KEVIN HARVICK
Bakersfield’s Harvick ready for road course racing at Infineon
HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (June 20, 2006) – Bakersfield, Calif., native Kevin Harvick returns to his home state this week for Sunday’s running of the Dodge/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway, north of San Francisco, Calif. It marks the first of two road course events on the 2006 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series schedule. But, it will not be the first time in 2006 that Harvick has turned both left and right on a road course. Harvick was one of nine Cup Series drivers to race in the NASCAR Busch Series event in Mexico City, Mexico on March, 5, 2006. The No. 29 GM Goodwrench Chevrolet driver wheeled his No. 21 RCR Monte Carlo to a third place finish at the 2.518-mile Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez road course.
“I really enjoy road course racing. I grew up in Bakersfield, Calif., racing go karts on road courses so I enjoy doing it a couple times a year,” said Harvick. “Infineon is such an incredible road course. It has really good elevation changes and a nice combination of a tight course and high speed sections. It is one of the most challenging tracks I’ve raced on. We had engine failure there last year. We usually run well at Infineon, we just have to make sure we keep it running the whole race and we should be fine. I feel like we are a top-10 road race team.”
Harvick has one top-five and one top-10 finish in five Cup Series starts at the 1.99-mile road course coming from a third place finish in 2003. Harvick finished 37th last year after engine failure doomed his chances. Although Harvick hasn’t won a Cup Series race at Infineon Raceway yet, he has been a previous winner. Harvick’s first victory at Infineon came in 1998 on his way to his only NASCAR Winston West Series championship. Starting from the third position, he only led the last lap and won by .154-seconds. His last victory at Infineon came three years ago in the NASCAR Southwest Series race the Saturday prior to the Save Mart 350. Starting from the fourth position, the 1995 Southwest Series Rookie-of-the-Year took the lead on the first lap and cruised to a 3.938-second win over road course racing standout Boris Said.
“The biggest thing there is not tearing your car up,” added Harvick. “You have to take care of your transmission, take care of the rear-end gear, and don’t wheel hop it. The main thing is to finish. It’s hard to keep from getting your car torn up because the racetrack has turns and hills and it’s hard to pass. It’s hard to keep the fenders on your racecar. It’s like going to a short track race. They usually tear as much up at Sonoma as they do at Bristol (Motor Speedway) or anywhere else. It’s hard to run by yourself, let alone with 43 cars on it.”
Points of Interest…
Track Stat…Kevin Harvick has five Cup Series starts at Infineon Raceway. Of those five starts, he has compiled a record of one top-five and one top-10 finish and winnings totaling $523,782. He finished the 2003 event third and finished last year’s event in the 37th position.
Inside the Numbers … 9,376 – the number of miles Kevin will travel this weekend as he travels back and forth from his North Carolina home to Infineon Raceway and between Infineon Raceway and The Milwaukee Mile. 2,450 – the approximate number of gallons of jet fuel it will take to make the commute from Sonoma (Calif.) to Milwaukee (Wis.). 4,358 – the distance Harvick and RCR teammate Clint Bowyer will travel from Infineon Raceway to the Milwaukee Mile and back as they commute between the Dodge/Save Mart 350 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Infineon and the AT&T 250 at “America’s Legendary Oval.” 469 – the number of miles both drivers are expected to complete this weekend on the race track. Two – the number of races both drivers are slated for.
Parks Chevrolet...Kevin Harvick will be getting a personal behind the scenes view of a GM Goodwrench Service Center at Parks Chevrolet in Kernersville, N.C. on Wednesday, June 20th. Harvick will take the chance to get up close and personal with the Service Manager and GM Goodwrench technicians to see all the tools, technology, and talent it takes for GM Goodwrench Service Centers to keep their GM customers and cars at the highest of standards.
#29 Goodwrench Expertise Challenge…29 lucky fans will receive an all-new 2007 Chevy Avalanche if GM Goodwrench driver Kevin Harvick wins 2 of 12 selected NASCAR Nextel Cup races. GM Godwrench will also set up a $200,000 scholarship fund to encourage young men and women to pursue careers as automotive technicians after the two wins occur. Fans can join the challenge by visiting a Chevrolet dealership or a Chevy display at select NASCAR events to get a ticket with an official promotion code. They then visit goodwrench.com/expert, enter the promotion code and submit the registration form to receive a sweepstakes entry. They can also visit goodwrench.com/expert to get a promotion code and complete the registration process. The next Expertise Challenge race will take place at Chicagoland Speedway during the running of the USG Sheetrock 400 on July 9th.
Victory Lane Savings Promotion…GM Goodwrench driver Kevin Harvick gave all GM customers and NASCAR fans their first chance to cash in on a $10 rebate when he won the Subway Fresh 500 at Phoenix International Raceway on Saturday, April 22, 2006. Throughout the remainder of the 2006 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series season, anytime the No. 29 GM Goodwrench/Reese’s Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS is first past the checkers, the first 5,000 people who visit goodwrench.com starting at 3 a.m. EDT the Monday after the win can celebrate with a $10 mail-in rebate.
Runnin It...Harvick will be behind the wheel of chassis No. 144 this weekend at Infineon Raceway. This is the first race this year where this chassis will be used.
Chase for the NEXTEL Cup...Kevin Harvick maintained his eighth position in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings after Sunday’s rain shortened 10th place finish in the 3M Performance 400 at Michigan International Speedway. Harvick now sits 446 markers out of the lead.
Avg. Start/Avg. Finish...Kevin Harvick’s average starting position at Infineon Raceway is 14.2, with his best starting position of sixth coming in 2003. Harvick’s average finishing position is 16.0, with his best finish of third coming in 2003 as well.
Back in Silver and Black...Kevin Harvick is back behind the wheel of the silver and black No. 29 GM Goodwrench Chevrolet this weekend. The orange Reese’s colors will adorn the hood again at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday, July 1st for the Pepsi 400.
Did you know....GM Goodwrench offers convenient, efficient Goodwrench Multipoint Vehicle Inspections, comprehensive diagnostic testing and complete maintenance and service capabilities, just like a NASCAR race pit stop. GM Goodwrench is prepped to conveniently maintain and repair GM vehicles with a full line of products for one-stop service at over 7,000 GM dealership locations nationwide.
The Service Brand…GM Goodwrench is the service brand for GM vehicles – Chevrolet, Buick, Pontiac, GMC, HUMMER and Cadillac. With dealerships located nationwide, the GM Goodwrench network is one of the largest automotive service chains in the industry. GM Goodwrench technicians receive specialized training from General Motors to provide expert care for GM cars and trucks. Genuine GM replacement parts are manufactured to the same specifications of the GM vehicle. For more information, visit the GM Goodwrench web site at goodwrench.com .
Start time…On Sunday June 25th, the running of the Dodge/Save Mart 350 is set to begin at 3:00 p.m. EDT on FOX. If you can’t catch the race on TV, it can be heard on your local PRN Radio affiliate and XM Satellite Radio – Channel 144 starting at the same time. Remember to check your local listings as dates and times of the race may change.
No. 29 GM Goodwrench driver Kevin Harvick on Infineon Raceway…
How’s the mindset different between ovals and road courses?
“There’s a lot more to do. You have to shift, stop, shift, gas it and slide. The hardest handling characteristic is to get your car to get forward bite up off the corner because you are coming off a low gear and there are a lot of hills and off-camber corners. You have to try and hook your car up the best you can. You have to concentrate on getting the car into gear; just taking care of your stuff is the main thing. It’s kind of like trying to find a balance between taking care of your stuff and driving the heck out of it. It’s definitely different from our weekly routine.”
Are you glad this is your last double duty weekend taking place in two different states for a few weeks?
“It’s really not that bad with the way the schedules are laid out. As long as we get qualifying in and everything in Sonoma we should be fine. The only thing you can’t control is the weather and that would be tough for Milwaukee. That would be the hardest race where we’d have to start from scratch in and kind of depend on what we have done in the past. Hopefully Randy Lajoie can get the car set-up as close as I like it. We just have to make the best out of Milwaukee this weekend and hopefully get a top-10 and go on from there.”
