Lap 267: Checkered flag falls on winner Mark Martin as Kevin Harvick winds up 19th, the last car on the lead lap. Crew chief Gil Martin comments, "Good night right there. We didn't get the finish we wanted, but we'll try harder next week."

That ties Harvick's worst-ever finish at Chicagoland (2005). However, it is his best finish since Michigan, when he scored an 18th. His last top-10 came at Atlanta, in the fourth race of the season.

Lap 266: White flag.

Lap 264: Green flag, three laps to go. Harvick is now 19th.

Lap 263: The spotter asks where Harvick wants to start. He'll start in the back, because "it's hard to steer but at least it's not jerking."

Lap 262: The pits are open, and Harvick heads in for additional repairs. "Four tires, no fuel, open the hood," says crew chief Gil Martin. Once again, Harvick will have to cut off the engine so the crew can clip the belt. After a 22-second stop, Harvick is off and away.

Lap 260: Kyle Busch hits the wall in Turns 3 and 4. Harvick suggests that they cut the belt to the power steering pump in an effort to keep the steering wheel from being jerked around. Plus, they can stick four fresh tires on for the final sprint. He's 18th.

Lap 257: Ten laps to go.

Lap 254: Harvick asks, "How many more [laps]?" He's obviously fighting the wheel with every lap.

Lap 252: Brad Keselowski gets slammed into the outside wall but there's no caution. When he heads for pit road, it moves Harvick up into 18th.

Lap 249: Green flag is out. Harvick is 19th, the last car on the lead lap.

Lap 248: The field is on the backstretch when Harvick gets the signal to "crank it". The crew is having some issues getting all the hood pins back in. Apparently they were able to change two right-side tires. Harvick's car is smoking some, but it may be spilled fluid that's hitting the hot headers.

Lap 247: The plan is to open the hood and see if the team can diagnose the problem. In addition, they'll try to put four tires on. It's going to be a "quickie yellow" -- with the pits open for one lap only. Crew chief Gil Martin asks Harvick to turn the engine off when he stops.

Lap 246: The caution's out for David Reutimann. Pit road is still closed however.

Lap 245: Harvick asks, "Do you think it's out of [power-steering] fluid?" Crew chief Gil Martin says that's his best guess, and if a caution comes out, they'll try to affect repairs.

Lap 241: Harvick continues to drop back in the pack and asks his spotter to tell the other drivers to give him as much room as possible. He's now 18th, the last of the lead-lap cars, and just hoping to hang on to the finish.

Lap 239: Juan Montoya and Martin Truex Jr. go to the outside to pass Harvick while he battles his ill-handling car.

Lap 238: Harvick stays on the track in 13th, but claims "it's just jerking the wheel all over the place."

Lap 235: Harvick radios back: "I've got a right-front flat." Crew chief Gil Martin responds by saying, "We've been seeing some power-steering fluid leaking." The spotter adds, "The tire looks good from up here, for what it's worth."

Lap 233: Harvick is side-by-side with Martin Truex Jr. for 14th.

Lap 232: After an extensive cleanup, we're ready to resume racing.

Lap 227: The pits are open. Harvick stays out and moves up to 13th.

Lap 226: Caution comes out as Paul Menard and Dale Earnhardt Jr. may have tangled at the start-finish line, sending Menard into the wall with a cut tire. Harvick is able to stay down low on the apron and miss the wreck, which then involved several other cars running behind, including Harvick's teammate, Jeff Burton.

Lap 225: Harvick drops to 16th as Tony Stewart and Brad Keselowski work their way past.

Lap 223: Green flag drops with 44 laps remaining.

Lap 220: Harvick's service is completed in 15.2 seconds. He's listed as 14th in the running order.

Lap 219: Crew chief Gil Martin suggests they pit for tires, since there are only three lead-lap cars behind them on the track. The plan is to set the adjustments back to the previous run. Harvick asks for a bottle of water as well.

Lap 218: The caution's out for Sam Hornish's Jr.'s spin on the backstretch.

Lap 217: Now Ryan Newman makes the pass as a frustrated Harvick comments about the lack of power in his engine. He's now 14th.

Lap 216: Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Juan Montoya both clear Harvick to the outside, leaving him 13th.

Lap 215: Green flag and we're racing again, with 52 laps remaining.

Lap 212: Crew chief Gil Martin tells Harvick they may have to save some fuel for the possibility of a green-white-checkered, but he thinks they'll be fine. NASCAR officials rule Gordon got to the line first. Despite dropping that position, Harvick will restart 11th because Tony Stewart had to pit twice for a missing lugnut.

Lap 211: Harvick heads for pit road with the rest of the leaders. He has clear pit boxes entering and exiting. The stop is 14.8 seconds -- and it's almost a dead-heat with Jeff Gordon at the end of the pit line.

Lap 210: Caution flag is out. Harvick tells crew chief Gil Martin, "In between those last two changes. I'm faster loose than tight." As long as the crew packs the fuel tank completely full, they should be able to make it the rest of the way.

Lap 208: Harvick takes a different line exiting Turn 4 and it appears to be working. He's picked up .15 seconds on each of the last two laps.

Lap 207: Sixty laps remaining. Just 16 cars on the lead lap. Harvick is 11th, 23 seconds behind.

Lap 204: Harvick is gaining on 10th-place Paul Menard by about two-tenths of a second per lap, but is still more than a second and a half behind.

Lap 197: Seventy laps remaining. Harvick clears the lapped car of John Andretti and is running by himself on the track.

Lap 192: Harvick is 11th, 21 seconds off the lead. Carl Edwards, running 10th, is more than two seconds ahead.

Lap 188: Harvick is able to pass Dale Earnhardt Jr. to the outside and he's now 11th as green-flag stops are cycling the field. It looks like Harvick's crew was able to get him out in front of Ryan Newman as well.

Lap 187: Over the radio: "Good job, guys."

Lap 186: The call comes: "Pit this time." The stop is 15.4 seconds.

Lap 182: The battle with Dale Earnhardt Jr. appears to have broken off as Harvick readies for impending service.

Lap 176: Barring a caution, crew chief Gil Martin expects a pit stop within the next 12 laps. He plans an adjustment to the right rear that would take it about halfway back to the original setup.

Lap 172: Just 18 cars remain on the lead lap, although Harvick is a full half-lap away from being lapped by leader Mark Martin.

Lap 168: Harvick can get to the inside of Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the corners but Junior carries more speed out of the corners. The battle for 12th remains static for now. However, Harvick is more than a second ahead of Jeff Gordon in 14th.

Lap 160: Harvick finally clears the traffic and sets his sights on Dale Earnhardt Jr., who is content to run the high groove.

Lap 158: The sky is a brilliant orange as Harvick tries to work his way around a lapped car. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is the nearest competitor, in 12th.

Lap 149: Harvick reports, "It's too tight getting to the center [of the corner]." Crew chief Gil Martin says he reset the left rear to the original air pressure and put a half-pound in the right rear on that last stop.

Lap 147: Harvick is now 13th after passing Martin Truex Jr.

Lap 145: Harvick cuts under David Reutimann for 14th. Now he's in a battle with Martin Truex Jr.

Lap 144: Harvick clears Jeff Gordon for 15th and has his sights set on the cars of David Reuitmann and Martin Truex Jr., directly ahead.

Lap 142: Harvick gets caught in a three-wide sandwich as Jeff Gordon and Carl Edwards get by.

Lap 140: Harvick clears Jeff Gordon and is up to 14th.

Lap 137: Pinned to the high side on the restart, Harvick finally gets some breathing and ducks to the bottom of the track behind Jeff Gordon.

Lap 136: The green waves and racing resumes with Harvick running 16th.

Lap 134: And we're halfway.

Lap 132: Here come the lead-lap cars into the pits. Harvick hits his marks but the stop is much slower -- 17.8 seconds. He loses two spots and is back to 16th. It may have been a dropped lugnut that was the culprit.

Lap 131: Caution flag is out for debris. Crew chief Gil Martin asks if the car got better as the run continued. Harvick says he'd like to go back to the previous setup and work from there.

Lap 130: Harvick motors past David Reutimann for 13th.

Lap 127: Harvick closes the gap and gets by Ryan Newman for 14th. However, there are only 19 cars on the lead lap -- and Harvick is some 27 seconds behind the leader at this point.

Lap 120: The front of the field appears static, as most of the leaders are running similar lap times. The gap between Harvick and Ryan Newman for 14th appears unchanged, but he has a wide gap between himself and 16th-place Sam Hornish Jr.

Lap 110: Apparently a number of cars are reporting chattering tires, as Harvick, the spotter and crew chief continue to assess the situation. The sun is below the horizon and the track may be beginning to cool off.

Lap 106: Harvick currently running 15th, describes the car's handling as "really, really loose." "It's bouncing something terrible." Crew chief Gil Martin says they'll take air out of the left rear on the next stop.

Lap 102: Kevin reports, "The thing seems to be bouncing around, for some reason. It's bouncing on the left front."

Lap 100: Green-flag stops are continuing, with Harvick sitting in 16th, some 21 seconds behind the leader.

Lap 95: Here comes Harvick into the pits. He hits his marks, the crew bolts on four tires, adds fuel and adjustments, and he's headed back onto the track. The stop is timed in 14.6 seconds.

Lap 93: The car directly in front of Harvick's pit stall is pitting this lap, so crew chief Gil Martin asks Harvick to stretch it one more lap before he stops.

Lap 90: The spotter tells Harvick to pit in four more laps.

Lap 89: Harvick moves underneath Ryan Newman for 16th.

Lap 84: The spotter is calling out lap times, and they're consistently around 32.7 or 32.8 seconds. That's better than nearly everyone on the track with the exception of leader Mark Martin.

Lap 77: Green-flag stops may be coming up soon. Crew chief Gil Martin asks, "Last time was air in the left rear and track bar down. Do it again?" Harvick responds with a yes.

Lap 74: It took several laps, but Harvick is finally able to clear Hornish with a pass to the low side. He's running 17th, 21 seconds back, and the spotter tells him he's faster than many of the cars ahead of him. "In traffic, you're a top-three car right there."

Lap 69: Harvick passes Kyle Busch, who is fighting an ill-handling car. He's now 18th and still in a spirited battle with Sam Hornish Jr. for 17th.

Lap 63: "I'm still too loose coming off 2 and 4." But crew chief Gil Martin asks if the changes they made were going in the right direction, and Harvick responds in the affirmative.

Lap 60: Harvick is now 19th and working on Marcos Ambrose for position. He's 15 seconds behind the leader.

Lap 53: The changes seem to have helped, as Harvick is running laps around 166 mph and is up to 20th. "I think we're a lot better here. We'll see where it goes."

Lap 48: Harvick is having a good battle with Juan Montoya. At one point, the spotter says, "Clear, I guess." The sun may be a problem for everyone right now.

Lap 43: The setting sun is directly in the drivers' eyes along the backstretch as the green flies and the race resumes.

Lap 40: A quick stop picked up one position for Harvick. He'll restart 23rd. The right front tire appears to be built up. Harvick explains, "I had to use the brake so hard to keep it straight. I was driving it straight into the corners."

Lap 39: Pit road is open. The spotter reminds Harvick that he needs to keep his revs at 4,000 rpm in second gear. The stop for four tires, fuel and adjustments is 14.8 seconds.

Lap 38: Caution flag is out for debris in Turn 4. Crew chief Gil Martin asks Harvick if he wants changes to the track bar. They discuss the possibility of adding a spring rubber to the right rear, as Harvick says the car seems to be "laying over" on that corner in the turns.

Lap 36: Harvick passes Joey Logano for 24th.

Lap 32: Now Harvick reports the car is loose getting into Turn 1. And it's worse when he gets closer to other cars. "It feels like you've taken the rear wing off."

Lap 30: Harvick is turning consistent laps in the 162-163 mph range, which leaves him 26th. He's more than 22 seconds back, but his last lap was faster than leader Jimmie Johnson.

Lap 22: Harvick reports, "The thing just snapped sideways in the corner on that last lap." Crew chief Gil Martin responds by saying they'll tighten the car up on the first pit stop. He's currently running 27th.

Lap 20: Harvick's been dicing with a group that includes Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., Paul Menard and Jamie McMarry since the drop of the green flag. He's more than 17 seconds behind the leaders.

Lap 15: Harvick radios back, "It's just terrible, tight in the center and loose off." He's slipped back to 27th.

Lap 12: After starting the race on the bottom groove, Harvick's now checking out the top lane, hoping to find some speed.

Lap 10: Harvick's running 25th, about 10.75 seconds behind leader Jimmie Johnson.

Lap 5: Harvick and Jeff Burton get very close together, and may have rubbed fenders. Harvick tells his spotter, "I already crashed the left side going three-wide." He's currently 26th, up two positions from his starting spot.

8:17 p.m.: The green flag is out and the LifeLock.com 400 is under way.

8:07 p.m. ET: The command is given for drivers to start their engines.

Race Day: Harvick will start 28th for the LifeLock.com 400. It's his worst starting position at Chicagoland since 2002, when he rolled off 32nd. Perhaps past performance will pay off, since he ended up winning that race.

Pre-Race: The car Kevin Harvick will drive in the LifeLock.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway is chassis No. 281, a brand-new chassis hitting the track for the first time.

In eight previous Sprint Cup races at Chicagoland, Harvick has earned two wins (2001 and 2002), five top-five and six top-10 finishes. He's led a total of 282 laps and has completed all but one lap, dating back to his rookie season. His average finish of 7.4 is tops among all tracks on the Sprint Cup circuit, and best among all active drivers.

Harvick has both of Richard Childress Racing's wins at Chicagoland. In 24 total starts since the track began hosting Sprint Cup races in 2001, Childress cars have posted six top-five and 12 top-10 finishes.