Happy Harvick advances to Homestead

Kevin Harvick overcame an early pit lane penalty to punch his Champion 4 ticket winning the AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. Harvick led teammates No. 10 Aric Almirola and No. 41 Daniel Suarez across the Checkers for a 1-2-3 Stuart-Haas Racing finish at the 1.5-mile track at Fort Worth.

FORT WORTH – November 3, 2019 – Anthony Holbrook – BSN

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Race located to the Lone Star State for the AAA Texas 500 hosted by Texas Motor Speedway.

Track Length: 1.5-Mile
Race Length: 500 Miles (334 Laps=501 miles)
First Race: April 6, 1997 – Interstate Batteries 500
Banking in Corners 1 and 2: 20 degrees
Banking Corners 3 and 4: 24 degrees
Banking on Dogleg: 5 degrees
Banking on Backstretch: 5 degrees
Front stretch: 2,250 feet
Back stretch: 1,330 feet

Odds favorite Monster Energy NASCAR Champion Kevin Harvick unloaded a lightning-fast Stuart- Hass Ford Mustang and captured the Pole Award for the AAA Texas 500 race. Kevin had won the AAA Texas 500 race in 2017 and 2018, and was vying for a third consecutive victory.

Stage One featured six caution flags in the first 81 laps due as many drivers lost control navigating through the supplemented PJ1 (Traction Pavement Compound).  Kevin Harvick was leading the field after the catastrophic First Stage for the win.

AAA Texas 500 – Stage 1

1. Kevin Harvick
2. Clint Bowyer
3. Kyle Larson
4. Alex Bowman
5. Kyle Busch
6. Austin Dillion
7. Kurt Bush
8. Ryan Preece
9. Ryan Blaney
10. Daniel Hemric

AAA Texas 500 – Stage 2

1. Aric Almirola
2. Erik Jones
3. Jimmie Johnson
4. Kyle Larson
5. Joey Logano
6. Kevin Harvick
7. Erik Jones
8. Daniel Suarez
9. Kyle Busch
10. William Byron

The last stage was ran nearly caution free as Kevin  Harvick was in command once he captured the point in the closing laps. Leading 119 circuits , Harvick claimed his 4^th Monster Energy Cup victory of the 2019 season and tied Team Owner Tony Stewart on the all-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup career wins. Most of importance, Harvick will also join No. 19 Martin Truex Jr. as the second driver to clinch a spot in the Nov. 17 Championship Race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

AAA Texas 500 – Final Stage Results

1. Kevin Harvick, Ford, 334
2. Aric Almirola, Ford, 334
3. Daniel Suarez, Ford, 334.
4. Joey Logano, Ford, 334.
5. Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 334.
6. Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 334.
7. Kyle Busch, Toyota, 334
8. Ryan Blaney, Ford, 334.
9. Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 334.
10. Erik Jones, 334.
11. Clint Bowyer, Ford, 334.
12. Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 334.
13. Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 334.
14. Matt DiBenedetto, Toyota, 334.
15. Ryan Newman, Ford, 333.
16. Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet, 333.
17. William Byron, Chevrolet, 333.
18. Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 333.
19. Chris Buescher, Chevrolet, 333.
20. Paul Menard, Ford, 333.
21. John Hunter Nemechek, Ford, 333.
22. Parker Kligerman, Toyota, 332.
23. Ryan Preece, Chevrolet, 331.
24. Bubba Wallace, Chevrolet, 331.
25. Michael McDowell, Ford, 329.
26. JJ Yeley, Ford, 329.
27. Landon Cassill, Chevrolet, 328.
28. Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 328.
29. Joe Nemechek, Chevrolet, 327.
30. Josh Bilicki, Chevrolet, 323.
31. Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 319.
32. Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 312.
33. Quin Houff, Chevrolet, Hub, 202.
34. Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, DVP, 199.
35. David Ragan, Ford, Accident, 189.
36. Garrett Smithley, Ford, Accident, 188.
37. Timmy Hill, Toyota, Engine, 156.
38. Corey LaJoie, Ford, Accident, 67.
39. Brad Keselowski, Ford, Accident, 52.
40. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, Accident, 52.

2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Standings
After:   Texas  11/3/19

1. Martin Truex Jr.     4,133
2. Kevin Harvick         4, 113
3. Kyle Bush                4,113
4. Joey Logano           4,111
5. Denny Hamlin        4,091
6. Ryan Blaney            4,088
7. Kyle Larson              4,088
8. Chase Elliott            4,033
9. Brad Keselowski     2,265
10. William Byron         2,247

Time of Race:
3 Hrs, 44 Mins, 44 Secs.

Average Speed:
133.759 MPH

Margin of Victory:
1.594 Seconds

Caution Flags:
11 for 56 laps; Laps: 10-12 (#9 Incident in Turn 2 [None]); 16-19 (Debris in Turn 3 [15]); 44-47 (#32 Incident in Turn 4 [00]); 55-62 (#2 and 17 Incident in Turn 4 [66]); 73-76 (#32 Incident in Turn 3 [66]); 82-84 (#11 Incident on the frontstretch [27]); 87-95 (Stage 1 Conclusion [27]); 172-177 (Stage 2 Conclusion [19]); 187-190 (#48 Incident in Turn 2 [43]); 192-196 (#38 and 52 Incident in Turn 2 [36]); 243-248 (#43 Incident in Turn 2 [None]).

Lead Changes:
26 among 11 drivers; K. Harvick (P) 0; E. Jones 1; K. Harvick (P) 2-12; E. Jones 13-14; K. Harvick (P) 15-45; E. Jones 46-48; C. Bowyer 49-84; K. Harvick (P) 85-87; A. Bowman 88-98; J. Johnson 99-138; A. Almirola 139-143; D. Suarez 144-145; E. Jones 146-147; W. Byron 148-151; K. Harvick (P) 152; K. Busch 153; K. Busch (P) 154-164; A. Almirola 165-173; E. Jones 174; W. Byron 175-178; D. Suarez 179-201; A. Almirola 202-240; J. Logano (P) 241-245; A. Almirola 246-254; K. Harvick (P) 255-306; K. Busch (P) 307-313; K. Harvick (P) 314-334.

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series 2019 Playoff Schedule locates to Phoenix, Arizona  Sunday Nov. 10th for the Bluegreen Vacations 500 hosted by Phoenix Raceway, 2:30 p.m. ET    NBC  PRN