Harvick crew chief didn't want to lose track position
By Bob Pockrass
Monday, May 08, 2006
- TEXT SIZE: Increase Text Size Decrease Text Size Reset Text Size
- No Comments. Leave a Comment
- Digg This
- Add to Del.icio.us
- RSS Feeds
BAMBI MATTILA / NASCAR SCENE /
Latest Headlines
- Jack Sprague returns to Wyler Racing's Craftsman Truck Series team
- Mike Wallace, AJ Allmendinger to replace Patrick Carpentier at GEM
- Dale Earnhardt Inc.'s Regan Smith doesn't regret Talladega finish
- Goodyear studying tires, but indications are punctures caused Talladega failures
- Sprint Cup teams take part in tire test at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Kevin Harvick's car was so good out front during the Crown Royal 400 at Richmond International Raceway that crew chief Todd Berrier didn't want him to pit on lap 289 with Harvick leading the Nextel Cup race.
While Harvick stayed out, the rest of the field pitted. Running on older tires, Harvick eventually lost the lead and was sixth when everyone pitted again under caution with about 50 laps remaining.
Harvick, who led 272 laps of the race, wound up third.
Berrier figured if Harvick pitted on lap 289, other drivers would stay out.
"When you're leading the race, they're going to do the opposite of what you're going to do," Berrier said after the race. "That's kind of the way it works. ... I didn't want to come back and be 10th on the race track."
If there were no cautions after the pit stops on lap 289, only Harvick would have had to pit. But Berrier was confident that everyone would pit again.
"I knew everybody would [pit again]," Harvick said. "Not that they had to. I knew they would. And they did."
Harvick's car got tighter over the final 100 laps.
"We weren't aggressive enough [with changes]," Berrier said. "It's awful easy to play it a little bit different when you're chasing somebody instead of getting chased. It's just a bad position to be in."
The crew chief obviously was disappointed.
"We had a good car, but at the end of the day we didn't win the race," Berrier said. "It hurts."
- Mentioned Drivers:
- Kevin Harvick
No Comments
Be the first to comment on "Harvick crew chief didn't want to lose track position". Login or sign up for a free account below to post your comment