By Caleb Whisler, Staff Writer
The O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway was the one that got away from Kevin Harvick and his No. 4 team.
In NASCAR, the race is not only one on the racetrack, but also on pit road. Throughout the early stages of the race, the Stewart-Haas Racing Ford was setting a blistering pace on the field. In the first two stages alone, Harvick led 87 laps.
Harvick lost the lead on lap 129 and lost numerous spots on pit road when a lugnut was caught between the jack. When the race restarted, Harvick quickly radioed to his team that he had a loose wheel. Harvick returned to the track one lap down.
Harvick was able to gain his lap back as the caution flew admist green flag pit stops. He was able to work his way towards the front, but ultimately came up short to Kyle Busch.
With his race being lost on pit road, Harvick had harsh words about the universal air guns used by teams in 2018.
“We had a pathetic day on pit road, two days on pit road because of pit guns. When you have a pit gun problem like we have multiple times and been able to overcome it and then today we couldn’t overcome it. Time after time you can’t get the lug nuts tight because the pit guns don’t work,” Harvick stated.
Despite the issues, Harvick was able to finish second. He unofficially sits fourth in the points standings, 59 points behind the leader, Kyle Busch.