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Phoenix: Kevin Harvick NASCAR Truck Race Recap
With one goal in mind, Kevin Harvick started the Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix International Raceway (PIR) from the second position and after leading the most laps of the night, defended his 2008 victory by taking the No. 4 Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) Longhorn Chevrolet to victory lane. The win marked Harvick’s fourth career Truck Series win at the one-mile track and the first time Harvick has scored multiple Truck Series victories (Martinsville Speedway and PIR) in a single season. Adding to the win, KHI teammate Ron Hornaday overcame an early pit-road penalty to score a fourth-place finish and clinch the 2009 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Driver’s Championship.
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“It is pretty awesome to have a vehicle like this Longhorn Chevy,” said Harvick following the win Friday night. “I mean, from the time we unloaded it, it was just flat awesome. I just want to thank everybody from Longhorn and KHI, Chevrolet, VFW, Rheem and all of the fans for coming out and supporting everything that we do. This Truck Series is a lot of fun to race in. I got to have a little bit of fun with Kyle (Busch) there at the end head to head. That is always fun. So a great truck and a great night for KHI.”
With the race in full speed Friday night under the lights at PIR, Harvick quickly looked for the lead taking over the top spot on lap two of the scheduled 150-lap event. After only five laps, Harvick began voicing concern that something was being laid down on the track by another competitor’s truck and suspected it was oil. Unsure, Harvick continued to run fast laps while also battling a loose-handling truck. Three laps after voicing concern, Harvick lost control of the truck in turn four and spun without collecting any damage to the No. 4 Chevy. Following the spin, Harvick brought his truck to pit road to top off with fuel and to check the truck for damage. Returning to the track, Harvick restarted the race on lap 12 from the 31st position.
Shuffled back in the field, Harvick patiently worked his way toward to the front, taking over the 20th position on lap 22. Continuing to fight a loose-handling truck, Harvick was able to bring the No. 4 Silverado back to pit road from the 18th position on lap 33 under caution for four fresh tires with an air-pressure adjustment and the next lap for fuel and a track-bar adjustment. With a fast, clean stop, the team gained six positions to restart the race on lap 38 from the 12th spot. Crew chief Ernie Cope and Harvick both complemented the team on a great pit stop, telling them they were back in the hunt for the win.
With fresh tires and improved handling, Harvick began picking off trucks one-by-one, moving into the top five on lap 47 and taking over the third position on lap 50. Running the fastest laps on the track, Harvick began to reel in race leaders Kyle Busch and Aric Almirola. Having slightly over adjusted the truck’s handling, Harvick’s loose condition began to turn tight as the race progressed. With the caution flag waving again on lap 90, the team brought Harvick back down pit road for four tires with an air-pressure adjustment followed by fuel on the second lap. The race restarted with Harvick in second on lap 95.
Quickly taking over the lead on lap 96, Harvick was able to pull away from the field, hold off a hard-charging Busch and survive several late-race cautions to score his second Truck Series win of the 2009 season. Busch finished the race second followed by Almirola, Hornaday and Johnny Sauter.
Hornaday, Harvick’s KHI teammate, becomes the oldest champion in NASCAR history at age 51, the first driver in Truck Series history to win four titles and only the second driver to clinch the Truck Series championship before the season finale (Greg Biffle was the first in 2000).
STATS RECAP
November 13, 2009
Phoenix International Raceway
Lucas Oil 150
Race: 24 of 25
Driver: Kevin Harvick
Started: 2nd
Finished: 1st
Race length: 150 laps/150 miles
Banking: 11-degrees in turns 1and 2
9-degrees in turns 3 and 4
3-degrees on the frontstretch
9-degrees on the backstretch
Track layout: 1 mile
Shape: Tri-Oval
Laps Led: Two Times for 58 laps
Number of Race Cautions: 7 for 28 Laps
Next on the Truck Series Schedule:
Date: November 20, 2009
Track: Homestead-Miami Speedway
Event Name: Ford 200
Driver: Kevin Harvick
Broadcast Time: SPEED 7:30 p.m. EST
PaddockTalk Perspective
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