Race 2 Win: NEXTEL Cup Series Race Notes

Nextel Cup Series

Subway Fresh Fit 500 - Kevin Harvick Notes

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

Event/Date: Subway Fresh Fit 500 – April 21, 2007
Venue: Phoenix International Raceway – Avondale, Ariz.

NOTES:

This Week’s Race Car at Phoenix International Raceway … Kevin Harvick will pilot Chassis No. 190 from the Richard Childress Racing (RCR) stable. Built new this season, this is the same “Car of Tomorrow” Harvick raced to a fourth-place finish last month at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway (started 40th). The Bakersfield, Calif., native also finished 41st in this car after suffering from a fuel line problem two races ago at Martinsville Speedway (started sixth).

Harvick in the Loop at Phoenix

Phoenix Facts … In eight NEXTEL Cup starts at Phoenix International Raceway (PIR), Harvick has two wins and three top-five finishes. Additionally, the 31-year-old driver has a 14.4 starting average and a 14.5 finishing average. He has completed all but 16 laps in those eight races and has earned just over $1 million.

Driver Rating … Harvick is ranked first in NASCAR’s Driver Rating category (114.7) at PIR. 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.

Now that is Performance … “Happy” Harvick is also ranked first in NASCAR’s Average Running Position category (6.04) at PIR. Additionally, Harvick has the most laps in the top 15 (1,140) at the desert track.

The Hat Trick … After Harvick won the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series event in 2006, he became the first and only driver to win in all three of NASCAR’s top series at PIR. He won the spring Busch Series race at Phoenix and carried over the momentum into the NEXTEL cup event to complete the weekend sweep. Additionally, Harvick won NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races at PIR in 2002 and 2003.

RCR at PIR … In 42 races at Phoenix, RCR has earned three wins including Harvick’s sweep of both races at PIR last season. Prior to that, Dale Earnhardt won the Checker 500 on November 4, 1990. Additionally, RCR boasts 10 top-five and 17 top-10 finishes at the one-mile, desert-oval.

Champions Row … Harvick will be honored at PIR Thursday, April 19 at 3 p.m. with the unveiling of two giant 2006 champions banners on the back of the Bobby Allison Grandstands in turn two. Fans and media are welcome to attend. Images of the two banners are available upon request.

Four to Go … RCR has earned a NEXTEL Cup Series victory at 18 of the 22 tracks on the 2007 schedule. With Jeff Burton’s win last week at Texas Motor Speedway, the only tracks on the current schedule where RCR hasn’t earned wins are California Speedway, Homestead-Miami Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway. Additionally, RCR has NEXTEL Cup wins at 21 tracks, the three defunct tracks being North Wilkesboro, Riverside and Rockingham.

Operation Wax Smoke … Tony Stewart said on his Sirius satellite radio show, Tony Stewart Live, that if someone donated $100,000 to the Victory Junction Gang Camp, he would wax his chest and back. Harvick and his fans have taken the challenge and are in the process of raising the money. To date, Harvick and his fans have raised over $20,000 for Operation Wax Smoke. For more information or to make a donation please visit our website, www.kevinharvick.com, to find out how you can be a part of “Operation Wax Smoke.”

Double Down in the Desert … In addition to his driving duties with the No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet, Harvick, a 27-time race winner in the NASCAR Busch Series, will driver Kevin Harvick Incorporated’s No. 77 Dollar General Stores Chevrolet in the Bashas’ Supermarket 200 from PIR on Friday, April 20. The race will be televised on ESPN2 beginning at 9:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). The event will also be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network (MRN) and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the ninth race on the 2007 NASCAR Busch Series slate will be televised live on SPEED the same day at 5:30 p.m. EDT.

Up to Speed … Live coverage of the Subway Fresh Fit 500 will take the green flag Saturday, April 21 beginning at 8 p.m. EDT. The race will be televised live on FOX and broadcast worldwide on MRN and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the eighth of 36 points-paying races on the 2007 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup schedule will be televised live on SPEED Thursday, April 19 at 8 p.m. EDT.

KEVIN HARVICK QUOTES:
What is it about PIR that you like so much?
“Phoenix has been good to us over the years. We won both Cup races there last year. We also won a Busch race last year and finished second in the other. Phoenix is one of those places I grew up racing on and have a long history there. I have been fortunate to have had a lot of success there and look forward to going back and hopefully turning some of this bad luck (this season) into good luck.”

Does Phoenix fall into the same category as a short track like Martinsville or Richmond?
“I don’t really see Phoenix as a short track. Even though places like Phoenix and New Hampshire are only a mile, they both have lots of room to race. Phoenix is always a fun race track. There are always at least two lanes, and sometimes even more, to pass. I always seem to do well at Phoenix so I’m excited to see what we can do with the Shell-Pennzoil Chevy this weekend.”

How do you think the Impala SS will perform at Phoenix?
“It will be a lot different setup-wise than Martinsville and Bristol. Jeff (Burton) went out there to do the tire test and he said it drove better there than the car he raced there last year. I think people are making a bigger deal of it than they have to. Obviously, we will have some kinks to work out but I think it is the responsibility of the drivers and the teams to make the cars better and, in the end, it is safety first.”

What are the strengths of RCR as a whole now?
“It takes communication all the way around. I think Richard (Childress) made a lot of changes to keep up with the sport. He moved people around, got drivers and crew chiefs that get along. Performance-wise, obviously all three cars have been really good over the past couple of years. We have had a lot of bad luck the first part of this year but our performances have been good. We just have to ride the waves as they go up and down. Hopefully, we can get Clint (Bowyer) in to victory lane before too long. Everybody has run really well every week since last year. It is nice to be a part of something like this. I have been a part of this from the time we were on the bottom of being bad and top of being good. I am just proud to be an RCR driver.”