DARLINGTON, SC – May 18, 2020 – Ford Performance restarts the 2020 season right where they left off, in Victory Lane. They captured their 30th win at the historic Darlington Raceway in The Real Heroes 400, representing all the first responders and front-line workers. Kevin Harvick drove the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Mustang to his 50th NASCAR Cup Series win while marking Doug Yates’ 200th NASCAR Cup career win with Ford Performance.
“Congratulations to Kevin, Rodney, Tony, Gene, and the No. 4 crew,” said Doug Yates, President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines. “Congrats to Kevin on his 50th career Cup win, what an amazing accomplishment. Our entire team has been looking forward to the return to racing. To see all the hard work and dedication our teams have put in and to see them win, is truly special. We’re proud to be part of this milestone win with Kevin, SHR, and Ford Performance.”
When asked what it meant for him to win his 200th Cup race, Yates commented, “These last thirty years have been a blessing. To achieve this milestone in the Cup Series is surreal. I am so proud of our team at our shops, they put their hearts into building these engines with Ford Performance and I’m proud of the team we have built together over the years.”
Preparation was key for running well at Darlington especially without any practice before the race. Harvick and the No. 4 crew came out firing on all cylinders. The car set-up and team strategy were in sync throughout the race. The team took full advantage of the number one pit stall, but none so important as the last pit stop of the race. Harvick was able to win the race off pit road, to control the restart. Lining up on the outside, next to Alex Bowman, it became a drag race at the drop of the green flag. Harvick prevailed and never looked back. Harvick took the checkered flag 2.154 seconds ahead of Bowman.
“Hell ya’ boys,” commented Harvick over his car radio. “Great job, great car, thank you guys. Awesome job. Awesome, awesome, awesome.”
Harvick said, when asked about his 50th win, “It doesn’t seem real and I think as you look at Darlington I think as you look at the things that happened this weekend, I really thought that it would definitely play into our hand just because our guys are so good at hitting (the setup of) the car off the truck for the most part. We put a lot of time, a lot of effort, a lot of studying, a lot of meetings and just have to thank everybody at the shop who has built all these cars and just, man, I’m excited. I’m speechless.”
Harvick became the fourteenth driver to win at least 50 Cup Series races and passes his boss, Tony Stewart, who won 49 during his career, on the all-time list. Harvick now ties NASCAR Hall of Famers Ned Jarrett and Junior Johnson for twelfth in wins.
The Ford Mustangs led 239 out of the 293-lap race. Led by Harvick with a race-high of 159 laps followed by pole-sitter and Stage 2 winner, Brad Keselowski with 80 laps.
John Hunter-Nemechek, driver of the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports car, also delivered a stellar ninth place finish for the first time Rookie.
It is also important to think about the first responders, hospital workers and grocery store workers, trucker drivers and everyone that has stepped up to help get our country through this unprecedented time. We are very THANKFUL!
NASCAR Xfinity Series will return to Darlington on May 19th for their fifth race of the 2020 season and on May 20th for the second race in 4 days for NASCAR Cup racing. Reference the full 2020 schedule on Roushyates.com.
27 CHAMPIONSHIPS – 383 WINS – 357 POLES!
About Roush Yates Engines
Roush Yates Engines is a leading-edge engine development company based in Mooresville, NC consisting of two state-of-the-art facilities – Roush Yates Engines and Roush Yates Manufacturing Solutions, a world class ISO 9001 / AS9100 certified CNC manufacturing facility. The company’s core business includes designing, building and testing purpose-built race engines.
Ford Performance in partnership with Roush Yates Engines is the exclusive engine builder of the NASCAR FR9 Ford V8 engine and twin-turbo EcoBoost Ford V6 race engine that powers the Ford Mustang GT4 in the IMSA series.
With an unparalleled culture of winning and steeped in rich racing history, Roush Yates Engines continues to follow the company’s vision to lead performance engine innovation and staying true to the company’s mission, provide winning engines through demonstrated power and performance.
3 Series – 22 Teams – 81 Races
