FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sunday, August 11th, 2019
NOTES AND QUOTES – KEVIN HARVICK WINS MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES RACE AT MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY ON NBCSN
“Last week, we left the racetrack talking about driver feuds. Today, it’s a seven-year-old that brings down the house.” – Krista Voda
“It takes every part of a team to go to victory lane. I thought the No. 4 executed not only on pit road, but in planning.” – Steve Letarte
“I think we’re going to be doing some screaming.” – Dale Earnhardt Jr. on expectation of aggressive racing at Bristol next weekend
BROOKLYN, Mich. – August 11, 2019 – Kevin Harvick took the checkered flag in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Consumers Energy 400 at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday afternoon on NBCSN for his second win of the 2019 season.
Harvick celebrated the win by bringing his seven-year-old son Keelan Harvick along for a ride on the front stretch during burnouts and included Keelan during his post-race interview with Marty Snider. Click here to watch Kevin and Keelan celebrate their victory.
NBC Sports’ Rick Allen called the action alongside 21-time Cup Series race winner Jeff Burton. Racing legend, and two-time Daytona 500 Champion Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Daytona 500-winning crew chief Steve Letarte called the race from a second booth. Marty Snider, Kelli Stavast, and Parker Kligerman reported from pit road.
Coverage on NBCSN began at 2 p.m. ET with NASCAR America, hosted by Krista Voda from NBC Sports’ “Peacock Pit Box” alongside analysts Kyle Petty and Dale Jarrett. Pre-race coverage on NBCSN included:
- Interviews with Jimmie Johnson and Ryan Blaney, as well as Kyle Busch and Bubba Wallace, following their on-track encounters at Watkins Glen last weekend;
- The latest installment of “Behind the Driver” featuring Daniel Suarez, as he discussed how former crew chief Michael “Walleye” Allen was integral in Suarez’ journey in making it to NASCAR;
- And the latest installment of Ever Wonder, as Jeff Burton explained the NASCAR inspection process with Randy Randazzo from Roush Fenway Racing.
RACE RESULTS
| Position | Driver | Car# |
| 1 | Kevin Harvick | 4 |
| 2 | Denny Hamlin | 11 |
| 3 | Kyle Larson | 42 |
| 4 | Martin Truex Jr. | 19 |
| 5 | Daniel Suarez | 41 |
The following are highlights from this afternoon’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race coverage on NBCSN:
Allen on Harvick bringing son Keelan Harvick into the car for victory lane following win: “What an experience. You think about a seven-year-old whose dad is such an amazing racecar driver, a champion of the sport, gets this win and now to be able to experience this win with your dad.”
Burton: “That’s an incredible family moment – something that they will never, ever forget.”
Voda: “Last week, we left the racetrack talking about driver feuds. Today, it’s a seven-year-old that brings down the house.”
Letarte on Harvick’s victory: “It takes every part of a team to go to victory lane. I thought the No. 4 executed not only on pit road but in planning. You don’t get good fuel mileage like that by luck. It’s something that Rodney Childers and Kevin Harvick have obviously worked on…they had speed too. They had to pass all of those Penske cars and pulled it off.”
Earnhardt Jr. on playoff chances for Daniel Suarez following fifth-place finish: “The other big winner of the day was Daniel Suarez. I didn’t think he had a shot at making the Playoffs unless something freaky happened…and it happened today. It put Daniel Suarez right back in the middle of this conversation.”
Letarte on cars running out of fuel on last lap: “We knew it was going to be close on fuel for a lot of these cars and it absolutely was. The running order was quite a bit different at mile 398 – at mile 400 we had a totally different order.”
Letarte on fuel strategy for the leader with 42 laps to go: “Normally, Michigan has always been a fuel mileage race. You could lift a little early and save a little gas. There’s no more lifting early at Michigan. Dale Jr., you’ve won here at Michigan…I have no idea how I try to tell my driver to save gas.”
Earnhardt Jr.: “There’s no chance. If you’re wide open, you can’t save gas.”
Burton: “But the guy in second can. He can take a little throttle out of it and use that wake in front of him. It could be a major advantage to run in second.”
Letarte on aggressive racing at Bristol next weekend: “If these guys are beating and banging at all of these other tracks, what is it going to be like at Bristol?
Earnhardt Jr.: “I think we’re going to be doing some screaming.”
Earnhardt Jr. on Hamlin prior to Stage Two: “Denny Hamlin looks like Kyle Busch in an Xfinity race. This is a short race. If he gets the lead, it will be hard to get him out of that lead.”
Earnhardt Jr. on the traction compound: “We talk about the traction compound, they spray it on the track, but why is it not working right away? It takes some heat, it takes the cars using it for it to activate…I remember at Charlotte when we used the traction compound and I hit the wall coming off Turn 4 in practice. The car just took off…it was a big wake-up call to all of us that that stuff isn’t instant – when it hasn’t been used, it isn’t immediate grip.”
Burton on contact in the wall by Johnson: “He was trying to jump on the outside of Clint Bowyer…he’s got a big run so he’s wide open and he gets his right sides into that traction compound. You heard him lift, he knew he has lost the car…but it just would not turn for him…when it has not been activated, it’s anything but traction compound.”
Snider on the setup for Joey Logano: “They completely scrapped their setup that won here just nine weeks ago…it was such a thrash this morning that they were the last car through setup besides the No. 19 that failed a couple of times.”
Petty on relationship between Jimmie Johnson and Ryan Blaney following Watkins Glen: “I don’t think it’s behind them. I think they’ve put it in a place. It’s raw right now…the style of how these guys race is changing.”
–NBC SPORTS–
