
Date: Aug. 15, 2021
Event: Inaugural Verizon 200 at the Brickyard (Round 24 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Indianapolis Motor Speedway (2.439-mile, 14-turn road course)
Format: 82 laps, broken into three stages (15 laps/20 laps/47 laps)
Start/Finish: 25th / 14th (Running, completed 95 of 95 laps)
Point Standing: 9th (733 points, 220 out of first)
Note: Race extended 13 laps past its scheduled 82-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.
Race Winner: AJ Allmendinger of Kaulig Racing (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Winner: Tyler Reddick of Richard Childress Racing (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Tyler Reddick of Richard Childress Racing (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-15):
● Kevin Harvick started 25th and finished 31st.
● In a largely processional affair, the No. 4 Unibet Ford Mustang maintained its 25th-place starting spot through the first five laps.
● “I finally cleared the chaos,” said Harvick on lap 10 while running 21st.
● “Loose to the right,” said Harvick about his car’s handling around the 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course.
● Made scheduled, green flag pit stop for four tires and fuel on lap 12. Many other drivers did the same.
● Harvick finished the stage in 31st and stayed out upon its conclusion to gain some track position for the start of stage two.
Stage 2 Recap (Laps 16-35):
● Harvick started 18th and finished 25th.
● The No. 4 Unibet Ford Mustang was 20th after one lap of green flag racing, but was back to 18th by lap 24.
● Passed Michael McDowell for 17th on lap 28.
● Made scheduled, green flag pit stop for four tires and fuel on lap 32, with other teams making similar calls.
● “I feel like I lost some of my stopping power, but I think that was due more to grip,” said Harvick at the end of the stage.
● Harvick finished the stage in 25th and stayed out upon its conclusion to gain some track position for the start of the final stage.
Final Stage Recap (Laps 36-95):
● Harvick started 11th and finished 14th.
● The No. 4 Unibet Ford Mustang was 15th when the caution came out on lap 40 for debris.
● Harvick held steady in 15th until green flag pit stops began on lap 51, rising up the leaderboard as those in front of him pitted.
● Made scheduled, green flag pit stop for four tires and fuel on lap 54, which dropped Harvick to 30th.
● As pit stops cycled through, Harvick methodically climbed in the running order, rising to 22nd by lap 60.
● With 20 laps to go, Harvick was 17th.
● Cracked top-15 on lap 63 and was 14th by lap 65. Dropped back to 15th on lap 68 as Kurt Busch got around Harvick.
● Was 17th when caution came out on lap 74 for debris.
● Took advantage of caution and pitted for four tires and fuel. Lined up 32nd for lap-77 restart.
● Suffered right-side damage trying to avoid a nine-car incident in turn six on lap 79, but was able to continue until race was red-flagged for 19 minutes and 14 seconds for track cleanup.
● Pitted under caution on lap 80 to make repairs, which included the removal of debris lodged in the right-side door. Pitted again on lap 85 to inspect suspension damage.
● Lined up 27th for the first attempt at a green-white-checkered finish on lap 89.
● Harvick avoided a seven-car accident in turn six on the restart and picked up five positions. The race was red-flagged once again, this time for four minutes and eight seconds.
● Started 23rd for the second attempt at a green-white-checkered finish on lap 94.
● Harvick picked up nine spots over the final two laps to salvage a 14th-place finish.
Notes:
● AJ Allmendinger won the inaugural Verizon 200 at the Brickyard to score his second career NASCAR Cup Series victory and his first of the season. His margin over second-place Ryan Blaney was .929 of a second.
● There were six caution periods for a total of 25 laps.
● Only 24 of the 40 drivers in the Verizon 200 at the Brickyard finished on the lead lap.
● Kyle Larson remains the championship leader after Indianapolis with a 22-point advantage over second-place Denny Hamlin.
Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the FireKeepers Casino 400 on Sunday, Aug. 22 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn. The race starts at 3 p.m. EDT with live coverage on NBCSN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
