BUSCH: Mexico City: Kevin Harvick race notes

Harvick Finishes Second at the Inaugural Race in Mexico City

MEXICO CITY, Mex. (March 6) - REESE'S Racing driver Kevin Harvick continues to be a model of consistency. He notched his third consecutive second-place finish Sunday in the Mexico 200.

As a result of his finish at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, a 2.5-mile road course, Harvick leads the Busch Series Drivers' Standings by 61 points. Carl Edwards is second, and former REESE'S Racing driver Clint Bowyer is third.

Martin Truex Jr. won the first Busch Series race staged outside of the U.S. Edwards followed Harvick to the finish line to claim third place. Shane Hmiel was fourth, and Boris Said was fifth.

"The PELON PELO RICO Chevrolet was really good today," Harvick said. "I'm a little disappointed. We wanted to come to Mexico and win the first race here. The No. 8 car (Martin Truex Jr.) just happened to catch the caution coming in their pits."

Always a threat to win a road race, Harvick earned the sixth starting spot in the PELON PELO RICO Chevrolet. On lap 27 Harvick decided to bring the PELON PELO RICO Chevrolet to the attention of his pit crew under green-flag conditions for his first stop of the day. This green-flag stop was part of the pit strategy Harvick and crew chief Rick Viers developed before the race. Their strategy was to pit under green-flag conditions and stay on the race track during yellow-flag pit stops to get back to the front. The gamble paid off when the caution flag appeared seconds after Harvick completed his pit stop.

"Pit strategy is the biggest part of road-course racing," Harvick said. "Viers and I talked at length this morning and decided we were going to pit when there was a great opportunity during a green-flag run. We couldn't have picked a better time on the first stop. We had just entered pit lane when NASCAR decided to throw the caution flag. With a great pit stop from my crew and a great pit strategy, it put us in the right spot to win this race."

Harvick moved into the lead on lap 46 of 80 when Truex decided to take his car to pit road during green-flag conditions. Moments after Truex left his pit stall, the caution flag was displayed, and he received the same benefit Harvick did earlier. Harvick was forced to pit under caution, and he fell to 13th place. Harvick used some veteran moves on the younger drivers to advance to second during the remaining laps.

The paint scheme on the No. 21 Chevrolet changed this week to promote PELON PELO RICO, made by Hershey's and one of Mexico's leading brands of spicy candy. "Pelon" grows a head of sweet and spicy "hair" (Pelo Rico) when you push up the bottom of the container.

The next Busch Series race is at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Saturday, March 12, at 3:30 p.m. EST. The FX television network will carry the live television coverage of the Sam's Town 300.