KEVIN HARVICK’S 5th MENCS WIN IN 2018!

KANSAS CITY, KS – May 14, 2018 – The “Closer”, Kevin Harvick closed out the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series KS Masterpiece 400 at Kansas Speedway in Victory Lane for his fifth win of the 2018 season. Harvick’s talented driving skills and the durability of the Ford FR9 EFI engine powered the No. 4 to Stewart-Haas Racings’ sixth win of the season.
“I think this weekend shows really how good the race team is,” commented Harvick in Victory Lane. “Everything didn’t go exactly smooth and everybody just kept a good demeanor about things and kept calm and kept working through things. The same thing tonight. Everybody just kept working through trying to make the car better and we were able to wind up in Victory Lane. Those are the days that you just grind it out.”
“Congratulations to Kevin, Tony and Gene on the outstanding start to the 2018 season,” said Doug Yates, President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines. “It was another strong finish by the No. 4 team. Winning five out of the first 12 races is a milestone that we are all very proud to be a part of! Thanks to all the employees at Roush Yates Engines for their attention to detail that powers these wins. It has been a great start to the season with Ford Performance and we will build on this momentum for the rest of the season.”
After starting on pole and running in the top-10 most of the race, a late restart on lap 259 found Harvick positioned in the sixth spot. At the restart, he charged forward on the outside lane, with a set of four new tires to chase down the leaders and took over second place. On the next-to-the-last lap the “Closer” reeled in leader, Martin Truex Jr. to pass him and take the black-and-white checkered flag .390 seconds in front of Truex.
When asked about the Ford FR9 EFI engine Harvick remarked, “I think as you look at qualifying and you look at the year, the thing that I love about our engine shop, it’s built on racers. When you look at Doug Yates and everything that he and his family have built through the years, all they want to do is win. They just want to do whatever they have to do to try to win and that’s the mentality that usually you find in a race team. So, the engines are a lot of fun to have under the hood and have that mentality from the engine shop is special. So, it’s a lot of fun.”

In winning his second straight race in a row and his fifth in 12 starts this season, Harvick led 79 laps on his way to collecting his third win at Kansas Speedway, tying him for most ever at the 1.5-mile track and marking Ford’s 665th all-time win in Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series competition.
The Ford Fusions ran strong all night long to lead a total of 149 laps. Ryan Blaney, another fast Ford ended the night in P37 after an incident with Kyle Larson, led 54 laps and won Stage 1. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. from Roush Fenway Racing led 10 laps, while Team Penske driver Joey Logano led six.
The race saw 15 lead changes, seven cautions and five Fords in the top-10 at the end of a barn burner Saturday night. Harvick finished P1, Logano P3, Paul Menard P6 and Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Kurt Bush P8 and Aric Almirola P9.

We will build on this momentum as we head to the home of NASCAR racing, Charlotte, NC for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race May 19th and the Coca-Cola 600 on May 27th. Reference the full 2018 schedule on Roush Yates Engines.

14 CHAMPIONSHIPS – 329 WINS – 292 POLES!
*Photos courtesy of NASCAR Media

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