NASCAR: Angry Harvick trapped one lap down

An ill-timed caution trapped Kevin Harvick a lap down early in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400 at Chicagoland Speedway and he never recovered despite having what seemed to be the fastest car on the track.

The 2014 Sprint Cup champion was forced to start at the rear of the field due to an unapproved body modification but cracked the top 10 20 laps into the race. He was running seventh when the first series of green flag pit stops began and was on pit road when the caution came out for an unsecured tire on the infield grass.

Harvick had already completed his stop and was about a foot away from crossing the start-finish line when the yellow was first displayed. He would have remained on the lead lap had he crossed it at the time of caution, but instead was flagged as the first driver one lap down.

NASCAR vice president of racing operations Steve O'Donnell provided photo proof on Twitter:

Despite his speed, he was never able to catch a caution while in the free pass position and finished 20th – 15th amongst all playoff drivers.

Harvick climbed out of his car immediately after the race and jogged to the garage area. A group of several reporters tried asking questions but he ignored each one. The result dropped him to 13th in the championship standings and one point behind Tony Stewart for the final transfer position for the second round in the Sprint Cup playoffs.

Two races remain in the opening round, at New Hampshire and Dover.