Category: Pre-Race Reports
07/12/10
REDEMPTION ANYONE? This weekend Kevin Harvick will make his fifth start at the 1.25-mile track of Gateway (Ill.) International Raceway looking for redemption after starting the 2009 Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250 from the third position and leading 105 laps before running out of gas and going two laps down to the leaders. The miscalculation in fuel mileage dropped the team from the lead position to the 17th finishing spot. A year later, the team returns hoping for another dominating performance, this time walking away with the win.
In four previous Nationwide Series starts at the track, Harvick has two wins, three top-five and three top-10 finishes. His first win at the track came in 2000 when Harvick made his first career start at the track. The win marked his first career Nationwide Series victory and his first career win in NASCAR’s top-three series (Cup, Nationwide and Truck). He has led 326 laps and completed 99.8 percent of laps attempted (798 of 800) at Gateway International Raceway. His average start is 3.0 with an average finish of 6.0.
In addition to his Nationwide Series stats, Harvick has two starts in the Truck Series at Gateway International Raceway. In those two starts, Harvick has an average start of 15.5 with an average finish of 19.0. He has led four laps and completed 86.9 percent of laps attempted (278 of 300 laps). In his first start at the track in 1998, Harvick finished 11th and the following year an engine failure relegated Harvick to a DNF (Did Not Finish) in the 1999 Truck Series race.
DOUBLE-DUTY STYLE: On a rare off weekend from the Sprint Cup Series, Harvick will still pull double duty as he often does when the Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series run companion events on the same weekend. This weekend Harvick will start on Friday night piloting the No. 2 truck for Kevin Harvick Inc. and complete the weekend on Saturday night behind the wheel of the No. 33 Jimmy John’s Chevrolet.
Earlier this season at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway, another off weekend for the Cup Series, Harvick pulled double duty competing in both the Truck and Nationwide Seris races. That weekend, Harvick scored a second-place finish in the No. 2 truck and rounded out the weekend by scoring his second Nationwide Series win of the season. Harvick looks to repeat his Nashville success, only this time he is prepared to sweep the weekend by winning both races.
LOOKING FOR NO. 3: When Harvick, who won the Nationwide Series races in 2000 and 2001 at Gateway, takes to the track Saturday for the Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250, he will look to become the only driver to win three Nationwide Series events at Gateway International Raceway, to set himself apart from three other drivers who have also scored two wins each at the track: Dale Earnhardt Jr. (1998, 1999), Reed Sorenson (2005, 2007) and Carl Edwards (2006, 2008).
KHI’S IN-HOUSE SUCCESSES AT GATEWAY: In addition to Harvick’s success, several others at KHI have also had success at Gateway International Raceway. KHI General Manager Rick Carelli won the first Truck Series race at the track in 1998 and 10 years later, spotting for KHI’s No. 33 Truck Series team with Ron Hornaday, he helped guide Hornaday to his first Truck Series win at the 1.25-mile oval track.
BEFORE THE RACE: QUOTES WITH DRIVER KEVIN HARVICK:
Talk about your success at Gateway International Raceway and what makes this track different. “Gateway has been a great track to me over the years. I have two wins in four Nationwide Series starts and look forward to continuing that success this time around with the No. 33 Jimmy Johns Chevrolet. Gateway is a very unique track with two completely different sets of corners, which makes for some great racing that the fans will enjoy.”
Last year you dominated the Nationwide Series race until a miscalculation on fuel mileage left you two laps down with a 17th-place finish. Talk about that race and returning this year behind the wheel of the No. 33 car. “Last year was disappointing. We really had a fast car and dominated the race. Gateway has always been a good track for me and I’ve been able to have success there over the years. We should have scored our second win of the season there last year and the first win for Jimmy John’s, but unfortunately, we came up a little short. This year I’m ready to go back and put all the pieces together. I’m looking for similar results, but this time I want to walk away with the win.”
CHASSIS HISTORY: This week the No. 33 Jimmy John’s team will unload chassis No. 058 for team co-owner Harvick. This chassis was last on track at New Hampshire Motor Speedway with Harvick behind the wheel. Harvick started the race from the third position and led six laps before finishing the race seventh. Prior to New Hampshire, this chassis was last on track at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway where Harvick finished the race seventh and at Phoenix International Raceway where Harvick scored a second-place finish.
PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: Winning his 21st career Nationwide Series pole, Harvick started the Dollar General 300 from the first position and following a green-white-checkered finish, crossed the finish line at Chicagoland Speedway in the seventh position. After securing the pole, Harvick fought a tight-handling car throughout most to the race, but held on to a solid finish to earn his 14th top-eight finish in 15 starts this season.
ARE YOU A FOLLOWER? Twitter users can now keep up-to-date with Kevin Harvick Inc.’s NASCAR Nationwide Series by following @KHI_NNS. In addition, you can follow KHI’s Truck Series teams @KHI_TruckSeries. Want more from KHI? Follow KHI’s co-owners Kevin and DeLana Harvick @KevinHarvick and @DeLanaHarvick.
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 17, 2010
Gateway (Ill.) International Raceway
Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250
Race length: 200 laps/250 miles
Banking: 11-degrees in turns 1 and 2
9-degrees in turns 3 and 4
3-degrees on the straight-a-ways
Track layout: 1.25 miles
Shape: Oval
Pre-Race Schedule:
Saturday:
First Practice: 10:00 a.m., ET – 11:15 a.m., ET
Final Practice: 11:45 a.m., ET – 1:00 p.m., ET
Qualifying: 4:35 p.m., ET
TV: The Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250 can be seen live on ESPN2 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 Jimmy John’s Chevrolet Specs:
Chassis: 058
Engine: Earnhardt-Childress Racing (ECR)
Kevin Harvick
Nationwide Series Stats at Gateway
Year No. Team Start Finish
2009 33 KHI 3 17
2006 21 RCR 3 5
2001 2 RCR 2 1
2000 2 RCR 4 1
*KHI: Kevin Harvick Inc.
*RCR: Richard Childress Racing
About Jimmy John’s:
Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches was founded in 1983 by 19-year-old Jimmy John Liautaud in a converted garage in Charleston, IL. Since its inception, the company has grown to over 1,000 corporate and franchised locations in more than 37 states throughout the U.S. The company is known for its obsession with fresh, quality products and high-speed execution. For more information, visit www.jimmyjohns.com.
About Kevin Harvick Inc.:
Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI), established in 2001 by Kevin and DeLana Harvick, is an 80,000 sq. ft. facility located in Kernersville, N.C. Home of the 2009 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship team, KHI enters 2010 in its seventh full year of competition with two full-time Truck Series teams and one full-time Nationwide Series team. Four-time Truck Series champion Ron Hornaday returns to the helm of the No. 33 Truck team looking for his fifth title and third championship for KHI (2009 and 2007), while Sprint Cup series stars Kevin Harvick and Elliott Sadler guide the No. 2 Truck team. Two-time NASCAR Nationwide Series champion Harvick will again shine as the lead driver of the No. 33 Nationwide Series team as he continues to make his mark in motorsports and establish KHI as one of the top teams in NASCAR competition. For more information about KHI and its teams, please visit www.KevinHarvickInc.com.