Richard Childress Racing Press Release

Team Coast Guard driver Kevin Harvick continued to be a model of consistency in notching his 12th consecutive top-10 finish and 19th top-five finish this season in the Dover 200 at Dover International Speedway. The top-five finish increased the Bakersfield, Calif., native’s NASCAR Busch Series point margin to 699 points over Carl Edwards, the largest margin in series history.

Harvick has now collected 26 top-10 finishes this season. He is only four away from tying Sam Ard’s 1983 record for the most top-10 finishes in a season in the NASCAR Busch Series history.

In qualifying Saturday morning, Harvick navigated Dover’s high-banked concrete oval in 23.974 seconds (150.163 mph). The lap shook out to be the 24th-fastest time of the session.

At the drop of the green flag, under cloudy skies, Harvick’s red and blue Chevy was a little free but wasted little time showing its strength. Just after lap 20, the No. 21 Coast Guard Chevy was listed in the 13th position. Following a caution on lap 59 for debris, crew chief Shane Wilson made the call for a chassis adjustment, four tires and fuel. Other teams did not pit and Harvick restarted in the 17th spot.

Once again, the 23-time Busch Series race winner returned his focus to the front to the field. He was 15th by lap 70, 12th by lap 78, and worked his way into the top 10 by lap 82 after passing Mike Wallace.

On lap 119, the seventh of a record-breaking 13 caution flags waved over the Monster Mile for debris. Wilson summoned Harvick to pit road for four tires as well as a minor air pressure adjustment and fuel. A lightening- fast stop by the Coast Guard pit crew allowed Harvick to pick up two spots on pit road and restarted in the sixth position on lap 125.

Harvick maintained his position in the top 10 throughout the remainder of the 200-lap event and took over the third position on lap 171.

With three laps remaining, Martin Truex Jr. spun in turn four forcing the field into overtime for the ninth time this season. This also gave Harvick and Team Coast Guard a chance to take over the top spot.

Harvick’s Richard Childress Racing teammate, Clint Bowyer, led the field to the final restart on lap 201 and rocketed out to a steady lead. Neither the second-place car of Matt Kenseth nor Harvick had anything for Bowyer on the restart.

Bowyer won the event after finishing second four times this year. Kenseth was second and Harvick was third. Jamie McMurray and Jason Leffler rounded out the top five.

Next up for Harvick and Team Coast Guard is the Yellow Transportation 300 at Kansas Speedway. The race is scheduled to take the green flag live on TNT Saturday, September 30 at 3 p.m. and will broadcast on the Motor Racing Network and XM Satellite Radio.

KEVIN HARVICK - NO. 21 COAST GUARD CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO SS –

“The U.S. Coast Guard Chevy was good. I was really nervous about it. It just never felt right during practice. My team reassured me that it was going to be good for the race and it was. I don’t really enjoy racing the Busch cars at Dover. I feel like this is our worst place, and to come here and run like we did today really makes everybody feel good. “

ON THE LAST RESTART …

“You never know what’s going to happen. I thought Matt (Keneseth) had a good car on the outside and Clint’s car was loose on the restarts, so I thought we might be able to get in there. Clint got a good restart and got going and we wound up third.”