Kevin Harvick burns out his tires after winning Sunday’s Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. (Getty)
Kevin Harvick led a race-best 142 laps and won the Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday.
It was his 29th career win and first win at LVMS. Harvick has at least one victory in 6 consecutive seasons.
Harvick is off to a hot start, finishing second in both the Daytona 500 and last weekend’s Folds of Honor 500 in Atlanta.
And the good streak could continue for the defending Sprint Cup champion. The NASCAR schedule’s next stop in Phoenix, a track where Harvick has won 4 of his last 5 races.
Proud of the @jimmyjohns team! #IBelieveThatWeWillWin #NASCAR http://t.co/e5EAsOiFVz
Joey Logano started from the front row and held the lead until Jimmie Johnson went out in front on Lap 43. Logano finished 10th.
Johnson caused two yellow cautions when he lost tires, the first time sending him into the wall. He had to bring the car to the garage and placed 41st as he only completed 236 of 267 laps. Johnson led 45 laps.
Jeff Gordon had his best finish of the young season, placing 18th after taking 33rd in the Daytona and 41st in Atlanta. Tony Stewart‘s rough season continued as he finished 33rd Sunday.
Kobalt 400 Results
1. (18) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 267 laps, 141.5 rating, 48 points
2. (8) Martin Truex Jr., Chevrolet, 267, 117.1, 43
3. (7) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 267, 103.4, 42
4. (4) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 267, 123.5, 41
5. (19) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 267, 108.7, 39
6. (22) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 267, 94.1, 38
7. (11) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 267, 102.8, 38
8. (5) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 267, 102.3, 36
9. (6) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 267, 92.4, 36
10. (2) Joey Logano, Ford, 267, 102.6, 35
11. (10) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 267, 86.9, 33
12. (24) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 267, 80.8, 32
13. (23) Brian Scott, Chevrolet, 267, 74.6, 0
14. (16) Greg Biffle, Ford, 267, 77.5, 30
15. (28) Brian Vickers, Toyota, 266, 70.3, 29
16. (34) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 266, 70.3, 0
17. (3) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 266, 102, 27
18. (1) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 266, 76.4, 26
19. (30) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 266, 63, 0
20. (25) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 265, 75.2, 24
21. (20) Clint Bowyer, Toyota, 265, 62, 23
22. (13) David Ragan, Toyota, 265, 53.8, 22
23. (37) David Gilliland, Ford, 265, 47.8, 21
24. (29) Sam Hornish Jr., Ford, 265, 45.5, 20
25. (17) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 264, 68.5, 19
26. (15) Aric Almirola, Ford, 264, 72.5, 18
27. (21) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, 264, 60.4, 17
28. (35) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 264, 51.1, 16
29. (31) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 264, 53.7, 15
30. (32) Michael McDowell, Ford, 264, 42.9, 14
31. (26) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 263, 49.1, 13
32. (38) Cole Whitt, Ford, 262, 37.7, 12
33. (12) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 262, 52.6, 11
34. (39) Josh Wise, Ford, 261, 32.8, 10
35. (42) Landon Cassill, Chevrolet, 261, 32.6, 0
36. (40) J.J. Yeley, Toyota, 260, 32.4, 0
37. (36) Brett Moffitt, Ford, 260, 36.6, 7
38. (43) Brendan Gaughan, Chevrolet, 258, 26, 0
39. (33) Michael Annett, Chevrolet, 257, 43.3, 5
40. (41) Jeb Burton, Toyota, 254, 26.4, 4
41. (9) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 236, 94.7, 4
42. (14) Carl Edwards, Toyota, 227, 75.3, 3
43. (27) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, engine, 28, 35.7, 1
Race Statistics
Average Speed of Winner: 143.677 mph
Time of Race: 2 hours, 47 minutes, 15 seconds
Margin of Victory: 1.640 seconds
Caution Flags: 6 for 28 laps
Lead Changes: 18 among 9 drivers
Lap Leaders: J.Logano 1-27; D.Earnhardt Jr. 28-29; J.Logano 30-42; J.Johnson 43-76; C.Edwards 77-78; M.Kenseth 79; J.Johnson 80-90; K.Harvick 91-130; B.Keselowski 131-132; J.Logano 133-139; K.Harvick 140-144; M.Truex Jr. 145-147; K.Harvick 148-198; D.Earnhardt Jr. 199-200; K.Harvick 201-230; R.Newman 231-244; B.Keselowski 245-251; K.Harvick 252-267
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Led, Laps Led): K.Harvick, 5 times for 142 laps; J.Logano, 3 times for 47 laps; J.Johnson, 2 times for 45 laps; R.Newman, 1 time for 14 laps; B.Keselowski, 2 times for 9 laps; D.Earnhardt Jr., 2 times for 4 laps; M.Truex Jr., 1 time for 3 laps; C.Edwards, 1 time for 2 laps; M.Kenseth, 1 time for 1 lap.
Wins: K.Harvick, 1; J.Johnson, 1; J.Logano, 1.
Top 16 in Points: 1. K.Harvick, 134; 2. D.Earnhardt Jr., 125; 3. J.Logano, 123; 4. M.Truex Jr., 118; 5. A.Allmendinger, 100; 6. K.Kahne, 92; 7. J.Johnson, 91; 8. D.Hamlin, 87; 9. C.Mears, 87; 10. M.Kenseth, 85; 11. G.Biffle, 84; 12. R.Newman, 82; 13. P.Menard, 82; 14. C.Bowyer, 81; 15. A.Almirola, 80; 16. B.Keselowski, 77.
Keep reading for the running race updates, videos and Tweets:
Live Race Notes
Most recent updates on top
– Carl Edwards forced Kasey Kahne into the wall, then shortly after the two hit each other again, bringing out the yellow; Edwards had to bring his car to the garage
– The 6th caution came out almost immediately after the 5th with 73 laps to go
– With 77 laps to go, there were 18 cars on the lead lap
– Joey Logano was penalized again for speeding in the pit
– Jimmie Johnson had to bring his car to the garage
– The 5th caution came on Lap 186 when more trouble arose for Jimmie Johnson – top 5 at the caution: Kevin Harvick (86 laps led), Kasey Kahne, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards
– Joey Logano was penalized for speeding into the pit during the caution
– The 4th caution came on Lap 173 when Jimmie Johnson knocked into the wall after he appeared to lose a tire
– With 100 laps remaining, leader Kevin Harvick was in front for 64 of them.
– Caution because Regan Smith entered the pit too fast and Brad Keselowski lost a wheel that went into the infield
– Kevin Harvick took over the lead out of the caution with 127 laps to go
– The third caution came on Lap 139 with Joey Logano in the lead; he took 4 new tires
– Brad Keselowski took the lead on Lap 133 during a green flag pit stop
– By Lap 93, all but 20 cars were one-lap down
– Jimmie Johnson was called into the pit after feeling vibration
– Kevin Harvick took the lead on Lap 91
– The race’s second caution came out on Lap 84 (debris) – Top 5: Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne, Kevin Harvick, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Denny Hamlin
– Matt Kenseth took the lead on Lap 80
– Jimmie Johnson took over the lead from Logano on Lap 43
– A competition caution will be waved at Lap 25. Cars can change tires, but no team can add fuel
– Joey Logano grabbed the lead on Lap 1 and led all the way to the competition caution
– With Jeff Gordon starting last, Joey Logano (22) and Kasey Kahne (5) started in the front row
Live Race Tweets
Harvick was upset with someone. “Tell (?) I appreciate the break. (Bad word) dumbass.”
.@KevinHarvick pits from the lead at lap 131 of 267. Approaching halfway at @LVMotorSpeedway. #NASCARGoesWest
.@ReganSmith too fast entering pit road. @keselowski team lost a wheel and it ended up in the infield. He is penalized as well. #NASCAR
.@JimmieJohnson blew a right-front tire and got into the wall, @JebBurtonRacing tried to avoid the wreck and @JeffGordonWeb got into him.
22 penalized for speeding on pit road
5th caution of the day, more problems for @JimmieJohnson. #NASCAR
48 cuts another tire. “We don’t know what’s going on,” Knaus says. Jimmie reports the sway bar is disconnected. To the garage.
.@kaseykahne hit the wall, Edwards went for a wild ride A crazy restart at @LVMotorSpeedway! 72 to go.
More» http://t.co/nOj5njz8g8
Carl takes the blame “definitely my fault” he tells TV. #nascar
Live Race Videos & Vines
After causing the 6th caution by colliding with Kasey Kahne, Carl Edwards needed to bring his car to the garage:
Preview: Jeff Gordon Looks to Get His Season on Track
Jeff Gordon‘s farewell season is not off to the best start. Far from it, in fact.
Two races, two wrecks.
At the season-opening Daytona 500, Gordon started on the pole and led a race-best 87 laps, but crashed on the final lap and finished 33rd. Last weekend in Atlanta another late collision placed him in 41st.
On Friday, Gordon won the pole for the Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, his first-ever at the track.
That’s the good news.
Now comes the bad news.
On Saturday, a late practice wreck with Danica Patrick damaged Gordon’s car. He will have to use his backup car and start at the back of the pack for Sunday’s race.
Gordon hasn’t been able to catch a break so far in his farewell season, but there are plenty of races to go.
The Kobalt 400 will be aired on FOX and coverage begins at 3 p.m. Eastern. The race Green Flag is scheduled for 3:46 p.m.
Here’s the race lineup:
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NASCAR Las Vegas 2015: Kobalt 400 Results & Highlights