Race 2 Win: Circuit City 250 - Kevin Harvick Notes

NASCAR Busch Series

Circuit City 250 - Kevin Harvick Notes

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

Event/Date: Circuit City 250 – May 5, 2006
Venue: Richmond (Va.) International Raceway

NOTES:

This Week’s Race Car at Richmond International Raceway … Kevin Harvick will pilot Chassis No. 046 from the Richard Childress Racing (RCR) stable, rebuilt for the 2006 season. This is the same car that Harvick drove to victory lane at Phoenix International Raceway.

Stat Facts … In 10 Busch Series starts at Richmond International Raceway, Harvick has posted one pole, two wins, six top-five and seven top-10 finishes. The Bakersfield, Calif., native also has been running at the finish of each of his 10 Busch races at RIR.

Repeat Winner … Harvick is the only driver to win more than one race in 2006. He also snapped 10-race streak of different NASCAR Busch Series winners (starting in Phoenix, 11/05)

Leading the Way … With Harvick’s second-place finish at Talladega, he has five consecutive top 10 finishes. He leads the field in top-five finishes with six, top-10 finishes with nine and most races led with six.

Biggest Points Lead … Harvick’s 299 point lead over second place Clint Bowyer is the biggest points lead in the NASCAR Busch Series since 2001 when Harvick had a 307 point lead over Jason Keller after race 27 at Dover.

Laps Led/Laps Completed … Harvick has completed 2,502 of 2,506 laps (99.8%) in 10 Busch starts at RIR and has led 294 laps.

Good Start, Better Finish … Harvick has an average start of 15.2, and an average finish of 4.4 in the NASCAR Busch Series this season.

Did you Know … “Happy” Harvick has led 4,245 laps in NASCAR Busch Series competition, ranking him third all-time for total laps led.

Double Duty for Happy … In addition to his driving duties with the No. 21 U.S. Coast Guard Chevy, Harvick, a six-time race winner in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series, will drive RCR’S No. 29 GM Goodwrench Chevrolet in the Crown Royal 300 Saturday, May 6. The race will air live on FX beginning at 7 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT).

Media Alert … Richard Childress Racing has scheduled a press conference Friday, May 5 at 2:45 p.m. EDT in the media center at Richmond International Raceway.

RCR at Richmond … In 28 previous Busch Series races at Richmond, RCR has posted two wins (Harvick 2003 and 2005), one pole (Harvick 2003), eight top-five and 11 top-10 finishes. RCR cars have also led 396 laps at Richmond International Raceway.

Coast Guard … April 7, 2006 marked the 100th occasion an asset from the Helicopter Interdiction Squadron (HITRON) has been involved in a successful seizure of illegal narcotics. Since its inception in 2000, HITRON has assisted seizing over 260 thousand pounds of illegal narcotics, with and estimated street value of $8 Billion dollars. The Coast Guard’s Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron is America’s first, and only airborne law enforcement unit trained and authorized to employ airborne use of force.

Up to Speed … The Circuit City 250 at Richmond International Raceway will be televised live Friday, May 5 beginning at 7:30 p.m. EDT on FX. The Motor Racing Network (MRN) and XM Satellite will also carry the race broadcast live. Qualifying for the Circuit City 250 will air live on SPEED Friday, May 5 beginning at 4 p.m. EDT.

KEVIN HARVICK QUOTES:

Do you enjoy racing at Richmond International Raceway?
“Yes, I enjoy Richmond. It has the speed of a faster track. The new pavement has spread the grooves out and you can run three and four lanes up the race track. It is a pretty cool track to race on. With tire pressures being mandated at what it is, it makes it hard to make the car handle after about 25 or 30 laps because the right front tire gets so much air in it. Cool track to race on.”

Do you feel more comfortable racing at Richmond now that you had the opportunity to test there?
“I would rather not test anywhere. It is where now you get short track, you get some mile-and-a-half stuff, and then we get Daytona. So you get to go through a lot of things. Tests are way too long, 12 hour a day. It is as hard on the crew guys as much as anything, but we probably learned two or three things through the 24 hours of testing. Learned a lot of what not to do, so you take the couple things you did learn and go forward.”

How do you approach Richmond International Raceway? Is it a short track or a speedway?
“It really is a little of both. But I think you have to go in with the short track mindset. There is more contact at Richmond than you have at a bigger track. I think sometimes drivers use the short track as an excuse to beat and bang, but as tight as the racing is there, it’s hard to not have incidental contact.”