Category: Pre-Race Reports
06/30/09
DAYTONA STATS: Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) co-owner and two-time Nationwide Series champion Kevin Harvick will be back in the driver seat of the No. 33 KHI car this week as the Nationwide Series team’s return to Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway for round 17 of 35 this season. In 14 Nationwide Series starts at the track, Harvick has earned one win, one pole, 10 top-five and 11 top-10 finishes. Harvick has completed 100 percent (1594 of 1594) of his laps attempted in the Nationwide Series and led 175 laps at the 2.5-mile track. 2007 was Harvick’s most successful season at Daytona, as he swept the Nationwide season opener and captured the coveted Daytona 500.
RESTRICTOR PLATE SUCCESS: KHI is no stranger to success at restrictor-plate racing. The company’s first Nationwide Series win came at Daytona International Speedway in 2005 when Tony Stewart won the season opener. The following year Stewart returned to Victory Lane at Daytona to defend his title followed by KHI’s No. 77, scoring KHI’s first one-two finish in the Nationwide Series. In 2007, Bobby Labonte scored the third restrictor-plate win for KHI by holding off teammate Stewart to win at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. Stewart finished second, adding another one-two finish for KHI. Adding to their restrictor-plate success, KHI has claimed both superspeedway poles so far in 2009 (Harvick at Daytona and Ryan Newman at Talladega) and earned another strong second-place finish at Talladega Superspeedway with Ryan Newman behind the wheel.
CONGRATULATIONS RICK CARELLI: On July 3, 2009, Rick Carelli will be inducted into the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame at Irwindale Speedway in California. As a driver, Carelli earned the 1991 NASCAR Southwest Touring championship and the 1993 NASCAR Camping World Series West title, as well as raced in the NASCAR Truck Series.
These days Carelli is still at the track, just in a different role as General Manager for Kevin Harvick Incorporated and as spotter for three-time Truck Series champion Ron Hornaday.
BEFORE THE RACE: QUOTES WITH DRIVER KEVIN HARVICK:
What does it means to drive the VFW car on July 4th weekend?
“It is going to be an honor to carry the red, white and blue colors of the VFW this weekend in Daytona. Hopefully I can give all the veterans something to cheer about when the green flag drops on Friday night.”
With the success at Daytona (winning the pole) and Talladega (winning the pole and Newman narrowly missing the win) early this year, how much confidence does that add heading into this weekend?
“Our speedway program here at KHI has always been good. Going back to Daytona this time around I feel a little more confidence when it comes to our car and its set up. Ernie Cope and the guys have done a great job this year putting Ryan (Talladega) and I (Daytona) on the poles for both restrictor plate races. Hopefully this time around we can put the No. 33 Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) car into Victory Lane.”
What is different at Daytona during the July races compared to the races in February?
“The track gets hot and slick during the races in July and the handling characteristics become exaggerated. We are shooting for a good-handling race car, which can hopefully help put this Veterans of Foreign War (VFW) team into victory lane on the day Americans celebrate their Independence.”
CHASSIS HISTORY: The team will unload chassis No. 043 from the KHI stables this week for Harvick at Daytona International Speedway. This chassis was last on track at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway with Ryan Newman. Newman won the pole, led 21 laps and narrowly missed the victory to finish second. Previous to Talladega, this chassis was on track with Harvick for the 2009 season opener at Daytona International Speedway where Harvick won the pole, led four laps and finished the race 11th.
PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: For the final race of June, KHI co-owner Harvick climbed back into the No. 33 car to become the fourth different driver in four different races during the month. With a fast car, Harvick started the race from the fifth position, ran the entire race in the top eight and crossed the finish line in fifth place. The finish moved the No. 33 KHI team up one position to fifth in the NASCAR Nationwide Series Owner’s Point standings.
ONLINE MEDIA KITS: Media members can now access KHI media kits online at KevinHarvickInc.com. Included on the site are driver bios, driver and team images, KHI history and statistics, team profiles and schedules. Please contact Alicia Deal (adeal@kevinharvickinc.com) at KHI for access to the new site.
QUICK NOTES
July 3, 2009
Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway
Subway Jalapeno 250 Powered by Coca-Cola
Race length: 100 laps/250 miles
Banking: 31-degrees in the turns
3-degrees on the straight-a-ways
Track layout: 2.5 miles
Shape: Tri-oval
Pre-Race Schedule:
Thursday:
First Practice: 2:00-3:50 p.m., ET
Final Practice: 5:30-6:25 p.m., ET
Friday:
Qualifying: 1:05 p.m., ET
TV: The Subway Jalapeno 250 can be seen live on ESPN at 7:30 p.m., ET.
Radio: The Motor Racing Network (MRN) will broadcast the race live at 7:30 p.m., ET.
No. 33 VFW Specs:
Chassis: 043
Engine: ECR
Kevin Harvick
Nationwide Series Stats at Daytona
Year No. Team Start Finish
2009 33 KHI 1 11
2008 33 KHI 7 12
2008 33 KHI 9 21
2007 21 RCR 4 2
2007 21 RCR 31 1
2006 21 RCR 42 3
2006 29 RCR 17 5
2005 21 RCR 1 2
2005 21 RCR 7 2
2004 21 RCR 2 8
2004 21 RCR 3 4
2003 21 RCR 3 3
2001 2 RCR 12 2
2000 2 RCR 7 5
*KHI: Kevin Harvick Inc.
*RCR: Richard Childress Racing
About Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW):
Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, the VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United State) is a non-profit organization dedicated to honoring the sacrifice and ensuring the rights of America’s veterans through advocacy, support and community service, while promoting patriotism. The VFW offers a wide array of services to support veterans and their families throughout their military career, from active duty to honorably discharged. For more information, visit: www.vfw.org or call (816) 756-3390.
About Kevin Harvick Inc.
Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI), established in 2001, is a 70,000 sq. ft. facility located in Kernersville, N.C. KHI houses two full-time Truck Series teams, including the 2007 series champions. The No. 33 team is led by three-time Truck Series champion Ron Hornaday and the No. 4 KHI All-Stars team is comprised of Ricky Carmichael, the most successful motocross racer in American history, J.R. Fitzpatrick and a variety of NASCAR Sprint Cup stars. KHI is also home to the No. 33 Nationwide Series team competing full-time with drivers Kevin Harvick (a two-time Nationwide Series champion), 2008 Daytona 500 champion Ryan Newman, Ron Hornaday, Cale Gale and Kelly Bires. The 2009 season marks KHI’s sixth year of full-time competition in NASCAR’s elite divisions. Visit www.kevinharvickinc.com for more information.