Kevin Harvick and crew chief Gil Martin posted their fourth consecutive top-10 finish and the No. 29 Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet team extended its NASCAR® Sprint Cup points in the Showtime Southern 500 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.
Following the race, Martin received his second NASCAR MOOG® “Problem Solver of the Race” Award in a row for the No. 29 team’s impressive recovery from a back-of-the-pack starting position on NASCAR’s oldest and toughest track.
The innovative MOOG award, sponsored by global automotive components manufacturer Federal-Mogul Corporation, is presented following each Sprint Cup event to the crew chief whose car posts the largest increase in average lap speed from the first half to the second half of the race while finishing on the lead lap. Harvick’s No. 29 Chevrolet was fast from the very start – picking up eight positions in the first 19 laps – but even faster in the second half with a race-high 0.408 second-per-lap improvement to finish sixth on the demanding 1.366-mile oval.
“Darlington is tough on crew chiefs, who have to find a chassis setup that will give their drivers enough grip in the corners without losing steering and handling response,” says Federal-Mogul Motorsports Director Tim Nelson. “The No. 29 car’s MOOG-equipped chassis seemed to get better throughout the night.”
The team’s eighth top-10 finish of the season marked its best performance in the last seven starts at Darlington. Harvick now holds a 110-point advantage over four-time defending champion Jimmie Johnson in the quest for the 2010 Sprint Cup title.
“It’s great to see Kevin and Gil get a breakthrough at Darlington,” Nelson says. “We’re very pleased MOOG chassis parts played an important part in their success.”
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