Kevin Harvick finished 13th in Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol and on the lead lap and that’s about an amazing of a comeback as you’re likely to see at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Making up a lap or perhaps two is difficult. Harvick, at one point, was scored four laps in arrears.
Down. Out. Finished. Done.
Thanks to an incredibly fast No. 4 Ford Mustang, the 2014 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion was able to race his way back onto the lead lap and into the picture.
The day certainly didn’t start out well – the team failed pre-race inspection three times and was penalized before the race had even begun.
Because of the inspection issues, Harvick dropped from 13th to the rear of the field at the start of the race; one crew member was ejected, the driver had to do a pass through penalty under green once the race began and the team will lose 30 minutes of practice time at the next points event.
His first break came when he hit pit road after the green flag – a multi-car incident brought out the caution flag and Harvick only lost one lap in the pits.
But a loose wheel put his No. 4 back on pit road a short time later and Harvick soon found himself multiple laps down.
He joined the lead-lap cars during the final caution of the race when he was in the free pass position.
The finish was his worst since a 26th place run at Daytona this year. But it may have been one of the team’s most impressive efforts overall.
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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