Category:
09/06/10
DRIVE FOR FIVE: Two-time Nationwide Series champion Kevin Harvick returns to Richmond (Va.) International Raceway this weekend to make his 20th-career start and looking for his fifth career Nationwide Series win at the 0.75-mile Virginia track.
In 19 previous Nationwide Series starts at the track, Harvick has earned four wins, 12 top-five and 15 top-10 finishes. Of his 19 starts, only four have been outside the top eight. His average starting position is 9.2 and his average finish is 7.1. In addition to stellar stats, Harvick has also completed 99.9 percent of laps attempted (4757 of 4763 laps) on his way to leading 620 laps.
With great success in the Nationwide Series at the track, Harvick also has starts in both the Cup and Truck Series. In the Cup Series, Harvick has 19 starts with one win, five top-five and 12 top-10 finishes. He has led 727 laps and completed 7487 of 7603 (98.5 percent) possible laps in the Cup Series. Moving to the Truck Series, Harvick has five starts with three top-five and three top-10 finishes while leading 48 laps and completing 99.9 percent (996 of 997 laps) of laps attempted.
JOINING FORCES: KHI Partners Pinnacle Foods and Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) will join together this weekend at RIR to host veterans from Walter Reed Army Medical Center for a hospitality event on Friday, September 10. The soldiers will enjoy an afternoon of appearances by NASCAR personalities, including an appearance by KHI co-owner DeLana Harvick, food and beverage, pre-race activities and the opportunity to watch Harvick and the No. 33 Armour car in the Virginia College Savings 250.
BEFORE THE RACE: QUOTES WITH DRIVER KEVIN HARVICK:
Why have you had so much success at Richmond? “I have always liked Richmond from the first time I saw the place. It just suits my driving style. I like the flat tracks. We’ve always had a fair amount of success on the flatter race tracks. I’ve got a lot of experience here; the track hasn’t changed a lot. Racing on tracks like this one, as well as Phoenix and New Hampshire, is always a lot of fun for me.”
What makes racing on a flat track more enjoyable? “There’s a lot of braking. You have to really work on getting your car through the center of the corner and still have the forward bite you need up off the corner so you get all three aspects of the car, the driver and the set up all in one.”
CHASSIS HISTORY: For the third Nationwide Series new car race of the year, the No. 33 team will unload chassis No. 064 for team co-owner Harvick. This is a brand-new chassis from the KHI stables.
PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: Returning to Atlanta Motor Speedway, Harvick looked to repeat his dominating performance from 2009, but after leading 52 laps, came up a few positions short to finish the race fourth.
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
September 10, 2010
Richmond (Va.) International Raceway
Virginia College Savings 250
Race length: 250 laps/187.5 miles
Banking: 14-degrees in turns
8-degrees on the frontstretch
2-degrees on the backstretch
Track layout: 0.75 mile
Shape: D-shaped Oval
Pre-Race Schedule:
Thursday:
First Practice: 9:00 a.m., ET – 12:00 p.m., ET
Second Practice: 1:00 p.m., ET – 4:00 p.m., ET
Friday:
Final Practice: 10:00 a.m., ET – 11:50 a.m., ET
Qualifying: 4:00 p.m., ET
TV: The Virginia College Savings 250 can be seen live on ESPN2 at 7:00 p.m., ET.
Radio: The Motor Racing Network (MRN) will broadcast the race live at 7:00 p.m., ET.
No. 33 Armour Chevrolet Specs:
Chassis: 064
Engine: Earnhardt-Childress Racing (ECR)
Kevin Harvick
Nationwide Stats at Richmond
Year No. Team Start Finish
2010 33 KHI 11 7
2009 33 KHI 18 2
2009 33 KHI 8 5
2008 33 KHI 7 8
2008 33 KHI 6 2
2007 33 KHI 8 24
2007 77 KHI 13 4
2006 21 RCR 5 1
2006 21 RCR 10 1
2005 21 RCR 8 1
2005 21 RCR 18 12
2004 21 RCR 5 7
2004 21 RCR 8 3
2003 21 RCR 1 2
2003 21 RCR 15 1
2001 2 RCR 5 27
2001 2 RCR 12 5
2000 2 RCR 7 20
2000 2 RCR 9 3
*KHI: Kevin Harvick Inc.
*RCR: Richard Childress Racing
About Pinnacle Foods:
Pinnacle Foods Group LLC, with offices in Mountain Lakes and Cherry Hill, New Jersey, is a leading producer, marketer and distributor of high-quality branded food products in the frozen foods and dry foods segments. The dry foods segment consists primarily of Duncan Hines® baking mixes and frostings; Vlasic® pickles, peppers and relish; Armour® canned meats; Open Pit® barbeque sauce and Mrs. Butterworth’s® and Log Cabin® syrups and pancake mixes. The frozen foods segment consists primarily of Aunt Jemima® frozen breakfasts; Swanson® and Hungry-Man® frozen dinners and entrees; Van de Kamp’s® and Mrs. Paul’s® frozen seafood; Celeste® pizza; Lender’s® bagels; and Bird’s Eye ® vegetables and dinners.
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.
Category:
09/04/10
SPARTA, KY. (September 4, 2010) — Shelby Howard recorded his career-best finish at Kentucky Speedway with a 19th-place finish in Saturday night’s Built Ford Tough 225. Howard fought a loose-handling truck all night, but was able to record a top-20 finish in the Bluegrass State.
“We sort of missed the set up tonight,” said Howard after the race. “I was really loose all night. We couldn’t make it to the end of the race on fuel if we had pitted under the last caution flag, so we had to make a green-flag pit stop late in the race and that kept us from a top-10 finish. I have to thank all the guys at Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI), they have been great to work with and I have really enjoyed my time in the No. 2 Chevrolet.”
Howard began the 150-lap race from the 15th position and quickly radioed crew chief Butch Hylton that the No. 2 truck was wicked loose. The No. 2 team decided to take the opportunity to make adjustments to the truck when the first caution of the night waved on lap 20. Howard gave up the 15th position to come to pit road for fuel, spring rubber and wedge adjustments to help the loose condition. Howard lost track position but was able to make his way back up to the 14th position by lap 33.
While his KHI-teammate Ron Hornaday led the field, Howard worked inside the cockpit of the No. 2 truck turning off all the tire blowers to try and build up air pressure and help his truck turn better. The caution waved for the second time on lap 45. Howard said the truck was 50 percent better, but he needed more to be able to race with the leaders. The No. 2 team went to work on pit road giving Howard four fresh tires and fuel. On the pit stop, the team made large air-pressure and track-bar adjustments.
Howard restarted the race from the 14th position on lap 50. Eight laps later, the No. 2 took over the 11th position, looking the best it had all night. Howard began to run lap times as fast as the leaders. Once again, Howard radioed to the crew that he still needed to be tighter and that he was loosing time in the corners because he was lifting off the gas to save the truck from jumping sideways. The caution flew for the third time of the evening at the half-way point of the race on lap 75. Hylton made the call to bring Howard back down pit road for a track-bar adjustment and to take on fuel only allowing Howard to gain track position and restart the race in the fourth position.
As the race restarted on lap 80, the leaders began to battle for position taking it four wide into the corners. Howard wisely backed out of a four-wide situation settling in the ninth position when the caution flew for a spin by leader Todd Bodine on lap 82. The fifth caution of the night waved on lap 91. The No. 2 team determined that they could not make it to the end of the race on fuel and decided to remain on track as some of the leaders came to pit road. Following adjustments to try and tighten the No. 2 truck, Howard finally told the team on lap 100 that he was tight through the center and off the corner.
Howard brought the No. 2 truck to pit road under green on lap 120 for the final scheduled pit stop of the race to take on four tires and fuel. With many of the leaders on different pit strategies, the stop mired Howard two laps down in the 21st position. Howard was able to gain two additional positions before the checkered flag fell coming home with a 19th-place finish, his career-best Truck Series finish at the 1.5-mile track.
Bodine won the Built Ford Tough 225 followed by Johnny Sauter, Aric Almirola, Jason White and Ricky Carmichael. The Truck Series returns to action on Saturday, September 18, for the RaceDayRaffleSeries.com 175 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway where KHI co-owner Kevin Harvick will be behind the wheel of the No. 2 truck. The race can be seen live on SPEED at 2:30 p.m. ET.
STATS RECAP
Race Info
September 3, 2010
Kentucky Speedway
Race: 18 of 25
Driver: Shelby Howard
Race Length: 150 Laps/225 Miles
Track Layout: 1.5-Mile D-Shaped Oval
Started: 15th (31.507 seconds, 171.390 m.p.h.)
Finished: 19th
Laps Led: 0
Owner Point Standings: 5th, (334 points behind first place)
Next on the Truck Series Schedule:
Date: September 18th, 2010
Driver: Kevin Harvick
Track: New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Event Name: TheRaceDayRaffleSeries.com 175
Broadcast Time: SPEED 2:30 p.m. ET
Category: Post-Race Reports
09/04/10
SPARTA, KY. (September 4, 2010)—- Defending race winner Ron Hornaday came to Kentucky Speedway looking to improve on his last three top-three finishes in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. However, a flat right-front tire late in the 150-lap event prevented him from recording a good finish
“I’m not really sure what happened,” said Hornaday after the race. “We were pretty good during the middle part of the race, and then I felt the truck get a vibration. I wasn’t sure what it was, but we caught a caution and had the chance to change tires. Then, after the last pit stop under green I was convinced something had broken in the rear end or the transmission. It ended up being the right-front tire being loose and causing other problems with the truck. It’s really unfortunate since we had a really good truck in the middle of the race. We were just one or two adjustments away from being really good. We will take a weekend off and go after the trophy in Loudon.”
Hornaday began the Built Ford Tough 225 from the eighth position, and as the race began, the No. 33 truck took to the outside, quickly jumping up to the third position. By lap 10, Hornaday began to reel in the lead trucks of Johnny Sauter and Austin Dillon. Four laps later, the No. 33 truck slid into the second position. The first caution of the night waved on lap 20. Crew chief Kevin Buskirk told Hornaday it was too early to pit for tires, so the team decided to follow leader Johnny Sauter to pit road to take fuel only. Hornaday restarted the race from the lead on lap 26, pulling out to a sizable lead over second place Todd Bodine. On lap 33, Hornaday reported to the team that his truck was loose going into the corners and tight coming off the corners. The team noted the handling of the truck and began to make preparations for adjustments for the next pit stop. Hornaday lost the battle for the lead to Bodine on lap 43. The second caution of the race waved on lap 45. Hornaday gave up the second position to follow the leaders down pit road. The No. 33 team made a four-tire pit stop, added fuel and made a slight air-pressure adjustment.
Hornaday restarted the race from the fourth position on lap 50. Wasting no time, Hornaday powered past the field retaking the lead on lap 51 however, his rein in the top spot was short-lived as Kyle Busch and Bodine slipped past him for the lead on lap 57. At the half-way mark on lap 75, the caution waved for the third time. Hornaday had fallen back into the fifth position, reporting to the team that he was loose in and tight off the corners, but he really needed to get the tightness out of the truck. Hornaday brought the No. 33 down pit road for four tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment on lap 77. The majority of the field chose to pit, however, some trucks took fuel only, leaving Hornaday in the fourth position for the restart. The caution waved again, for the fourth time, on lap 91. The No. 33 team was one lap shy of making it to the end of the race on fuel if they came to pit road. Not willing to take the chance of running out of fuel, the No. 33 team opted not to come to pit road. Many of the leaders made the opposite strategy call coming to pit road for tires and fuel.
Hornaday raced Busch for the lead as the race restarted on lap 95. The leaders began to race hard, taking it four wide for the lead. The No. 33 truck lost side bite and became very loose slipping back as the leaders raced side-by-side. A few laps later, Hornaday settled into the third position as he tried to catch the leaders. Hornaday was running third on lap 120 when a cycle of green-flag pit stops began. One lap later, Hornaday reported he had a vibration in the right-front tire. Buskirk immediately called Hornaday to pit road for four tires, fuel and another wedge adjustment. As Hornaday left pit road he sensed a major problem with the truck. As the leaders cycled through green-flag pit stops, Hornaday fell two laps down to the leaders, telling the team that something was broken in the rear-end of the truck. On lap 144, Hornaday brought the No. 33 truck to pit road with a flat right-front tire. After changing both right-side tires, the team determined that on the previous stop the right-front tire had been left loose causing the majority of Hornaday’s handling problems. The flat tire and green-flag pit stop left Hornaday four laps down to the leaders. He took the checkered flag in the 29th position.
Bodine went on to win the Built Ford Tough 225 followed by Sauter, Aric Almirola, Jason White and Ricky Carmichael. The Truck Series returns to action in two weeks at New Hamsphire Motor Speedway at 2:30pm, EST.
STATS RECAP
Race Info
September 3, 2010
Kentucky Speedway
Race: 18 of 25
Driver: Ron Hornaday
Started: 8th
Finished: 29th
Truck Series Point Standings: 5th, 437
points behind leader Todd Bodine
Next on the Schedule for the No. 33:
Date: September 18, 2010
Track: New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Event Name: TheRaceDayRaffleSeries.com 175
Driver: Ron Hornaday
Broadcast Time: SPEED 2:30 p.m., EST MRN 2:45 p.m., EST
Category:
09/04/10
HAMPTON, Ga. (September 6, 2010) — Kevin Harvick arrived at Atlanta Motor Speedway looking to repeat his dominating 2009 Nationwide Series win, but after leading 52 laps mid-way through the race, came up a few positions short to finish the Great Clips 300 in the fourth position.
“Our Rheem Chevrolet was really good,” said Harvick following the race. “We took a gamble early in the race and made some adjustments at the end trying to make something happen, but got the car a little too tight. The team had a good night on pit road and did a great job preparing the car and making adjustments throughout the race. We just came up a few spots short.”
Earning the eighth starting position in the No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet, Harvick quickly radioed crew chief Ernie Cope that the car was too tight, and by lap 22, while running in the fifth spot, reported that the car was extremely tight. The team got their first break on lap 41 when the first caution flag of the race waved for debris. Devising a plan for adjustments, Cope called Harvick to pit road on lap 42 for four tires, fuel and an air-pressure and wedge adjustment. With a solid stop by the No. 33 team, Harvick restarted the race on lap 46 from the sixth position.
Moving up to fifth place, Harvick reported that the changes made on the previous stop had helped, but only half of the tightness issues were resolved. On lap 59, the second caution of the race was displayed and the team immediately began preparing for their stop. Taking a gamble, Harvick pitted on lap 60 as most of the leaders remained on track. The team changed four tires, added fuel and made another air-pressure and wedge adjustment. Harvick restarted the race 14th on lap 64.
With fresh tires, Harvick immediately went to work on the field, moving into eighth on lap 65 and taking over the lead on lap 70. Running the fastest lap times on the track, Harvick pulled out to a five-second lead by lap 77, and by lap 89, held a 10-second lead on the entire field. As the race continued under green-flag conditions, teams began to make green-flag pit stops on lap 96, extending Harvick’s lead. Following the completion of green-flag pit stops, Harvick was shown as the only car on the lead lap on lap 112. With a long green-flag run continuing, Harvick was forced to give up the lead on lap 121 for four tires and fuel, returning to the track in the fourth position.
The third caution of the race waved on lap 146 with Harvick in the third position. The team pitted for four tires and fuel with no adjustments. After another solid stop on pit road, Harvick radioed the team to tell them they had done a good job as he restarted the race second on lap 152 behind eventual race winner Jamie McMurray.
Struggling getting to the bottom of the race track and needing more rear grip, Harvick caught another break on lap 167 when the final caution of the night waved. Harvick pitted for four tires, fuel and an air-pressure adjustment. The race restarted for the final time on lap 172 with Harvick sixth. Moving up to fourth on lap 173, Harvick radioed the team several laps later that the car was way too tight. Unable to gain positions, Harvick finished fourth behind McMurray, Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards. Matt Kenseth rounded out the top five.
STATS RECAP
September 4, 2010
Atlanta Motor Speedway
Great Clips 300
Race: 26 of 35
Driver: Kevin Harvick
Started: 8th
Finished: 4th
Owner’s Point Standings: 3rd (+ 1 spot, 335 points out of 1st)
Race length: 195 laps/300.3 miles
Banking: 24-degrees in the turns
5-degrees on the straight-a-ways
Track layout: 1.54 miles
Shape: Quad-Oval
Number of Laps Led: One Time for 52 Laps
Number of Race Cautions: 4 for 17 Laps
First Practice: 4th (30.152 seconds; 183.868 mph)
Final Practice: 1st (30.320 seconds; 182.850 mph)
Qualifying: 8th (31.020 seconds; 178.723 mph)
Next on the Nationwide Series Schedule:
Date: September 10, 2010
Track: Richmond (Va.) International Raceway
Event Name: Virginia College Savings 250
Driver: Kevin Harvick
Sponsor: Armour Chevrolet
Broadcast Time: 7:00 p.m., ET on ESPN2 and 7:0 p.m., ET on MRN Radio
Category: General News
09/03/10
Wrapping It Up In Kentucky
The Truck Series is getting ready to end a nine-race stretch this weekend in Kentucky. The 2010 season in general has been an up and down year for the No. 33 team; however, these nine weeks of the season have been a snapshot of the determination and staying power of our team. During this stretch we scored our only win so far this season at O’Reilly Raceway Park (ORP), but on the flip side we also had three finishes outside the top 20. The Truck Series in the past has never really had this long of a stretch this early in the year, but our guys have been geared up for this part of the season since January. We just keep building trucks all the time. It seems like I have a new truck every week and they keep getting better and better. I guess the Truck Series guys are lucky that I’m not in charge of making the schedule. If it were up to me we would race nonstop from January to December - racing a few times a week. For me, racing is pretty much equal to breathing, and I hate having breaks.
I think our team has come a long way during this part of the season. We are definitely finding our groove, or as some people would call it: Our “chemistry.” My crew chief, Kevin Buskirk, and I are beginning to learn each other. I think a lot of fans really don’t realize the importance of the relationship between a crew chief and a driver. At the end of last season my crew chief and Truck chief of three years, Rick Ren and Danny Stockman, both moved on to further their careers at other organizations. So this year has kind of been a rebuilding process for the entire No. 33 team. The team guys are getting used to taking direction from new people and so am I. The relationship between driver and crew chief is almost like being in a marriage. It really takes knowing the other person and understanding what a “tick” tight or a “smidgen” loose means. To one driver, that might mean a big adjustment; for another it might mean a very minor change. Buskirk has been with us for six races now and we have had good results. We haven’t made it back to victory lane, but I have a feeling that is not too far away for the No. 33 team.
As we head back to Kentucky, it makes me think back to last year. We won the race by sheer luck and good timing. We really didn’t have the best truck, but we put ourselves in the right place at the right time. It’s weird how racing is like that sometimes. Take, for example, last year at Milwaukee. We had the truck to beat, dominated the race leading 180 laps of the 200-lap event, but a few weeks later at Kentucky we really just lucked into, being at the right place at the right time and having all the caution periods and pit stops go our way.
I’m really excited to have back-to-back 1.5-mile tracks to race on because I think we can take a few things we learned last weekend in Chicago and apply them Friday night in Kentucky. We ran really well at Chicagoland, which is sort of surprising, because in all my trips to Chicago, I’ve never run that well. To lead a lap at Chicago was pretty big for me. Kentucky is sort of the same way; I’ve never really had the dominant truck there, even though I have two wins (2005 and 2009).
One of the things that I was able to accomplish last year at Kentucky, and something that I’m most proud of, is winning from the pole. I’ve only been able to accomplish that 10 times in my career. It is so hard to do. It’s difficult to set your truck up to run one fast lap and then maintain that type of pace all race long. I’m not exactly known for racking up poles. That is more Jack Sprague and Mike Skinner territory. I’m glad, though, that I’m the one known for collecting wins. I’d rather be known for being the Truck Series all-time winningest driver with 46 wins to date. That title comes with more trophies.
This weekend’s race should be a good one. As usual Todd Bodine, Kyle Busch, Austin Dillon, Aric Almirola and Mike Skinner will be tough competition. We will be bringing the same truck that we raced last weekend at Chicagoland. I like having new trucks, but sometimes I like taking trucks to the track that we have raced before - that way I know their quirks before I ever get to the track. This is a really good, smooth, consistent truck which will be important this weekend because I really don’t think we will see too many cautions. So what you have handling-wise with your truck at the beginning of the race, you are pretty much stuck with since the race typically has several long green-flag runs and you are not going to have many opportunities to come to pit road without losing a lot of track position. I think track position is really important at Kentucky because a lot of times the leaders will get a few seconds out in front and it is really difficult to run them down.
I’m looking forward to all 150 laps. I don’t think I’ve ever missed one of the 751 laps that the Truck Series has run around Kentucky Speedway, knock on wood, and I certainly don’t plan on missing one this weekend.
Category:
08/31/10
Event/Date: Emory Healthcare 500 – September 5, 2010
Venue: Atlanta Motor Speedway – Hampton, Ga.
NOTES:
• This Week’s Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet at Atlanta Motor Speedway … Kevin Harvick will pilot Chassis No. 288 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. Earlier in the year, this Chevrolet scored a win at Michigan International Speedway in August. Additionally, Harvick scored runner-up finishes at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and at Auto Club Speedway, finished ninth at Atlanta Motor Speedway, and finished seventh at Dover International Speedway. The Shell-Pennzoil team raced this chassis three times in the latter part of the 2009 season, finishing 18th at Charlotte Motor Speedway, fifth at Texas Motor Speedway and third at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
• Clincher … Harvick and the No. 29 team clinched a berth in the 2010 Chase for the Sprint Cup following their win at Michigan in August. Harvick scored his third points-paying win of the year, and currently has 30 bonus points once the Chase field is set.
• Follow the Leader … After his 14th-place effort at Bristol Motor Speedway, Harvick remains the leader in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings. Harvick enjoys a lead of 279 points over second. For the season, he has earned three wins, 11 top-five and 16 top-10 finishes. At the same time, the 14-time NSCS winner has finished 14th or better in 21 of the season’s first 24 events.
• Remarkable Turnaround … At this point last season, through 24 races, Harvick was 24th in the standings and had accumulated 2,300 points. In 2010, the point leader has amassed 3,521 points, an astounding 1,221 more points than last year.
• Career Atlanta Stats … The Emory Healthcare 500 marks Harvick’s 347th career start in the NSCS.
o In 19 NSCS starts at the 1.54 mile oval, Harvick owns one win, four top-five and six top-10 finishes.
o He owns an average start of 17.8 and an average finish of 19.8 at Atlanta.
o He has led six different Atlanta races for a total of 136 laps.
o He has finished in the top 10 in his last three Atlanta starts.
o He has finished in the top 15 in his last six Atlanta starts.
• It Didn’t Take Long … Harvick’s lone Cup win at Atlanta came in just his third ever start in NASCAR’s top series. Harvick won the 2001 Cracker Barrel 500 in a photo finish over Jeff Gordon, securing the emotional victory by .006 seconds, the fifth-closest finish in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series history.
• In the Loop … Harvick owns some very impressive loop data statistics over the season’s first 23 races.
o First in average finish (8.8).
o Second in Closer category, total positions improved during the last 10 percent of each race.
o Second in fastest drivers late in a run.
o Fourth in fastest speed in traffic.
o Fifth in green flag speed.
o Fifth in Driver Rating, a formula combining the following categories: wins, finishes, top-15 finishes, average running position while on lead lap, average speed under green, fastest lap, led most laps, and lead lap finish.
o Seventh in fastest drivers early in a run.
o Seventh in percentage of laps run on lead lap.
• Meet the Press … Harvick will be available to field questions from the gathered media on Saturday in the NSCS garage area at the No. 29 hauler at 1:20 p.m. EDT.
• Double Dip in Atlanta … In addition to his driving duties with the No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet, Harvick will drive Kevin Harvick Incorporated’s No. 33 Chevrolet Impala in the Sept. 4 Great Clips 300 Nationwide Series event. The race will air live on ESPN2 beginning at 6:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. The race will also be broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network and Sirius Satellite Radio.
KEVIN HARVICK QUOTES:
How important is it to get all three RCR teams in the Chase like they did three years ago?
“I think it’s important for the company because we have all run well enough to be in the Chase, and really, if Clint (Bowyer) didn’t have some silly things gone wrong earlier in the year, then he’s solidly there as well. The performance of his car, and all of our cars, has been really good.”
Last year, they ran the Atlanta race on Labor Day weekend. Did you feel it was a success with a better atmosphere for the race and the fans?
“We thought it was a success because we ran so well. It was probably the best race we had last year. Hopefully, we come back and run like we did last year. Racing Atlanta at night is a lot different than racing it during the day. The hardest thing is that you practice during the day and you race at night. It is two totally different beasts. It’s hard to know what you need in your car.”
Earlier this year, you ran eighth at Atlanta. How did you feel about your day at Atlanta?
“We had a terrible day at Atlanta. That was when I knew that our team was headed in the right direction, when you can have a terrible day, and turn something into a top 10, that’s what it’s all about. Our cars are adjustable and we know they run fast, but when you’re off, you need to have something that you can make right, like we did that day.”
What are your thoughts on the schedule changes so far?
“Atlanta has created some great racing. You look at some of these markets such as California and Atlanta, the crowds have gone down so much that one race may be beneficial for them. The fans don’t have an option to come to a second race, and it splits that crowd in half, so, hopefully, that works well.”
RCR Nuggets for Atlanta2
September 5, 2010
RCR in the ATL … In 116 starts at AMS, RCR has earned four poles and nine wins including Kevin Harvick’s emotional victory in the Cracker Barrel 500 on March 11, 2001. Prior to that, Dale Earnhardt won eight times at the Hampton, Ga., track. Additionally, RCR boasts 27 top-five and 49 top-10 finishes at AMS. Meanwhile, RCR- prepared Chevrolets have led 2,826 laps at the ultra-fast 1.54-mile quad oval. Richard Childress, a former driver on NASCAR’s senior circuit, recorded his best finish at Atlanta, ninth, in the Atlanta Journal 500 on Nov. 2, 1980.
The Collective RCR … Over the season’s first 24 races, RCR’s three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series entries have notched three points-paying wins, 19 top-five and 38 top-10 finishes. The No. 29 team kicked off the 2010 season with a win in the Budweiser Shootout at Daytona. They followed that up with a win at Talladega Superspeedway in April, again at Daytona in July and, most recently, at Michigan. RCR-prepared Chevrolets have also completed 20,225 out of 20,853 total laps (97 percent) with drivers Clint Bowyer, Jeff Burton and Kevin Harvick, who have led a combined 738 laps. At least one RCR driver has led laps in 20 of the season’s first 24 events, with the exceptions being Phoenix, Michigan, Pocono in August and Watkins Glen.
Get to the Points … With three races remaining until the Chase for the Sprint Cup, all three of RCR’s Sprint Cup Series drivers are in the top 12 of the overall championship point standings following last weekend’s race in Bristol. Shell-Pennzoil driver Harvick remains atop the standings, for the 15th consecutive week, and became the first driver to be locked into this season’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Caterpillar driver Burton is seventh and has a 281-point cushion over 13th. The Cheerios/Hamburger Helper-sponsored driver Bowyer padded his point advantage to 100 markers over the 13th-place point man with his fourth-place run at Bristol.
What a Difference a Year Makes … Over the same 24 races in the 2009 season, RCR’s Sprint Cup teams ranked 15th (No. 33 team), 18th (No. 31 team), 20th (No. 07 team) and 24th (No. 29 team). Collectively, eight top-five and 22 top-10 finishes were posted and 122 laps were led.
RCR on Social Media … To keep up-to-date with the latest news and information and to view exclusive content, visit RCR’s Twitter page (@RCRracing), the RCR Sprint Cup Series team Twitter pages (@RCR29KHarvick, @RCR31JeffBurton and @RCR33CBowyer) and RCR’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/RichardChildressRacing).
Catch the Action … Flag-to-flag coverage of the Emory Healthcare 500 from Atlanta Motor Speedway will take the green flag Sunday, September 5, beginning at 7 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on ESPN. The race will also be broadcast on the Performance Racing Network and Sirius XM Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the 25th points-paying race on the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series calendar will be televised live on SPEED Saturday, September 4 beginning at 4:30 p.m. EDT and will also broadcast live on PRN and Sirius XM Satellite Radio.
Category: Pre-Race Reports
08/30/10
BACK-TO-BACK: This weekend Ron Hornaday looks to become the first back-to-back Truck Series winner at Kentucky Speedway. Hornaday already holds the title as the only Truck Series driver to have two wins (2006 and 2009) at the 1.5-mile speedway.
FROM THE POLE: Not only is Hornaday the only two-time Truck Series winner at Kentucky Speedway, he is also the only driver to ever win the race from the pole position. Last season Hornaday went on a winning spree, eventually winning five consecutive races throughout the 2009 season. Kentucky Speedway marked his third consecutive win in 2009, previously recording wins at The Milwaukee (Wisc.) Mile and Memphis (Tenn.) Motorsports Park. Hornaday led only 29 laps of the 200-lap event on his way to the win.
NOT THE ONLY WINNER: Hornaday is not the only KHI driver to win a race at Kentucky Speedway. Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) co-owner Kevin Harvick won the inaugural Nationwide Series event at Kentucky Speedway in 2001. Later that season, Harvick went on to claim his first of two Nationwide Series championships (2006 and 2001).
CHAMPIONSHIP IMPLICATION: Out of the 10 Truck Series events held at Kentucky Speedway, the winner has gone on to become the champion five times.
Year Kentucky Race Winner Champion
2000 Greg Biffle Greg Biffle
2001 Scott Riggs Jack Sprague
2002 Mike Bliss Mike Bliss
2003 Carl Edwards Travis Kvapil
2004 Bobby Hamilton Bobby Hamilton
2005 Dennis Setzer Ted Musgrave
2006 Ron Hornaday Todd Bodine
2007 Mike Skinner Ron Hornaday
2008 Johnny Benson Johnny Benson
2009 Ron Hornaday Ron Hornaday
Notes from the Professor: Quotes from Ron Hornaday:
WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO WIN AT KENTUCKY SPEEDWAY?
“It takes having a truck that can run on any line on the track. It also takes having the caution flags fall your way and having a team who can make good pit calls. The past few weeks the No. 33 team has really started to gel. My crew chief Kevin Buskirk and I are still learning each other, but we’re learning more each week. We have had solid finishes at the 1.5-mile tracks this year and we are bringing the same truck we ran last week at Chicago, which is a really good piece. I’m looking forward to going back to Kentucky. We had a surprising win there last year, I had never really run too well there, even though I had one win, it had never been a track where I was very successful. Everything went our way last year and I’m hoping for the same result this year.”
CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 33 E-Z-GO team will take chassis No.048 to Kentucky Speedway. Chassis No. 048 last hit the track at Chicagoland Speedway last week where Hornaday earned his third consecutive third-place finish.
PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: Hornaday and the No. 33 team earned their third consecutive third-place finish last weekend at Chicagoland Speedway. Hornaday led a total of nine laps but was unable to hold off Kyle Busch and Todd Bodine for the win. The run marked Hornaday’s ninth top-five finish of 2010.
HOLLYWOOD BOUND: Hollywood Casino and its newly-formed night club, Boogie Nights, will serve as associate sponsors on the No. 2 and No. 33 KHI Chevrolet Silverados at Kentucky Speedway, becoming the Official Hotel of Kevin Harvick. Inc. this weekend. The world-class hotel offers comfort, style, convenience and entertainment, while the casino offers live 24/7 poker, slots, video multi-games and a wide variety of table games such as craps, roulette, mini-baccarat and Caribbean stud. Boogie Nights, which is located inside Hollywood Casino, is a ‘70s and ‘80s dance club open Thursday Friday and Saturday nights. The club cover charge is $10 and many special packages are available offering VIP treatment, bottle service, private booths, drink packages and more. For more information, visit the Hollywood Casino website, www.hollywoodindiana.com, or http://twitter.com/HollywoodIND.
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 Stroupe at KHI: jstroupe@kevinharvickinc.com.
About E-Z-GO
E-Z-GO, a Textron Inc. company, is a leading manufacturer of golf cars, utility and personal transportation vehicles. Products sold under the E-Z-GO brand include RXV® and TXT® fleet golf cars, Freedom® RXV and Freedom TXT personal golf cars, ST personal utility vehicles, Shuttle personnel carriers, and MPT turf-maintenance vehicles. E-Z-GO also produces the Cushman® line of heavy-duty material carriers.
E-Z-GO is the preferred golf car fleet provider for many of the world’s most revered golf courses, clubs and resorts. E-Z-GO is also the golf car of choice of nine of the nation’s ten largest course-management companies. E-Z-GO boasts the largest sales and service network in the industry, with more factory branch locations and independent distributors than any other manufacturer of golf cars and utility vehicles.
Founded in 1954 in Augusta, Ga., E-Z-GO became part of Textron Inc. in 1960.
About Textron
Textron Inc. is a multi-industry company that leverages its global network of aircraft, defense, industrial and finance businesses to provide customers with innovative solutions and services. Textron in known around the world for its powerful brands such as Bell Helicopter, Cessna Aircraft Company, Jacobsen, Kautex, Lycoming, E-Z-GO, Greenlee, and Textron Systems. More information is available at www.textron.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.
QUICK NOTES
Race Info:
September 3, 2010
Kentucky Speedway
Built Ford Tough 225 presented by the Greater Cincinnati Ford Dealers
Truck Specs:
Chassis: 048
Engine: Earnhardt-Childress Racing (ECR)
Track Layout:
1.5-mile D-shaped oval
Race length: 150 Laps/225 Miles
Banking/Turns: 14-degree turns; 8-degree front straight-a-way; 4-degree back straight-a-way
Weekend Schedule
Thursday:
Practice: 4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m., EST
Final Practice: 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m., EST
Friday:
Qualifying: 4:05 p.m., EST
TV: The Built Ford Tough 225 can be seen live on SPEED beginning Saturday at 7:30 p.m., EST.
Radio: The Motor Racing Network (MRN) will broadcast the race live at 7:45 p.m., EST.
Ron Hornaday
NASCAR Truck Series Statistics at
Kentucky Speedway
Starts: 5
Wins: 2 (2006, 2009)
Poles: 1 (2009)
Top Five’s: 2
Top 10’s: 4
Laps Led: 76
Average Start: 11.8
Average Finish: 7.2
Category:
08/30/10
DOMINATING RETURN: After a dominating performance in last year’s Nationwide Series race, Kevin Harvick returns to Atlanta Motor Speedway in the No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet looking to repeat his win and add another Atlanta victory to his résumé.
Harvick led a race-high 131 laps in last year’s event, dominating the competition as he won his second-career race at the 1.5-mile track. The only other win Harvick had at the Atlanta track was his first-career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win in 2001.
In eight starts at the track, Harvick has one win, three top-five and five top-10 finishes. His three top-five finishes have in fact been top-two finishes over his last three appearances where Harvick scored two runner-up finishes in 2008 and 2007 before sealing the deal in 2009 with his first-career win at the track in the Series. He has led 136 laps, 131 of those coming during last year’s victory. In addition, his average starting position is 8.9, his average finish is 10.2 and he has completed 94.3 percent of laps attempted (1509 of 1600 laps).
On the Cup side, Harvick will be making his 20th-career start at Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend. In his 19 previous starts at the track in the Cup Series, he has one win, four top-five and six top-10 finishes. He has led 136 laps and completed 97.4 percent of laps attempted (5966 of 6123 laps).
In the Truck Series, Harvick has two starts at the track with a second place-finish in 2009 followed by a dominating win earlier this year where he scored his first-career Truck Series win at the track. With his win, Harvick added 100 laps led to the 68 laps he led in 2009 for a total of 168 laps led at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Harvick has an average start of 3.5, an average finish of 1.5 and has completed 100 percent of laps attempted (260 of 260 laps).
COMPLETING THE TRIFECTA: With his dominating win earlier this season in the Truck Series, Harvick has now completed the trifecta at Atlanta Motor Speedway. He recorded wins at the track in all three of NASCAR’s elite Series, starting in 2001 with his first-career Cup Series win, followed in 2009 with his first Nationwide Series win at the track and this year with his Truck Series victory. The only other track where Harvick has accomplished this feat is Phoenix International Raceway, where he was the first driver to win in all three of the series at the one-mile track. Harvick won his first-career Truck Series race at Phoenix in 2002, followed by a sweep of the Nationwide and Cup Series races in 2006.
BEFORE THE RACE: QUOTES WITH DRIVER KEVIN HARVICK:
As the defending winner of the Nationwide Series race and after a dominating performance in the Truck Series race earlier this season, talk about the confidence that you have returning to Atlanta. “Atlanta has been a really good track for us and it seems like we have a really good base set-up, the only difference is the tires. You have that added variable in there because you don’t know how the Nationwide car is going to react. We ran good with the same stuff in the trucks, so hopefully going back it’s still a race track that works good for us and our confidence is really high.”
What makes Atlanta such a good track for you? What about it fits your driving style? “I just like the fact that the car slides around a lot and you have to move around the race track and really search for somewhere to find more grip in order to make the car drive well and still be able to make fast lap times hunting for places to find grip.”
Winning the Truck race earlier this season at Atlanta made this the second track where you have won in all three series, with Phoenix being the first place you achieved this accomplishment. Talk about the significance of this and what it means to you. “I think that it is pretty cool. Anytime you can win in any of the top-three series, it makes for a lot of fun, let alone win in all of them at one track. I know there are a lot of race tracks where we have won in a couple of races in a couple of different divisions, but not in the Truck divisions. Hopefully we can knock a few more of those off, but Atlanta has been pretty successful for us.”
With your success at Atlanta Motor Speedway, describe the perfect lap around the 1.5-mile track. “It all depends on what lap you are on with the tires. The first lap is usually the perfect lap on the tires just because you have so much more grip than on the second, third, fourth, fifth laps, but Atlanta is just very fast and we seem to want to be right around the bottom. You use a lot of throttle, there’s a lot of corner speed and the car has to work good over the bumps.”
CHASSIS HISTORY: This weekend the No. 33 Rheem team will unload chassis No. 061 for Harvick at Atlanta Motor Speedway. This chassis made its race debut earlier this season at Chicagoland Speedway where Harvick earned his 21st career pole and finished the race seventh.
PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: In one of the closest finishes in NASCAR Nationwide Series history, Max Papis earned his career-best NASCAR finish in the No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet as he crossed the finish line at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Canada inches behind Boris Said. Officially, Said edged Papis by 0.012 seconds, making it the closest road-course finish and fifth closest finish in the NASCAR Nationwide Series history.
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
September 4, 2010
Atlanta Motor Speedway
Great Clips 300
Race length: 195 laps/300.3 miles
Banking: 24-degrees in the turns
5-degrees on the straight-a-ways
Track layout: 1.54 miles
Shape: Quad-Oval
Pre-Race Schedule:
Saturday:
First Practice: 8:00 a.m., ET – 9:00 a.m., ET
Final Practice: 9:30 a.m., ET – 10:50 a.m., ET
Qualifying: 2:40 p.m., ET
TV: The Great Clips 300 can be seen live on ESPN2 at 6:30 p.m., ET.
Radio: The Performance Racing Network (PRN) will broadcast the race live at 6:30 p.m., ET.
No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet Specs:
Chassis: 061
Engine: Earnhardt-Childress Racing (ECR)
Kevin Harvick
Nationwide Stats at Atlanta
Year No. Team Start Finish
2009 33 KHI 2 1
2008 33 KHI 6 2
2007 21 RCR 12 2
2006 33 KHI 30 11
2004 29 RCR 3 15
2003 21 RCR 2 9
2001 2 RCR 2 8
2000 2 RCR 14 34
*KHI: Kevin Harvick Inc.
*RCR: Richard Childress Racing
Category:
08/30/10
BACK TO BACK: Shelby Howard will be behind the wheel of the No. 2 Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) entry for the second week in a row, making his third and final start of 2010 in the Foretravel Motorcoach Chevrolet Silverado. In his two previous starts, Howard earned an 11th-place finish at O’Reilly (Ind.) Raceway Park at Indianapolis, and a 31st-place finish after engine failure at Chicagoland Speedway.
CARBON COPY: Howard hopes for vindication at Kentucky Speedway after his strong start but disappointing finish at Chicagoland. Howard can expect a very similar racetrack at Kentucky Speedway to what he experienced at Chicagoland Speedway last weekend, because the two intermediate-track races have very similar characteristics. Both tracks are 1.5-mile speedways, and both races will run 225 scheduled miles. Kentucky is a slightly flatter track, with 14-degree turns and eight to 14-degree straightaways, as opposed to Chicagoland’s 18-degree turns and five to 11-degree straights. Howard will also return with the same truck he raced last weekend at the Joliet, Illinois track.
LOOKING FOR 28: Throughout the Truck Series’ 16-year history, the No. 2 has visited victory lane 27 times, seven of which were KHI. wins. Howard hopes to earn win number 28 this weekend at Kentucky Speedway. Ten different Truck Series drivers have driven the No. 2 to victory, with three different drivers piloting the number to the win at KHI. Co-owner Kevin Harvick has the most KHI wins in the No. 2 with five, and Elliott Sadler and Ryan Newman each have one win.
HOLLYWOOD BOUND: Hollywood Casino and its newly-formed night club, Boogie Nights, will serve as associate sponsors on the No. 2 and No. 33 KHI Chevrolet Silverados at Kentucky Speedway, becoming the Official Hotel of Kevin Harvick. Inc. this weekend. The world-class hotel offers comfort, style, convenience and entertainment, while the casino offers live 24/7 poker, slots, video multi-games and a wide variety of table games such as craps, roulette, mini-baccarat and Caribbean stud. Boogie Nights, which is located inside Hollywood Casino, is a ‘70s and ‘80s dance club open Thursday Friday and Saturday nights. The club cover charge is $10 and many special packages are available offering VIP treatment, bottle service, private booths, drink packages and more. For more information, visit the Hollywood Casino website, www.hollywoodindiana.com, or http://twitter.com/HollywoodIND.
THOUGHTS FROM THE DRIVER: Shelby Howard
What are your thoughts going into the race at Kentucky Speedway?
“I’m really looking forward to getting back on track at Kentucky Speedway, since we had such a disappointing race at Chicagoland Speedway. That was probably the best truck I’ve ever had on a mile-and-a-half track, and I know we would have had a top-10 if we hadn’t blown up. We’re bringing the same truck to Kentucky, so hopefully we can get the finish we should have had in Chicago.”
PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: After qualifying in the sixth position for the EnjoyIllinois.com 225, Shelby Howard and the No. 2 team were relegated to a 31st-place finish last weekend at Chicagoland Speedway as a result of a catastrophic engine failure 28 laps into the 150-lap race. Howard was running fifth when the engine expired.
CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 2 team will once again utilize chassis No. 044 this weekend at Kentucky Speedway. The No. 044 chassis was driven by Howard last weekend at Chicagoland Speedway to a 31st-place finish following an engine failure.
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.
Race Info:
September 3, 2010
Kentucky Speedway
Built Ford Tough 225
150 Laps/225 Miles
Track Layout:
1.5-Mile D-Shaped Oval
Turns: 14-degree banking
Frontstretch: 8-degree banking
Backstretch: 4-degree banking
Truck Specs:
Chassis: No. 044
Engine: Earnhardt-Childress Racing (ECR)
WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Thursday:
Practice: 4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. ET
Final Practice: 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. EST
Friday:
Qualifying: 4:05 p.m. EST
Race: 8:00 p.m. EST
TV: SPEED will broadcast live at 8:30 p.m. EST
Radio: The Motor Racing Network (MRN) will broadcast live at 7:45 p.m. EST
Shelby Howard
Nationwide Series Statistics at
Kentucky Speedway:
Starts: 3
Wins: 0
Poles: 0
Top 5: 0
Top 10: 0
Laps Led: 0
Average Start: 22.0
Average Finish: 23.3
Shelby Howard
Truck Series Statistics at
Kentucky Speedway:
Starts: 1
Wins: 0
Poles: 0
Top 5: 0
Top 10: 0
Laps Led: 0
Average Start: 29.0
Average Finish: 36.0
Category:
08/29/10
MONTREAL, Canada (August 30, 2010) — Max Papis went to Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on a mission to win his first NASCAR event and in an exciting finish and one of the closest in Nationwide Series history, he came inches away from achieving his goal as he finished second in the No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet. Papis crossed the finish line only 0.012 seconds behind winner Boris Said to claim the closest finish on a road course and the fifth-closest finish in the NASCAR Nationwide Series history.
“It was an honor to drive for Kevin and DeLana (Harvick) and I am really proud of where we finished,” said Papis after climbing from his Rheem Chevrolet. “The car was really fast and it came down to the last corner. This was a great opportunity and the best shot that I have had to win a NASCAR race. I’m very proud of how we ran all day.”
Starting the NAPA Auto Parts 200 from the ninth position, Papis patiently took care of the car as he made his way toward the front of the field. He immediately went in to conservation mode to save fuel and the car’s brakes, knowing these two components would play a major factor at the end of the event. With several quick cautions early in the race, Papis was able to relay to the team that the car had “good forward bite off the corners, but was a little tight.”
After several quick cautions, a multi-car accident on lap 11 brought out the first long caution of the race with Papis in the seventh position. Opting to stay out on the track for position while several lead lap cars decided to pit for tires and fuel, Papis restarted the race on lap 17 from fourth place.
Moving into the third spot on lap 18, Papis was again slowed on lap 20 when the caution flag waved for a single-car incident. Within the pit window for the first stop of the day, Papis brought the No. 33 car down pit road for four tires, fuel and no adjustments. Papis restarted the race 16th on lap 24 with varying pit strategies taking place in front of the team.
Again, Papis immediately began to save fuel and the car’s brakes, slowly making his way back through the field. Papis took over 10th on lap 27 and was running sixth on lap 37 when contact with the No. 20 car spun Papis in the hairpin turn. Recovering from the spin, Papis got the No. 33 going in the right direction and only fell to 12th. Refocusing, Papis retook 10th on lap 40 and was running seventh on lap 44 when the leaders began making green-flag pit stops.
As green-flag pit stops continued through the field, Papis took over the lead on lap 47 before pitting on lap 48 for four tires and fuel. With their final stop of the day complete, Papis returned to the track in the seventh spot as crew chief Ernie Cope radioed Papis that the team was “done pitting and the rest was all him.”
With concern that the lead lap cars could not make it on fuel, Papis continued to make his way to the leaders, taking over fourth on lap 59. The caution waved on lap 65 with Papis in the fourth position. Sticking with their plan, the team opted to stay on track. The race restarted on lap 68 with Papis in second behind Robbie Gordon. Papis made a move to go for the lead, but made contact with the lead cars sending him off the course into the grass. Papis managed to only lose one position, as the caution waved. A few laps later another on-track incident brought the caution out again on lap 72 for a multi-car accident placing the race under red flag conditions for clean up. Following the short delay NASCAR was forced into a green-white-checkered finish. The race restarted on lap 75 with Papis in the third position. As leader Gordon ran out of fuel, Papis and new race leader Boris Said battled door-to-door for the lead. Crossing the finish line side-by-side, Said took the advantage by .012 seconds as Papis earned his career-best NASCAR finish of second. Canadian Jacques Villeneuve finished third followed by Brad Keselowski and Paul Menard.
STATS RECAP
August 29, 2010
Circuit Gilles Villeneuve
NAPA Auto Parts 200
Race: 25 of 35
Driver: Max Papis
Started: 9th
Finished: 2nd
Owner’s Point Standings: 4th (+/- 0 spot, 320 points out of 1st)
Race length: 74 laps/200.466 miles
Turns: 15
Track layout: 2.709 miles
Shape: Road Course
Number of Laps Led: One Time for 1 Lap
Number of Race Cautions: 7 for 19 Laps
Red Flag: One Time for 12 minutes and 59 seconds
First Practice: 6th (101.408 seconds; 96.170 mph)
Final Practice: 1st (101.764 seconds; 96.785 mph)
Qualifying: 9th (101.470 seconds; 96.111 mph)
Next on the Nationwide Series Schedule:
Date: September 4, 2010
Track: Atlanta Motor Speedway
Event Name: Great Clips 300
Driver: Kevin Harvick
Sponsor: Rheem Chevrolet
Broadcast Time: 6:30 p.m., ET on ESPN2 and 6:30 p.m., ET on PRN Radio