Race 2 Win: Busch Series Race Notes

NASCAR Busch Series

Winn-Dixie 250 - Kevin Harvick Notes

Kevin Harvick
No. 21 AutoZone Chevrolet
Event Preview Fact Sheet

Event/Date: Winn Dixie 250 – July 6, 2007
Venue: Daytona International Speedway – Daytona Beach, Fla.

NOTES:

This Week’s Race Car at Daytona International Speedway … Kevin Harvick will pilot Chassis No. 064 from the Richard Childress Racing (RCR) stable. Built new for 2007, this is the same AutoZone Monte Carlo SS Harvick drove to Victory Lane during the Orbitz 300 at Daytona in February. Additionally, Harvick drove this chassis to a sixth-place finish at Talladega Superspeedway in April.

Stat Facts … In 10 NASCAR Busch Series starts at Daytona, Harvick has one pole, one win, nine top-five and 10 top-10 finishes. The 31-year-old driver has and impressive 12.6 starting average but and even more impressive 3.5 finishing average. He hasn’t finished worse than eighth at the 2.5-mile high-banked Daytona Beach oval and has completed all 1,147 laps of competition.

Pretty Good for a Part-Timer … In 13 NASCAR Busch Series starts this season, Harvick has tallied two poles, two wins, four top-five and 11 top-10 finishes. Despite having competed in just over half of the races in NASCAR’s junior division, the 2006 NASCAR Busch Series champion has led 246 laps and is third in driver’s points.

Vote for Kevin Harvick … Harvick has been nominated for two ESPY awards: “Best Finish” for his .02-second victory over Mark Martin in the Daytona 500, and “Best Driver.” Cast your vote at www.espn.com and help him win both categories. The ESPY Awards will be shown live on ESPN July 15 at 9 p.m. EDT. RCR Busch Cars at DIS … RCR has won two Busch Series races at Daytona International Speedway – one with Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2002) and most recently with Kevin Harvick at the Orbitz 300 in February. In 26 NBS starts at the 2.5 mile tri-oval, RCR has earned one pole (Harvick 2005), 16 top-five and 21 top-10 finishes. RCR cars have also led 240 laps at the “World Center of Racing.”

RCR Busch Brigade … In 18 Busch Series races this season, RCR has claimed six victories (Jeff Burton – 2, Clint Bowyer- 2 and Kevin Harvick –2). Additionally, all three RCR Busch teams (No. 2, No. 21 and No. 29) have a total of 20 top-five and 30 top-10 finishes while leading for a total of 891 laps.

Double Down … In addition to his driving duties with the No. 21 AutoZone Chevrolet, Harvick, an 11-time race winner in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series, will drive the No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevy on Saturday, July 7 in the Pepsi 400 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race. The race will be televised live on TNT beginning at 7 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). The race will also be covered live on the Motor Racing Network (MRN) and Sirius Satellite Radio. Harvick is currently eighth in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series championship battle.

Up to Speed … The Winn Dixie 250 from Daytona International Speedway will be televised live on ESPN 2 on Friday, July 6 beginning at 7:30 p.m. EDT and broadcast on MRN and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the 19th race on the 2007 NASCAR Busch Series schedule will be televised live on SPEED the same day beginning at 1 p.m. EDT.

KEVIN HARVICK QUOTES:
What is different at Daytona during the July races compared to the races in February?
“The track gets hot and slick during the races in July. The handling characteristics become magnified a lot more. We are shooting for a good-handling race car. We are willing to knock a little speed out of the car for it to handle better.”

Do you like restrictor plate racing? Is it more mental than physical?
“I have always really liked the bigger tracks. It’s way more mental than physical. You’re worn out by the end of the race. You spend a lot of time looking in the mirrors anticipating the other guy’s next move.”

How much a factor does the wind play at Daytona?
“The wind blows so hard here that it’s really hard to know if you’re gaining a half-a-tenth or a hundredth (of a second). That’s really what you’re looking for is hundredths. When the wind is blowing and you have to go back and decipher all the data, it makes it a little difficult to know for sure whether something’s right or wrong.”