SOUTHFIELD, Mich. — Kevin Harvick showed why he is the Sprint Cup points leader, fighting back from 24th position to capture his seventh top-five finish of the year in Sunday’s Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Following the race, Harvick’s crew chief, Gil Martin, received his third NASCAR MOOG “Problem Solver of the Week” Award, putting him in the lead for the MOOG chassis parts brand’s season-ending “Problem Solver” award.

Sponsored by MOOG chassis parts manufacturer and global vehicle components supplier Federal-Mogul Corp., the MOOG Problem Solver of the Race Award is presented following each Sprint Cup event to the crew chief whose car posts the largest increase in average lap speed from the first half to the second half of the race while finishing on the lead lap. Harvick’s #29 Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet improved by a race-high .070 second per lap to finish fifth on New Hampshire’s one-mile oval.

Harvick reported that the No. 29 car felt “tight” in the early going, but adjustments to the car’s MOOG-equipped chassis seemed to make a dramatic difference on the track. Harvick improved to 14th position by lap 95, seventh by lap 261 and broke into the top five with just 11 laps remaining. He was running as high as third before the final caution with less than five laps remaining but had a bad restart and fell back to fifth.

The solid finish, which follows last week’s third-place result at Sonoma, gives Harvick a 105-point lead over four-time defending champion Jimmie Johnson with just nine races remaining before the season-ending 10-race Chase for the Sprint Cup.

“Kevin had a very effective day,” said Federal-Mogul Motorsports Director Tim Nelson. “The No. 29 car has been incredibly consistent from race to race, and Gil and his crew once again found the right answers to optimize the steering response and handling of the car’s MOOG-equipped chassis.”