Race 2 Win: O'Reilly Challenge - Kevin Harvick Notes

NASCAR Busch Series

O'Reilly Challenge - Kevin Harvick Notes

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

Event/Date: O’Reilly Challenge – November 4, 2006
Venue: Texas Motor Speedway – Fort Worth, Texas

NOTES:

This Week’s Race Car at Texas Motor Speedway … Kevin Harvick will pilot Chassis No. 024 from the Richard Childress Racing (RCR) stable. This is the same Coast Guard Chevrolet Harvick drove to a second-place finish in September at California. This is also the same race car “Happy” drove to a win and a fourth-place finish last year at Phoenix International Raceway.

Stat Facts, Former Winner … In five Busch Series starts at Texas, Harvick has posted two wins, two top-five and five top-10 finishes. Additionally, the Bakersfield, Calif., native has completed all 922 laps of competition and has led 259 of those laps.

Owners’ Champion … Harvick’s win at Memphis (Tenn.) Motorsports Park clinched RCR’s third NASCAR Busch Series championship. Prior to this year, RCR won the owners’ titles in 2001 with Harvick and in 2003 with Harvick and Johnny Sauter.

25 and Counting … “Happy” Harvick has now collected 25 NASCAR Busch Series wins, placing him third on the all-time wins list. Harvick is chasing Jack Ingram who has 31 wins for second and Mark Martin who has 47 wins for first.

A Season of a Lifetime … Combining his NASCAR Busch Series and NEXTEL Cup Series statistics this season, Harvick has earned 12 wins, one pole, 33 top-five and 46 top-10 finishes. He is currently sixth in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings, 121points out of first. Two weeks ago at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, he clinched his second NASCAR Busch Series championship.

In the Record Books … Harvick, the defending race winner at Texas Motor Speedway, comes in with eight victories on the season, tied for second-most wins in a single season in series history. Sam Ard was the last to post eight wins, set in 1984. Ard holds the record of 10, set in 1983.

Racking ‘em up … Harvick’s win at Memphis last weekend extended his steak of consecutive top- 10 finishes to 15. During this period he has earned four wins and 12 top-five finishes.

Chasing History … Harvick, who will fall just short of the single-season record of 25 top-five finishes in a season, still has a chance to match and eclipse the series mark of 30 top 10s set by Ard in 1983. Harvick comes to Texas with 21 top-five and 29 top-10 finishes this season.

Up to Speed … The O’Reilly Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway will be televised live Saturday, November 4 beginning at 2 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) on TNT. The Motor Racing Network and XM Satellite Radio will also carry the race broadcast live. Qualifying for the O’Reilly Challenge will take the green flag Friday, November 3 beginning at 6:35 p.m. EST.

KEVIN HARVICK QUOTES:
You have won two of five Busch races at Texas, why so much success?
“Texas is a track that I’ve just found success at from the get go. My first start there in the Busch Series we had a top-10 finish and since then I have managed to pick up a couple of wins. I’m looking forward to returning to Texas and hopefully bring home another win for the Coast Guard team.”

What do you think about Juan Pablo Montoya’s run last weekend at Memphis? What do you think he will bring to the sport?
“I’d say they were probably very pleased with the fact that they made all the laps and did what they had to do to gain experience. He’s going to be good. He’s got really good car control and he wants to race really bad. They didn’t really like the way he raced in Formula One, but I think it will fit him just fine here. I think Juan can bring a whole new fan base to this sport and make it bigger than what it is today.”

Are Charlotte and Texas similar? Is Texas tougher to get around?
“The transitions up off the corners at Texas are a lot different than Charlotte. The banking comes out of the corners and it really flattens out as you exit the corners. It is really hard to get a hold of turn two. A lot of times you are either really loose up off turn two or you’re pushing the front-end really bad. It is a fine line to get your car to work great around the entire track.”