Kevin Harvick
No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet
Event Preview Fact Sheet
Event/Date: Pep Boys Auto 500 – October 28, 2007
Venue: Atlanta Motor Speedway – Hampton, Ga.
NOTES:
This Week’s Race Car at Atlanta Motor Speedway … Kevin Harvick will pilot Chassis No. 151 from the Richard Childress Racing (RCR) stable. This No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet saw action two weeks ago at Lowe’s Motor Speedway where Harvick finished 33rd after suffering three flat tires over the course of the 500-mile event. This chassis also raced earlier this season in the Pocono 500 (St. 19, Fin. 11) and the Pennsylvania 500 (St. 23, Fin. 17). Additionally, this Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS saw action in the 2006 NASCAR All-Star Challenge where the Bakersfield, Calif., native started ninth and finished second.
Stat Facts … In 13 NASCAR Cup Series starts at NASCAR’s fastest track, Harvick has one win and two top-five finishes. Additionally, “Happy” has one top-five and three top-10 finishes in six NASCAR Busch Series starts at Atlanta Motor Speedway (AMS).
First Win … AMS was the site of Harvick’s first NASCAR Cup Series win. He claimed the win by .006 second over Jeff Gordon, the third-closest margin of victory at Atlanta, on March 11, 2001.
Points Check … Harvick jumped up to seventh in the NASCAR Cup point standings after his 10th-place finish last weekend at Martinsville Speedway. The 2007 Daytona 500 winner is 369 markers out of the lead and just 81 markers out of the fifth.
Keep on Rolling … Harvick has yet to record a DNF (did not finish) in 2007. He and fellow teammate Clint Bowyer are the only two Chase drivers to have finished every race this season. Harvick has been running at the end of every race dating back to Dover last September, a steak of 40 races.
RCR in the ATL … In 96 races at AMS, RCR has earned four poles and nine wins including Harvick’s emotional victory in the Cracker Barrel 500 on March 11, 2001. Prior to that, Dale Earnhardt won eight times at the ultra-fast Hampton, Ga., track. Additionally, RCR boasts 24 top-five and 40 top-10 finishes at AMS. Childress, a former driver on NASCAR’s senior circuit, recorded his best finish at Atlanta with a ninth-place effort in the Atlanta Journal 500 on Nov. 2, 1980.
Staying After School … Bowyer and the Shell-Pennzoil racing team will stay in Atlanta on Monday and Tuesday following the Pep Boys Auto 500 to participate in the final NASCAR Cup Series test of the year. The Atlanta test replaces the two-day Car of Tomorrow (COT) test that was originally scheduled for Dover International Speedway May 14-15.
Possible RCR History in the Making … With Jeff Burton’s Busch Series win two weeks ago at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, RCR’s Cup and Busch Series teams have collected 15 wins (Harvick – seven, Burton –five and Bowyer – three) so far this season. Last year, RCR collected a total of 17 wins. Prior to last season, RCR’s best record was 13 in 1995 when Dale Earnhardt had five wins in the NASCAR Cup Series and Mike Skinner had eight in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
Up to Speed … Live coverage of the Pep Boys Auto 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway will take the green flag Sunday, October 28 at 1 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) and will be telecast on ABC. The event will also be broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network (PRN) and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying for 33rd of 36 points-paying NASCAR Cup Series races will air live on ESPN2, PRN and Sirius Satellite Radio Friday, October 26 at 7 p.m. EDT.
KEVIN HARVICK QUOTES:
What do you remember about your win in 2001?
“The circumstances that we won the first race under… we won’t ever forget that moment just because of everything that went on. When I start thinking about it, it brings those same chills back that I got at that particular time of winning my first race. I know that I can’t do that again and that’s obviously because of the circumstances. Those are the kind of situations as professionals you dream about. You look for that opportunity to take those moments and try to capitalize on them.”
What kind of a track is Atlanta?
“Atlanta is fast, very fast. You can race all over the race track, from the white line to the wall, and still be competitive. You have to have the complete package to contend for the win there. Horsepower is always important. It’s a lot of fun to race on but very fast. I struggle with finding the right feel for me to be comfortable. It’s just something that I need to get better at and really focus on getting my car right.”
Since your first victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway, you have only recorded one other top-10 finish. Why do you struggle there?
“We’ve won in Atlanta so the performance is there. Maybe we used our luck up in the beginning but we have been good in past years, performance-wise, and I just got caught up in a wreck. So I think from a performance aspect, we should be fine. It’s just a matter of making all the right moves and having a whole day come together.”
With four races left in the Chase, what do you hope to accomplish in the remainder of the season?
“Everybody keeps talking about points racing and this and that, but we just go out there and race as hard as we can and get the best finishes possible. Anything less than that you’re disappointed with. So, for us, we’ve had a miserable Chase – not performance-based by any means. We were plagued with flat tires in Charlotte, Loudon and Dover. Those things, well, we just laugh about them now because there is nothing you can do about it. In the next four races we are going to go out and get the best finishes possible and finish as high as we can in the points.”
