Kevin Harvick takes early exit in Coca-Cola 600
CONCORD, N.C.—Kevin Harvick’s string of consecutive victories came to an end Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the Coca-Cola 600.
While entering Turn 3 on lap 85, Harvick’s racecar suffered from a small puncture in the left front tire of the No. 4 Ford. Goodyear Racing announced via Twitter it was likely Harvick ran over debris.
Small puncture in the LF tire of 4-car of @KevinHarvick; likely ran over some debris on track and cut tire down at Charlotte.
— Goodyear Racing (@GoodyearRacing) May 27, 2018
“The car was really, really fast,” Harvick said. “We came all the way through the pack and made it up into the top three there and sometimes those things happen. I can’t complain about anything that’s happened this year.
“We have to take the good with the bad. The guys did a great job in basically guessing at where the car needed to be today with all the penalties, no practice and starting in the back. To come out and have the fastest car again was quite an honor to drive and they’re doing a great job. It was just bad luck.”
The incident marks Harvick’s third DNF in 35 starts at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in the Cup Series. He previously failed to finish a points-awarding race at the 1.5-mile speedway in 2016 and 2004 due to engine issues.
Harvick will seek a series-high sixth victory of 2018 next weekend at Pocono Raceway. He has finished second four times in the last seven races at the Eastern Pennsylvania racetrack.
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Matt Courson View All
Matt Courson is the Managing Editor for The Racing Experts. Courson has covered NASCAR events at 19 of the 23 active racetracks. When not at the track, the 20-year-old Journalism major enjoys spending time with family and playing Ingress.