Harvick Holds Off Rodgers For Sonoma NASCAR K&N West Win

Story By: DAVEY SEGAL / NASCAR – SONOMA, CA – Kevin Harvick made his NASCAR K&N Pro Series West return and he delivered.

The Bakersfield, California, native dominated the Carneros 200 at Sonoma Raceway. Harvick held off hard-charging Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender in Will Rodgers, while the rest of the field was more than nine seconds back.

Harvick won the 1998 West championship on his way up the NASCAR ladder, which culminated in winning the 2014 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship. He drove the No. 4 Fields Ford for Jefferson Pitts Racing to his eighth victory of his career in the K&N Pro West Series.

“It always feels good to win no matter what it is,” said Harvick. “The main objective was to come have fun, shine a little light on the series and shine a little light on how much talent is in the series. This particular series did a lot for me and to come back and be a part of it, see the health of it and see the young guys racing was the main objective.

“It’s always fun to race in front of your home state fans. It’s been a long time since I raced in this particular series here, so it was a fun weekend.”

Rodgers, a 22-year-old from Murrieta, California, won his first Coors Light Pole Award earlier in the day and brought his No. 7 Solvang Brewing Company Ford home in second place, his best finish of his 14 K&N Pro Series West starts.

“For some funny reason, I had a feeling as far back as four weeks ago that it was going to be me and Kevin coming into turn 11 on the last lap,” Rodgers said. “And sure enough, there we were. He ran a really good race, I learned a lot from him. We were able to lead some laps there in the beginning. It doesn’t feel too bad to finish second today.”

David Mayhew came home in third, followed by Michael Self and Derek Kraus in fourth and fifth, respectively.

Championship points leader Todd Gilliland, Blaine Perkins, Todd Souza, Sheldon Creed, Chris Eggleston and Monster Energy NASCAR Cup driver Daniel Suarez rounded out the top 10.

Gilliland leads Eggleston by 11 points. Kraus is third (56 behind Gilliland), while Rodgers is 12 points back of Kraus in fourth.

The Carneros 200 will air on NBCSN on Thursday, June 29 at 11 p.m. ET.

The NASCAR K&N Pro Series West will return to the track on July 28 for the annual combination race with the K&N Pro East at Iowa Speedway.

Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Points B/Points Status
1 6 4 Kevin Harvick Fields Chevrolet 64 47 4 Running
2 1 7 Will Rodgers * Solvang Brewing Company Ford 64 44 2 Running
3 5 17 David Mayhew MMI Racing/Ron’s Rear Ends/Pour House Chevrolet 64 41 Running
4 2 9 Michael Self Sunrise Frd/Eibach Spring/Lucas Oil/Braille Batter 64 41 1 Running
5 16 19 Derek Kraus * Carlyle Tools Toyota 64 39 Running
6 8 16 Todd Gilliland NAPA Auto Parts Toyota 64 38 Running
7 14 21 Blaine Perkins Golden Gate Meat Chevrolet 64 37 Running
8 11 13 Todd Souza Central Coast Racing Toyota 64 36 Running
9 15 55 Sheldon Creed * AM Ortega/United Rentals Ford 64 35 Running
10 9 99 Chris Eggleston NAPA Filters Toyota 64 34 Running
11 7 12 Daniel Suarez ARRIS Toyota 64 33 Running
12 20 51 Carlos Vieira 51 FIFTY Energy Drink Chevrolet 64 32 Running
13 19 86 Tim Spurgeon Kleen Blast/David’s Racing Products Chevrolet 64 31 Running
14 25 10 Matt Levin Port of Tucson Chevrolet 64 30 Running
15 24 32 Kody Vanderwal * Biltrite Signs/General Air Ford 64 29 Running
16 23 47 Scott Ivie MSI Development Toyota 64 28 Running
17 17 30 Dave Smith Baker Energy/Wild Flower Bread Co/Ken Nix & Assoc 64 27 Running
18 13 61 Johnny Borneman Borneman Trucking/Rich Thompson Trucking, Inc 64 26 Running
19 31 68 Rodd Kneeland * Wine Roads/Florian Ind/Rodd Renovations, Inc 64 25 Running
20 18 54 Will Gallaher First Community Bank Toyota 64 24 Running
21 26 11 Takuma Koga ASHxTHEES CKB-JKR Chevrolet 63 23 Running
22 27 40 Ron Norman Port of Tucson Chevrolet 63 22 Running
23 10 6 Julia Landauer Sunrise Frd/Eibach Spring/Lucas Oil/Braille Batter 63 21 Running
24 22 38 Stafford Smith * Stonys Rockin Country Chevrolet 60 20 Running
25 29 33 Nicole Behar Custom Welding & Fabrication Chevrolet 55 19 Running
26 3 88 Ryan Blaney Discount Tire Ford 53 18 Rear End
27 21 84 Rich DeLong III Country Girl Saloon Chevrolet 38 17 Transmission
28 4 43 Derek Thorn Campbell Motorsports/Race for Autism Toyota 22 16 Engine
29 30 14 John Wood Idaho 208/Patriot Motorsports Group Ford 16 15 Drive Line
30 12 20 Jim Inglebright Inglebright Racing Chevrolet 10 14 Electrical
31 28 36 Jesse Iwuji Champion Parts/Lights Out/ Bullet Proof Energy 8 13 Oil Line
32 32 77 Kevin O’Connell RC-1, Inc. Chevrolet 0 12 Did Not Start

 

RACE STATISTICS

Fastest Qualifier: Will Rodgers *, Time: 77.949 Seconds, Speed: 91.906 mph

Time of Race: 2 hrs., 8 mins, 43 secs Average Speed: 59.368 mph Margin of Victory: .530 Seconds

Caution Flags: Laps 14-16 (#38 hit wall—-Free Pass #11); 18-21 (#14 stopped T2..No Free Pass); 23-26 (#43 stopped T4 —Free Pass #54); 34-37 (Break—-Free Pass #88); 39-40 (#84 stopped T2—-Free Pass #38); 55-57 (#88 stopped T11—-Free Pass #11). 6 for 20 laps.

Lap Leaders: Will Rodgers * 1-26, Michael Self 27-41, Kevin Harvick 42-64.

Total Laps Led: Will Rodgers * 26, Kevin Harvick 23, Michael Self 15. 2 changes involving 3 drivers.

Top 10 Driver Points: Todd Gilliland 354, Chris Eggleston 343, Derek Kraus * 298, Will Rodgers * 286, Michael Self 272, Kody Vanderwal * 272, Todd Souza 266, Blaine Perkins 261, Nicole Behar 258, Matt Levin 258

Next Race:July 28, 2017

* – Denotes Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender