Race 2 Win: Sprint Cup Series Race Notes

Sprint Cup Series

Subway Fresh Fit 500 - Kevin Harvick Notes

Kevin Harvick
No. 29 Reese’s Chevrolet Impala SS
Event Preview Fact Sheet

Event/Date: Subway Fresh Fit 500 – April 12, 2008
Venue: Phoenix International Raceway – Avondale, Ariz.

NOTES:

This Week’s Race Car at Phoenix International Raceway … Kevin Harvick will pilot Chassis No. 223 from the Richard Childress Racing (RCR) stable. This is the same Reese’s Chevrolet Impala SS Harvick drove to a 10th-place finish last October in Martinsville Speedway and a sixth-place finish in November at Phoenix International Raceway (PIR). Since then, this Reese’s Chevrolet has been outfitted with all the 2008 updates.

Harvick in the Loop at Phoenix

Phoenix Facts … In 10 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at PIR, Harvick has two wins and three top-five and five top-10 finishes. Additionally, the 32-year-old driver has a 15.7 starting average and a 13.2 finishing average. He has completed all but 17 laps in those 10 races and has led 316.

Driver Rating … Harvick is ranked second in NASCAR’s Driver Rating category (110.3) 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. 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 second in NASCAR’s Average Running Position category (10th) at PIR. Additionally, he has the second most laps in the top 15 (1,669) at the one-mile desert track.

Points Check … Harvick maintained the second spot in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings after his 11th-place finish last weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. Harvick’s RCR teammate and points leader, Jeff Burton, has a 59 point advantage over the Bakersfield, Calif., native.

Keep on Rolling … Harvick has not recorded a DNF (did not finish) in 51 consecutive races, which is the longest active streak. Additionally, the 2007 Daytona 500 winner holds the modern era record with 58 consecutive races without a DNF (10/3/2002-8/1/2004).

Change Of Scenery … Reese’s, a major associate sponsor of RCR’s No. 29 Chevrolet Impala SS, kicks into high gear this weekend in Phoenix as Harvick and the No. 29 team transform their bright yellow-and-red Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet into a bright orange Reese’s racing machine for the Subway Fresh Fit 500. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are peanut butter-filled chocolate cups. They were created in 1928 by H.B. Reese, a former dairy farmer and foreman for Milton S. Hershey. The H.B. Reese Candy Co., established in the basement of Reese’s house in Hershey, Pa., went on to merge with The Hershey Company in 1963 due to the popularity of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Today, Reese’s has become the No. 1 selling candy bar in the United States and the Reese’s brand is the most successful brand owned by The Hershey Company.

Did You Know … Phoenix is the site of Harvick’s first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series win. The win came in his 75th start where he started third and led 77 of the 152 laps of competition.

The Hat Trick … After Harvick won the NASCAR Sprint 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 Nationwide Series race at Phoenix and carried over the momentum into the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event to complete the weekend sweep. Additionally, Harvick won NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races at PIR in 2002 and 2003.

Help Chevy Help Autism … During April – Autism Awareness Month – people who go to the Autism Speaks website (www.autismspeaks.org ), can click on the “Help Chevy Help Autism” icon and take a free virtual test drive of the 2008 North American Car of the Year – the all-new Chevy Malibu. Chevrolet has committed to a minimum contribution of $500,000, but every virtual test drive taken gets Chevrolet closer to its goal of donating up to $1 million to Autism Speaks to support its mission of increasing awareness of autism and raising money to fund autism research. Those who participate in the virtual test drive will be offered a free 30-day online trial of XM Satellite Radio.

RCR at PIR … In 48 races at Phoenix, RCR has earned three wins including Harvick’s sweep of both races at PIR in 2006. Prior to that, Dale Earnhardt won the Checker 500 on November 4, 1990. Additionally, RCR boasts 10 top-five and 20 top-10 finishes at the one-mile desert-oval.

Double Down in the Desert … In addition to his driving duties with the No. 29 Reese’s Chevrolet, Harvick, a 32-time race winner in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, will drive Kevin Harvick Incorporated’s No. 33 entry in the April 11 Bashas’ Supermarket 200. The race will air live on ESPN2 beginning at 9:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). The race will also broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network (MRN) and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the eighth of 35 races on the 2008 Nationwide Series calendar will air on SPEED the same day beginning at 5 p.m. EDT.

Up to Speed … Live coverage of the Subway Fresh Fit 500 will take the green flag Saturday, April 12 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 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule will be televised live on SPEED Thursday, April 10 at 7 p.m. EDT.

KEVIN HARVICK QUOTES:
You have won a couple of races at Phoenix. How much did the Impala change the racing there?
“The pace is a little bit slower. The cars fall off a little bit more. We had a good test there but I’m sure the weather will be different this weekend. However, the cars were a little bit faster than they were last year when we raced them at Phoenix. The races have been different there than they have been in the past. I think that will kind of come back as we get a better handle on the car every week.”

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 a lot 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 Reese’s Chevy this weekend.”

How do you feel about the start of the season? It’s not as spectacular as winning the Daytona 500, but it’s been a lot steadier than a year ago and you are in a better points position.
“Yeah, the only thing we did right at the beginning of last year was win the Daytona 500. This year we’ve been fortunate to run consistently week in and week out, and that’s what you have to do to win the championship. If we can keep running consistent and put ourselves in position to win every week we will have a chance at the championship at the end of the season.”