Kevin Harvick
No. 33 Camping World Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS
Team Report
NASCAR Nationwide Series Race 3 of 35 – Las Vegas Motor Speedway

STATER BROS 300 RECAP: Following a wet and rainy weekend, the NASCAR Nationwide Series finally took to the track on Monday for the Stater Bros. 300 at the Auto Club Speedway of Southern California. With practice and qualifying rained out, the field was set by NASCAR rules allowing Kevin Harvick and the No. 33 RoadLoans Chevrolet to roll off in the sixth position. Harvick ran most of the race in the top 10, consistently running lap times comparative to the leaders. After 300 miles of Nationwide and 324 miles of Sprint Cup racing at the Auto Club Speedway, Harvick was able to score his career best finish in a Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) car, bringing the No. 33 RoadLoans.com Chevrolet home in the third position.

IMPRESSIVE VEGAS STATS: In seven previous NASCAR Nationwide Series starts at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Harvick has recorded one win, four top-five and five top-10 finishes and one pole. Harvick has led at least one lap in the last five races, amounting to 233 total laps led. In addition, he has finished all but one race (2000) on the lead lap and completed 1404 of 1406 (99.9%) possible laps.

CHASSIS HISTORY: For the second week in a row, KHI will debut a brand new chassis when the No. 33 Camping World Chevrolet hits the track. Similar to the chassis debuted at the Auto Club Speedway of Southern California, this chassis has only been on the track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for preseason testing. The Sam’s Club 300 will mark the first race for chassis No. 039.

45,000 AND COUNTING: Upon completing the first 100 miles of the Stater Bros. 300 at the Auto Club Speedway of Southern California, Harvick officially logged 45,000 miles in the Nationwide Series since his start in 1999.

COOKING UP FUN: Cale Gale, who shares the No. 33 Kevin Harvick Inc. Chevrolet with Kevin Harvick will be on hand in Las Vegas at the ESPN Zone for the Raybestos Rookie Cooking Challenge on Thursday, February 28, 2008. Gale will join fellow 2008 rookie contenders in a cooking class and then face off to prepare a meal learned in the class. The local Boys and Girls Club will judge the cook off before enjoying time with the drivers in the ESPN Zone’s interactive Sports Arena.

BEFORE THE RACE WITH DRIVER KEVIN HARVICK:
Your stats seem to speak for themselves in Las Vegas, with one win, four top-five and five top-10 finishes in seven starts. You were in Las Vegas for preseason testing, how was that test session? “Yes, Vegas we had a good test session when we were there. We had a little tire trouble, not everyone did, but we had some trouble on our cars. The corner speeds are so much faster than they used to be, 14 or 15 mph faster than the Cup cars through the center of the corner. As you make the run, the car gets a little tight and the track is a little rough so you have to do a few more things than you normally do. It was really cool when we tested, so I think as we return, depending on the weather, things could be dramatically different.”

Is the new spacer in the Nationwide Series cars to make sure they do not overshadow the new Cup car with faster speeds? “The Cup cars are actually faster on the straight-a-ways than the older cars. The Nationwide cars are faster in the corners, but I think the reason for the spacers was to save the owners some money and run the motors in a couple of races. So that was the intention of the rule, to lower the RPM and save everyone a little money.”

How dramatically different is the Nationwide car? “It feels like you gain speed going into the corners. The cars are so fast through the corners it feels like you go faster as you get into the corners than down the straight-a-ways. It’ll be interesting to see how things shake out and how the racing actually is. Qualifying will probably be really close. You will have a lot of moving and shaking as the race starts because the handling of the car still means something as you go through the runs because you are really close to wide open and you want to try to keep that through the run. The runs are a little shorter because of the smaller fuel cells, everyone is at the 18-gallon fuel cells now. A lot of things are different and it’s a lot of different things to take in in a short amount of time. The Cup cars are 14 m.p.h. slower in the corners and 14 m.p.h. faster on the straight-a-ways than the Nationwide cars, so it balances itself out.”

RACE PREP WITH CREW CHIEF WALLY ROGERS:
The chassis being used in Las Vegas is brand new with the exception of testing during the preseason. How do you think this car will be when you return this weekend? “We tested chassis No. 039 at Las Vegas earlier in the season and overall had a good test session and learned a lot of information, especially on the second day. When we return this weekend, it shouldn’t be as cold as it was during the test session which could ultimately be a factor.”

What is your goal heading to Las Vegas with Harvick behind the wheel? “Our goal is the same as it is each week, to go to each track, race competitively, finish in the top 10 and contend for wins. This week in Las Vegas will be no different, we will look to run good and gain momentum as we move forward through the season.”

QUICK NOTES
March 1, 2008
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Sam’s Town 300 Race length: 200 laps/300 miles
Banking: 20-degrees in the turns
9-degrees on the frontstretch
9-degrees on the backstretch
Track layout: 1.5 miles
Shape: D-shaped Oval

Pre-Race Schedule:
Friday:
Practice: 1:30-2:50 p.m., ET
Final Practice: 4:45-6:30 p.m., ET
Saturday:
Qualifying: 12:05 p.m., ET

TV: The Sam’s Town 300 can be seen live on ESPN2 at 4:00 p.m., ET.
Radio: The Motor Racing Network (MRN) will broadcast the race live at 4:00 p.m., ET.

No. 33 Camping World Chevrolet Monte Carlo Specs:
Chassis: 039
Engine: RCR