Category: Pre-Race Reports
07/12/10
THE BOSS RETURNS: Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) co-owner Kevin Harvick will return to the driver’s seat of the No. 2 Chevrolet Silverado this weekend at Gateway (Ill.) International Raceway. Harvick has not competed in the Truck Series since the April race at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway. In his three 2010 starts in the No. 2 truck this season, Harvick has scored two wins (Atlanta Motor Speedway and Martinsville [Va.] Speedway) and one second-place finish.
BUSY BREAK: In the three months since Harvick’s last start in the Truck Series, veterans Ken Schrader and Elliott Sadler have shared the wheel of the No. 2 Chevrolet Silverado, earning three top-five and five top-10 finishes between them, keeping the No. 2 in the hunt for the Owner’s Point Championship. The truck is now third in points, 45 points out of first.
Harvick has kept busy on the track and in Victory Lane in his “time off” from the Truck Series. Competing full-time in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Harvick has earned two wins, six top-fives and nine top-10 finishes in the 13 starts since his last Truck Series event and is currently leading the standings by 103 points. Running a partial schedule in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, Harvick has earned one win, five top-five and 11 top-10 finishes in the 11 starts since his last start in the Truck Series.
GATEWAY TO VICTORY: Although he has yet to visit Victory Lane at Gateway International Raceway in the Truck Series, Harvick has earned two wins at the track in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Harvick earned his first career NASCAR win while racing at the 1.25-mile oval in 2000 after leading 111 of 200 laps, his first of three wins that season. Harvick followed up his maiden victory by taking the checkered flag in 2001 after leading 110 of 200 laps, one of five wins that year.
WEEKEND BAR-B-Q: This weekend, KHI will welcome new sponsor STUBB’S Bar-B-Q Sauce to the No. 2 truck. The “legendary” Bar-B-Q sauce has come on board for two races in 2010, including this weekend at Gateway with Harvick, and the August race at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway with Schrader. STUBB’S, founded by C.B. “Stubb” Stubblefield, is committed to their founder’s two missions: “Feed the World” and add a dash of “Love and Happiness” for every fan that purchases a bottle.
THOUGHTS FROM THE BOSS: Kevin Harvick
How do you feel going into this weekend’s Truck race at Gateway?
“We (KHI) have always been really good on the flat track stuff, and Ron [Hornaday] has always run really good in the truck at Gateway. We ran really well in the Nationwide car last year and just ran out of gas leading the race, but overall it has been a good racetrack for us. I got my first win in the Nationwide Series at that particular racetrack and now it’s just a fun place for us to go race. I really enjoy the flat tracks.”
Although you have been racing regularly in the Nationwide and Cup Series, this will be your first Truck Series start in over three months. Does it take time to get used to the trucks again?
“Not so much on the flat tracks, just because the trucks drive a lot like the Nationwide cars on those tracks. You have to be really aggressive with them. For the most part, Gateway is not a place I’ve raced in a while, so it’s more getting used to the racetrack than it is getting used to the trucks.”
PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: In his first career start at Iowa Speedway, NASCAR veteran Ken Schrader earned his third straight top 10 and second consecutive top-five finish, crossing the finish line fourth in the No. 2 Premier Chevy Dealers Chevrolet Silverado. Schrader’s strong performance boosted the No. 2 to third in the Owner’s Point standings.
CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 2 team will utilize chassis No. 048 this weekend at Gateway International Raceway. Chassis No. 048 is a brand-new chassis which has never made a lap in an event. Harvick has raced a brand-new chassis at two previous events this season (Atlanta Motor Speedway, Martinsville [Va.] Speedway), visiting Victory Lane both times.
ARE YOU A FOLLOWER? Twitter users can now keep up-to-date with Kevin Harvick Inc.’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Teams by following at http://twitter.com/KHI_TruckSeries. In addition, you can follow KHI’s Nationwide Series team at http://twitter.com /KHI_NNS. Want more from KHI? Follow KHI’s co-owners Kevin and DeLana Harvick at http://twitter.com/kevinharvick and http://twitter.com/delanaharvick.
MEDIA ACCESS: Members of the media can now log on to www.kevinharvickinc.com to gain access to press kit information online. For more information, please email Jessica Trippy at KHI: jtrippy@kevinharvickinc.com.
QUICK NOTES
Race Info:
July 16, 2010
Gateway (Ill.) International Raceway
CampingWorld.com 200
Truck Specs:
Chassis: 048
Engine: Earnhardt-Childress Racing (ECR)
Track Layout:
1.25-Mile Oval
Length: 160 Laps/200 Miles
Banking:
Turns one and two: 11-degrees
Turns three and four: 9-degrees
Straightaways: 3-degrees
WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Friday:
Practice: 12:00 p.m. – 1:15 p.m. EST
Final Practice: 1:45 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. EST
Qualifying: 6:30 p.m. EST
Race: 9:00 p.m. EST
TV: SPEED will broadcast live at 8:30 p.m. EST
Radio: The Motor Racing Network (MRN) will broadcast live at 8:30 p.m. EST
Kevin Harvick
Truck Series Statistics at
Gateway International Raceway:
Starts: 2
Wins: 0
Poles: 0
Top 5: 0
Top 10: 0
Laps Led: 4
Average Start: 15.5
Average Finish: 19.0
Kevin Harvick
Nationwide Series Statistics at
Gateway International Raceway:
Starts: 4
Wins: 2 (2000, 2001)
Poles: 0
Top 5: 3
Top 10: 3
Laps Led: 326
Average Start: 3.0
Average Finish: 6.0
About Stubb’s Legendary Bar-B-Q
Austin, Texas-based Stubbs Legendary Bar-B-Q is the maker of Stubb’s, the #1 premium Bar-B-Q brand of sauces, rubs and marinades in the country. Stubbs products are all-natural, feature gluten free ingredients and are available in over 80% of grocery stores nationwide. Stubbs products have garnered praise from publications such as Wine Spectator, Cook’s Illustrated, Men’s Fitness and the book Eat This, Not That, by David Zinczenko.
Stubb’s roots are in the iconic Stubb’s restaurant and live music venue in Austin, Texas that marries music and Bar-B-Q. Legends such as B.B. King, Joe Ely, George Thorogood, Stevie Ray Vaughn and Willie Nelson have all “sang for their supper” at Stubbs original location in Lubbock Texas. CB Stubblefield “Stubb”, the Company’s founder used to say “I was born hungry; I want to feed the world”. Today the Company honors its founder with its annual “Feed The World” tour that brings Stubb’s famous Bar-B-Q and sauces to thousands of homeless and hungry people in cities across the nation. For more information, go to www.stubbsbbq.com.