Harvick Goes Back to Back and Wins at Richmond

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RICHMOND, VA – RIS – Kevin Harvick won his second straight race in working his way up to the lead and then closing the win, in the Federated Auto Parts 400 That’s why they call him “{the closer.”  Harvick had to hold off a charging Christopher Bell (with newer tires) in the end.  The margin of victory was .411 seconds.  Just a week after Harvick secured his first NASCAR Cup Series victory since 2020, the driver of the No. 4 car stood in victory lane again Sunday at Richmond Raceway after and went back-to-back.

Did “Happy” Harvick see this win streak coming?

“You know, I didn't know. It's like I said last week, the cars have been running good week in and week out, and you see that we have a lot better understanding of what's going on with how we adjusted on the car after the first run and were able to get our car handling a lot better.I think as it got dark, the racetrack really came to our Mobil 1 Ford Mustang.

One might think his Stewart Haas Racing entrant is finding speed at the right time with the playoffs so near. Harvick’s run was quite impressive after not winning for two years. He did let Christopher Bell get too close on the final lap.

“Well, I knew he was coming, but I forgot to shift down the front straightaway the last time. I was not paying attention and he got closer than he should have. I made a mistake there a couple laps doing the same thing. I wasn't shifting on the back of the track, and I was shifting in the front. There was a lot going on, and made a couple mistakes, let him get too close.”

Harvick led 60 laps, but that was nothing compared to Joey Logano’s day.  He led over 200 laps I the race but fell short as the race was over.

I think just as the sun went down and the track cooled off and lost some turn on our car, Logano said. Kevin (Harvick) and some others got a lot better the last couple of runs in the race. When it was hot and slick that was probably our strength with the Shell Pennzoil Mustang. We had good turn and then once it cooled off we lost the turn but still weren’t real good on the exits. Then you start playing defense and running too hard. It was a downhill slope from there. I was hoping for a late race caution, that was our only prayer at the end there. Overall, we got a stage win and playoff points and that is something to be proud of. It stinks when you say we led 222 laps but not the right one.”

Runner-up Bell almost passed Harvick with newer tires, but it was not to be.

“I got held up pretty bad at the beginning of the run by a couple slower cars and that was ultimately the difference when you get beat by a couple car lengths,” Bell said. “Just really fun and really fun race when you have different strategies, and you have guys coming and going. I love whenever the races stay green and you’re able to play your cards a little bit different.”

During that last green flag run to the finish, Chris Beuscher made a run, taking large chunks off Harvick’s lead, but Beuscher finished third in the end.

“I think it's a little easy with this format to feel like third place doesn't matter, but it's nice to be close and to keep progressing and getting better as we've gotten through the summer, Beuscher said. “Really neat to finish here. Really proud of everybody. Just burned the rear tires up. Ultimately that's on me. Lap traffic didn't do us any favors, either, but ultimately just got to keep the rears under us a little bit better so we can have a little bit better shot there to get after him for the win.”

The race was only yellow-flagged five times for 28 out of the 400 laps ran, unusual this season, the largest being 7 laps.

Unofficial Results: 65th Annual Federated Auto Parts 400, August 14, 2022 - Richmond Raceway

Fin, Str, Driver, Car, Laps , St1, St2, Tms Led, Laps Led, Playoff Pts, Pts, Status
1) 13, Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford, 400, , 4, 2, 55, 5, 47, Running
2) 21, Christopher Bell, No. 20 Rheem Toyota, 400, , , , , , 35, Running
3) 18, Chris Buescher, No. 17 Fastenal Ford, 400, , 7, , , , 38, Running
4) 3, Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Freight Toyota, 400, 2, 3, 2, 22, , 50, Running
5) 23, Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, 400, , 8, 1, 1, , 35, Running
6) 17, Joey Logano, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, 400, 7, 1, 5, 222, 1, 45, Running
7) 6, Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota, 400, 10, , , , , 31, Running
8) 32, Aric Almirola, No. 10 Smithfield Ford, 400, , 6, , , , 34, Running
9) 29, Kyle Busch, No. 18 M&M's Toyota, 400, , 10, , , , 29, Running
10) 10, Ryan Blaney, No. 12 BodyArmor Ford, 400, 6, 5, 1, 1, , 38, Running
11) 4, William Byron, No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet, 400, 5, , , , , 32, Running
12) 33, Austin Cindric #, No. 2 Menards/Duracell Ford, 399, , , , , , 25, Running
13) 11, Bubba Wallace, No. 23 leidos Toyota, 399, , , , , , 24, Running
14) 1, Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, 399, 3, 2, 2, 11, , 40, Running
15) 8, Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RoushParts.com Ford, 399, 4, , , , , 29, Running
16) 12, Austin Dillon, No. 3 Huk Performance Fishing Chevrolet, 399, , , , , , 21, Running
17) 22, Ty Dillon, No. 42 Allegiant Chevrolet, 398, , , , , , 20, Running
18) 2, Ross Chastain, No. 1 Moose Fraternity Chevrolet, 398, 1, , 1, 80, 1, 29, Running
19) 24, Daniel Suarez, No. 99 CommScope Chevrolet, 398, , , , , , 18, Running
20) 5, Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Chevrolet, 398, 8, , , , , 20, Running
21) 27, Justin Haley, No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet, 398, , , , , , 16, Running
22) 20, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Kroger/Kleenex Chevrolet, 398, , , 1, 6, , 15, Running
23) 15, Chase Briscoe, No. 14 HighPoint.com Ford, 397, , 9, , , , 16, Running
24) 19, Noah Gragson(i), No. 16 Chevy Accessories Chevrolet, 397, , , , , , 0, Running
25) 30, Harrison Burton #, No. 21 Menards/Dutch Boy Ford, 397, , , , , , 12, Running
26) 7, Cole Custer, No. 41 Jacob Construction Ford, 397, 9, , 1, 2, , 13, Running
27) 16, Todd Gilliland #, No. 38 The Pete Store Ford, 397, , , , , , 10, Running
28) 31, Corey LaJoie, No. 7 Built.com Chevrolet, 397, , , , , , 9, Running
29) 34, Michael McDowell, No. 34 Chicago Pneumatic Compressors Ford, 395, , , , , , 8, Running
30) 25, Landon Cassill(i), No. 77 Voyager: Crypto for All Chevrolet, 395, , , , , , 0, Running
31) 26, Tyler Reddick, No. 8 3CHI Chevrolet, 394, , , , , , 6, Running
32) 35, JJ Yeley(i), No. 15  Ford, 393, , , , , , 0, Running
33) 36, BJ McLeod(i), No. 78 Blaster Ford, 392, , , , , , 0, Running
34) 28, Cody Ware, No. 51 Nurtec ODT Ford, 391, , , , , , 3, Running
35) 9, Erik Jones, No. 43 FOCUSfactor Chevrolet, 240, , , , , , 2, Accident
36) 14, Ty Gibbs(i), No. 45 Jordan Brand Toyota, 180, , , , , , 0, Engine
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie

Length: 400 Laps, 300. Miles
Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 3 Mins, 27 Secs.
Average Speed: 98.11 MPH
Margin of Victory: .441 Seconds

Stage 1 Top 10: 1, 11, 5, 6, 24, 12, 22, 48, 41, 19
Stage 2 Top 10: 22, 5, 11, 4, 12, 10, 17, 9, 14, 18

Comments: Kevin Harvick won the Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond Raceway, his 60th career victory in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Prior to the start, the following vehicle(s) dropped to the rear of the field under penalty for the reason(s) indicated: Nos. 21, 78 (Unapproved Adjustments).

Failed to Qualify: None.

Cautions: 5 for 28 laps;
Laps: 5-7 (No. 8 Spin Turn 4 [None]);
72-78 (Stage 1 Conclusion [31]);
232-239 (Stage 2 Conclusion [23]);
241-245 (Nos. 18, 1, 43, 19, 16 Incident Turn 4 [24]);
252-256 (No. 20 Spin Turn 4 [2]).

Lead Changes: 16 among 9 drivers;
K. Larson 0;
R. Chastain 1-80;
J. Logano 81-123;
K. Larson 124;
R. Blaney 125;
C. Custer 126-127;
R. Stenhouse Jr. 128-133;
J. Logano 134-172;
C. Elliott 173;
J. Logano 174-234;
K. Larson 235-244;
J. Logano 245-294;
D. Hamlin 295-304;
J. Logano 305-333;
K. Harvick 334-340;
D. Hamlin 341-352;
K. Harvick 353-400.

(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie

Unofficial Points Report:65th Annual Federated Auto Parts 400 - Richmond Raceway
Rank, Driver, Car, Starts, GL, Points, Ldr, Nxt, Race Wins, Stage Wins, Playoff Pts
1) Chase Elliott, 9, 24, 0, 882, 0, 0, 4, 5, 25
2) Ryan Blaney, 12, 24, 0, 766, -116, 116, 0, 5, 5
3) Kyle Larson, 5, 24, 2, 745, -137, 21, 1, 3, 8
4) Martin Truex Jr, 19, 24, 0, 740, -142, 5, 0, 7, 7
5) Ross Chastain, 1, 24, -2, 739, -143, 1, 2, 5, 15
6) Joey Logano, 22, 24, 0, 718, -164, 21, 2, 3, 13
7) Christopher Bell, 20, 24, 0, 703, -179, 15, 1, 2, 7
8) Kevin Harvick, 4, 24, 1, 665, -217, 38, 2, 0, 10
9) Kyle Busch, 18, 24, -1, 663, -219, 2, 1, 1, 6
10) William Byron, 24, 24, 0, 649, -233, 14, 2, 3, 13
11) Alex Bowman, 48, 24, 0, 592, -290, 57, 1, 1, 6
12) Denny Hamlin, 11, 24, 5, 574, -308, 18, 2, 3, 13
13) Daniel Suarez, 99, 24, 0, 574, -308, 0, 1, 2, 7
14) Tyler Reddick, 8, 24, -2, 563, -319, 11, 2, 2, 12
15) Austin Cindric #, 2, 24, 1, 556, -326, 7, 1, 1, 6
16) Aric Almirola, 10, 24, 2, 552, -330, 4, 0, 0, 0
17) Chase Briscoe, 14, 24, -2, 549, -333, 3, 1, 3, 8
18) Erik Jones, 43, 24, -4, 540, -342, 9, 0, 0, 0
19) Bubba Wallace, 23, 24, 0, 517, -365, 23, 0, 1, 1
20) Austin Dillon, 3, 24, 1, 504, -378, 13, 0, 0, 0
21) Kurt Busch, , 20, -1, 485, -397, 19, 1, 2, 7
22) Chris Buescher, 17, 23, 1, 480, -402, 5, 0, 0, 0
23) Justin Haley, 31, 24, -1, 461, -421, 19, 0, 0, 0
24) Ricky Stenhouse Jr, 47, 24, 0, 410, -472, 51, 0, 0, 0
25) Cole Custer, 41, 24, 0, 403, -479, 7, 0, 0, 0
26) Michael McDowell, 34, 24, 0, 393, -489, 10, 0, 0, -10
27) Brad Keselowski, 6, 24, 1, 393, -489, 0, 0, 0, -10
28) Harrison Burton #, 21, 24, -1, 386, -496, 7, 0, 0, 0
29) Todd Gilliland #, 38, 24, 0, 366, -516, 20, 0, 0, 0
30) Ty Dillon, 42, 24, 0, 346, -536, 20, 0, 0, 0
31) Corey LaJoie, 7, 24, 0, 293, -589, 53, 0, 0, 0
32) Cody Ware, 51, 24, 0, 198, -684, 95, 0, 0, 0
33) David Ragan, , 3, 0, 61, -821, 137, 0, 0, 0
34) Joey Hand, , 4, 0, 52, -830, 9, 0, 0, 0
35) Greg Biffle, , 5, 0, 24, -858, 28, 0, 0, 0
36) Jacques Villeneuve, , 1, 0, 15, -867, 9, 0, 0, 0
37) Boris Said, , 1, 0, 11, -871, 4, 0, 0, 0
38) Kyle Tilley, , 1, 0, 7, -875, 4, 0, 0, 0
39) Daniil Kvyat, , 1, 0, 1, -881, 6, 0, 0, 0
40) Aj Allmendinger(i), , 11, 0, 0, -882, 1, 0, 0, 0
41) Daniel Hemric(i), , 5, 0, 0, -882, 0, 0, 0, 0
42) Ty Gibbs(i), 45, 4, 0, 0, -882, 0, 0, 0, 0
43) Landon Cassill(i), 77, 7, 0, 0, -882, 0, 0, 0, 0
44) Josh Bilicki(i), , 16, 0, 0, -882, 0, 0, 0, 0
45) Zane Smith(i), , 1, 0, 0, -882, 0, 0, 0, 0
46) Noah Gragson(i), 16, 10, 0, 0, -882, 0, 0, 0, 0
47) Austin Hill(i), , 1, 0, 0, -882, 0, 0, 0, 0
48) BJ McLeod(i), 78, 19, 0, 0, -882, 0, 0, 0, 0
49) Garrett Smithley(i), , 4, 0, 0, -882, 0, 0, 0, 0
50) Kaz Grala(i), , 3, 0, 0, -882, 0, 0, 0, 0
51) JJ Yeley(i), 15, 11, 0, 0, -882, 0, 0, 0, 0
52) Josh Williams(i), , 2, 0, 0, -882, 0, 0, 0, 0
53) Ryan Preece(i), , 2, 0, 0, -882, 0, 0, 0, 0
54) Parker Kligerman(i), , 1, 0, 0, -882, 0, 0, 0, 0
55) Scott Heckert(i), , 1, 0, 0, -882, 0, 0, 0, 0
56) Loris Hezemans(i), , 3, 0, 0, -882, 0, 0, 0, 0
57) Justin Allgaier(i), , 1, 0, 0, -882, 0, 0, 0, 0
58) Andy Lally(i), , 1, 0, 0, -882, 0, 0, 0, 0
59) Timmy Hill(i), , 0, 0, 0, -882, 0, 0, 0, 0
 -Ldr/-Nxt = Points behind Leader/Next higher, (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series