Race 2 Win: NEXTEL Cup Series Race Notes

Nextel Cup Series

Sharpie 500 - Kevin Harvick Notes

Kevin Harvick
No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet Impala SS
Event Preview Fact Sheet

Event/Date: Sharpie 500– August 25, 2007
Venue: Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway

NOTES:

This Week’s Race Car at Bristol Motor Speedway … Kevin Harvick will pilot Chassis No. 190 from the Richard Childress Racing (RCR) stable. Built new for 2007, this is the same Car of Tomorrow that Harvick raced at Bristol (St. 40, Fn. 4), Martinsville (St. 6, Fn. 41), Phoenix (St. 8, Fn. 8), Richmond (St. 27, Fn. 7), Darlington (St. 9, Fn. 17), Dover (St. 18, Fn. 20) and New Hampshire (St. 7, Fn. 8).

Harvick in the Loop …

Stat Facts … In 13 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series starts at NASCAR’s fastest half-mile, Harvick has one win, seven top-five and nine top-10 finishes. Additionally, “Happy” has led 358 laps and has a 10.1 average finishing position.

Top Rated Driver … Harvick has a Driver’s Rating of 102.5, placing him fourth among active drivers, at Bristol Motor Speedway. The Driver Rating is a formula that combines the following categories: wins, finishes, top-15 finishes, average running position while on the lead lap, average speed under green, fastest lap, most laps led and lead-lap finishes. The maximum points a driver can earn in each race is 150 points. The Driver Rating number is used pre-race as a prediction tool and post-race as a performance evaluator.

Green Flag Passes … Harvick has the second-most Green Flag Passes at Bristol. He has tallied 149 green-flag passes in the last three races at Bristol Motor Speedway.

RCR at Bristol … In 99 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Bristol, RCR boasts eight wins – seven with Dale Earnhardt and one with Kevin Harvick – three poles, 25 top-five and 45 top-10 finishes. Additionally, in 35 starts, RCR Busch Series teams have claimed five wins – four with Harvick and one with Jeff Green – 15 top-five and 20 top -10 finishes.

Bristol Sweep … Harvick captured his first NASCAR sweep in April 2005 at Bristol Motor Speedway, winning the Busch Series race and the NEXTEL Cup race in the same weekend. Since then, Harvick has added three more weekend sweeps to his resume (Phoenix International Raceway in April 2006, Richmond (Va.) International Raceway in September 2006 and Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway in February 2007).

Three to Go … The 11-time series winner currently sits 10th in the championship point standings with three races remaining in NASCAR’s “Race to the Chase.” The 12 Chase contenders will be determined once the checkered flag waves at Richmond International Raceway on Saturday, September 8. Over the same three races last season, Harvick had an average starting position of ninth coupled with an average finishing position of ninth.

Short-Track King … Harvick’s NASCAR NEXTEL Cup short track stats include four wins, 16 top-five and 29 top-10 finishes in 60 starts. That’s a victory in six percent of the NEXETEL Cup Series short track races he has entered, a top-five 26 percent of races and a top-10 in 48 percent of the races. He has also led 1,600 laps on tracks that are one mile or less.

Double Down at Bristol … In addition to his driving duties with the No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet, Harvick, a 31-time race winner in the NASCAR Busch Series, will drive Kevin Harvick Incorporated’s No. 33 Roadloans.com Chevrolet in the August 24 Food City 250. The race will air live on ESPN2 beginning at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) and can also be heard on the Performance Racing Network (PRN) and Sirius Satellite Radio.

Up to Speed … The Sharpie 500 from Bristol Motor Speedway will take the green flag Saturday, August 25 at 7 p.m. EDT and will be telecast live on ESPN. The event will also be broadcast live on PRN and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the 24th of 36 races on the 2006 NASCAR Cup Series tour will air live on ESPN2, PRN and Sirius Satellite Radio Friday, August 24 at 3 p.m. EDT.

KEVIN HARVICK QUOTES:
Why do you enjoy running at Bristol so much?
“Bristol is my favorite place to go. I enjoy the short track stuff and we’ve always been fortunate to run really well there. We go there with high expectations but you never know what’s going to happen. You can get caught up in a wreck in a hurry and have your day ended. You have to go to Bristol and enjoy it but know that the outcome could be the opposite of what you want it to be.”

What are your thoughts on the development on the Car of Tomorrow?
“I think as we go the handling of the car gets better and better. I think that’s a good thing. Everybody is starting to get a better understanding of which way you need to go with adjustments. We’ve raced the same car every race except for the road course events and we are really starting to get a handle on it. I also think, cost-wise, it is doing exactly what NASCAR wanted it to do.”