Race 2 Win: Goody’s 250 - Kevin Harvick Notes

NASCAR Busch Series

Goody’s 250 - Kevin Harvick Notes

Kevin Harvick
No. 21 U.S. Coast Guard Chevrolet
Event Preview Fact Sheet

Event/Date: Goody’s 250 – July 22, 2006
Venue: Martinsville (Va.) Speedway

NOTES:

This Week’s Race Car at Martinsville Speedway … Kevin Harvick will pilot Chassis No. 058, a brand new race car from the Richard Childress Racing (RCR) stable.

Stat Facts … Harvick has never raced in a NASCAR Busch race at Martinsville Speedway. However, he has 10 starts behind the wheel of his NASCAR Nextel Cup machine. The Bakersfield, Calif., native has tallied three top-10 finishes and completed 97 percent of the total laps. He also has five NASCAR Craftsman trucks series starts, earning one top-five and two top-10 finishes.

Moving up the Charts … With five NASCAR Busch Series wins this season, Richard Childress has moved from seventh to third on the car owner career win list with 31 wins. Jack Roush has 70 and Teresa Earnhardt has 41.

Pinch Driver … Randy LaJoie will sub for Harvick this weekend at Martinsville Speedway for Friday’s practice sessions and qualifying. LaJoie is a two-time NASCAR Busch Series Champion (1996 and 1997). Additionally, he has tallied 15 wins, 62 top-five and 118 top-10 finishes in his career.

Chasing History … With his second-place finish at New Hampshire International Speedway, Harvick is now tied with Greg Biffle for 11th on the career top-five finishes list with 76. Tommy Houston leads this category with 123.

Testing, Testing … “Happy” Harvick and the No. 21 Coast Guard Team will participate in Thursday’s open practice session at Martinsville Speedway. NASCAR implemented this open test session since the NASCAR Busch Series has not race at Martinsville since 1994.

Model of Consistency … Harvick has been a model of consistency since taking over the NASCAR Busch Series points lead following the second race of the season. He is tied with Carl Edwards for the series lead in wins (three), has the most top fives (12) and top 10s (17) among all drivers after 20 races and has completed every lap this year. “Happy” has posted these numbers without the benefit of a Busch Pole.

Doin’ the Double … In addition to his driving duties with the No. 21 Coast Guard Chevrolet at Martinsville, Harvick, a six-time race winner in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, will drive the No. 29 GM Goodwrench Chevy on Sunday, July 23 in the Pennsylvania 500 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race. The race will be televised live on TNT beginning at 1:30 p.m. EDT and also broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network (MRN) and XM Satellite Radio. Harvick is currently eighth in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series championship battle.

Up to Speed … The Goody’s 250 at Martinsville Speedway will be televised live Saturday, July 22 beginning at 3:30 p.m. EDT on NBC. The Motor Racing Network (MRN) and XM Satellite Radio will also carry the race broadcast live. Qualifying for the 21st of 35 NASCAR Busch Series events will take the green flag at 12:05 p.m. EDT Saturday, July 22.

KEVIN HARVICK QUOTES:
This is the first time since 1994 that the Busch Series has raced at Martinsville. Do you think it is going to be tough since a lot of the race teams haven’t raced at Martinsville?
“Martinsville is one of the tracks the Busch Series took off the schedule a while back and we haven’t run here in years. I think it will be a good race for the series. I think most of the guys have probably raced their Late Models, trucks or Cup cars at Martinsville one time or another. We also have an open practice session on Thursday that should help everyone. Come race time, everyone should be used to the track.”

Martinsville is a tough track that is hard on both man and machine. How do you approach racing at Martinsville?
“Martinsville is one of those tracks where you can be good all day and have something go wrong at the end. You have to make the car roll through the tight corners and keeping the brakes on the car the entire race is very important. Avoiding wrecks is another key to a successful day at Martinsville. It’s a short track and things happen in a hurry. If we can stay out of trouble, I think we have as good a chance as anyone.”