Top-Ten Finish at the Brickyard

Coming off a rare weekend off, Kevin Harvick and the Shell-Pennzoil team entered the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway hoping to get a solid finish and turn things around for the No. 29 RCR team. After qualifying in the 19th position the Shell-Pennzoil driver and team put a great running car on the track and finished solidly in the top-10 with a sixth-place run.

Once the 43-car field took the green flag for the start of the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard it wasn't long before the first caution flag waved. Being it was only the first lap, Harvick remained on track and restarted the race in the 18th position on lap four.

By the 16th lap the 2003 Brickyard winner was reporting to his crew that it was hard to pass and his car was a little loose. On lap 27 Harvick began to experience a bad vibration and crew chief Gil Martin called him to pit road a few laps earlier than the planned green-flag stop. The Bakersfield, California native brought his Shell-Pennzoil Chevy to the pit lane on lap 28 and received four fresh Goodyear tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment to the right rear tire. Running in the 17th position after the pit cycle Harvick was still fighting slight handling issues with his Shell-Pennzoil Chevy which started the early runs loose then changing to tight a few laps later.

When the second caution flag waved on lap 57, the two-time Nationwide Series champion returned to pit road for four more tires, fuel and additional adjustments. He remained in the top 20 taking the green flag for the restart on lap 62 running 19th position.

The Shell-Pennzoil driver passed several cars on the restart working his way into the 16th spot on the same lap. By lap 71 he made his way into the 12th position gaining one more spot to just outside the top-10 by lap 81.

Another round of green-flag stops began around lap 88 with Harvick setting his sights on the 10th position. Pitting on lap 90, the Shell-Pennzoil crew gave him four tires and fuel before sending their driver back on the track. When the green-flag pit cycle was complete, Harvick remained just outside the top-10 running in the 11th position.

As the Shell-Pennzoil driver battled for a spot in the top-10 another set of green-flag stops approached. Pitting for the last time on lap 123, the Shell-Pennzoil crew gave their driver four tires and fuel along with an air pressure and track bar adjustment. Martin informed his driver that they would be two and a half laps short on fuel as he resumed the race.

It was just four laps later that the caution was brought out again allowing Harvick to conserve the fuel he needed to make it to the end without another pit stop. Restarting the race in the seventh position Harvick was able to pick up another spot and battle for a top-five finish in the final laps of the event. He took the checkered flag in the sixth position scoring a solid finish for the No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil team.

"It was a good day all," said Harvick. "We had a little bit of trouble on pit road for a few stops. The last stop was good. The car was good all day. The Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet has run like that the last few weeks, we just haven't had anything to show for it. The guys did a good job all day and the car was fast all day."

Harvick gained two spots in the driver championship point standings moving into the 23rd position with his top-10 run.

Jimmie Johnson won the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard followed by Mark Martin and Tony Stewart. Greg Biffle and Brian Vickers rounded out the top-five.

Next up for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is the running of the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway. Coverage of live racing action will begin on Sunday, August 2, 2009 at 1:00 p.m. (ET) on ESPN with radio coverage on MRN/XM-Sirius Satellite radio at 1:15 p.m.