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Kevin Harvick’s Crew Chief Debunking a Common Misconception of NASCAR Affecting Teams’ Preparation by Taking Cars for R&D

Published 04/28/2022, 4:28 AM EDT

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NASCAR was at Talladega Superspeedway last weekend. The Cup Series hosted the GEICO 500 race for the first time this season. The tenth round of the race saw Chastain reach the finish line before anyone else. While Ross celebrated his win, NASCAR took Kevin Harvick’s car to the R&D section.

NASCAR moves to different tracks in different weeks. One after another, they travel to the next Speedway once they’re done with the race. To make this hustle free, they need a sophisticated and solid logistic system. However, when a team has their car taken for Research and Development process, the entire process tends to be delayed.

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Whenever there is a delay in logistics, there must be a delay in race preparations. Since NASCAR races are closely knit, a bit of delay can cause massive displeasure for the team. This was the conception that NASCAR fans believed in for ages. However, Kevin Harvick’s Crew Chief Rodney Childers proved everyone wrong.

It is important to note that NASCAR makes these routine R&D checks from time to time for safety and aerodynamic measures. A fan asked Rodney on Twitter regarding this, “@RodneyChilders4 with NASCAR taking cars back to the R&D center does that put teams behind in preparation for races especially if they were planning on using that car?”

In reply to this, Childers conveyed, “Not terribly. But some parts are definitely used from week to week right now. This one was definitely a welcomed one. Having some wind tunnel data on a car you raced is awesome since we can’t really do that anymore. And nice to know where you stack up.”

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How did the race go for Kevin Harvick at Talladega Superspeedway?

Ross Chastain of Trackhouse Racing picked up the win after a frantic final move at the 2.66-mile track. A good performance in the later stage saw Kevin Harvick finish the race in tenth place even though he started from 24th place.

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As Kevin picked up the important 27 points at Alabama, he currently stands in 11th place with 252 points ahead of his teammate at Stewart-Haas Racing Chase Briscoe. NASCAR goes to Dover Motor Speedway next month for the 11th round of the Cup Series.

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Written by:

Sabyasachi Biswas

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Sabyasachi Biswas is an F1 writer at EssentiallySports. He has completed his Master's in Mass Communication and Journalism from Jadavpur University, Kolkata. Sabyasachi is an ardent Red Bull and Max Verstappen fan and has been following the sport for over a decade now.
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