Tough Day In Rain Shortened Coca-Cola 600

After heavy rains postponed the 50th running of the Coca-Cola 600 from Sunday to Monday Kevin Harvick and his Shell-Pennzoil team looked forward to getting on track.

However, Harvick did not have the day he was hoping for finding trouble early that relegated the Shell-Pennzoil driver to the rear of the field and a 41st-place finish.

It only took seven laps before the first caution of the race waved with slight rain falling on the track. However it was not enough to lose the track and the green flag waved again on lap 11.

While running in the 22nd position, Harvick made contact with another car causing his right front fender to push in and affect the aerodynamics of the car. It was only a few laps later that Harvick made heavy contact with the wall bringing out the second caution of the event.

After two visits to pit road the Shell-Pennzoil team was able to work on the fender and service the No. 29 Chevy getting Harvick back on track without losing a lap. Taking the green flag for the restart in the 43rd position, Harvick reported that his car was really tight up off the corners however felt they were in good shape as far as the damage was concerned.

When the competition yellow flew on lap 41 the Shell-Pennzoil driver returned to pit road for air pressure and wedge adjustments along with a four-tire change.

Coming in again on lap 29 this time the Shell-Pennzoil crew continued to work on the damage to the right front fender as well as give their driver a full tank of fuel. After the restart Harvick ran his fastest lap of the race while continuing to run in the back of the pack.

It was on lap 70 that a heavy rain shower covered the speedway once again bringing the race to a halt for about an hour. The skies cleared and racing resumed with the 2007 Daytona 500 Champion in the 41st position.

Harvick remained in the back of the pack over the next 50 laps before the caution was waved at lap 163 and the race stopped at 3:00 p.m. in observance of the National Moment of Silence in honor of all the veterans. Once the cars were restarted the yellow flag remained as rain began to move back onto the track. The second red flag was brought out at 3:22 p.m. and the race remained under the red condition for 20 minutes.

Crew chief Gil Martin called his driver to the pit stall as soon as the yellow flag came back out to allow the Shell-Pennzoil crew to work on the splitter. When the green flag flew on lap 179 for the restart, Harvick was posted in the 41st position two laps down to the leaders.

It was on lap 220 when the race was stopped once again for rain and the cars were brought down the pit lane. With the third red flag for rain Harvick remained in the 41st position just past the half-way point.

The next several hours saw the rain start and stop as the track continued to get wet. Finally after more than a three-hour delay NASCAR called the race with only 227 of the 400 laps complete. Harvick was credited with the 41st-place finishing position.

"What a day. It just wasn't our weekend," commented Harvick. "I got together with the (No.) 77, like, 10 laps into the race. Then a tire went down and I hit the wall and messed up the fender. Later on, we got a speeding penalty. I was asking myself, 'What's next?' I'm sorry for the fans that they didn't get to see 600 miles, but I'm not sad this day's over."

David Reutimann scored his first NASCAR Sprint Cup win followed by Ryan Newman and Robby Gordon. Carl Edwards and Brian Vickers rounded out the top-five.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads next to the Dover International Speedway on Sunday, May 31, 2009. Live television coverage of the Autism Speaks 400, presented by Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips & Cheese begins at 1:30 p.m. (ET) on FOX with radio coverage beginning at 1:15 p.m. on PRN (Performance Racing Network) and Sirius XM Satellite radio.