Harvick OnLine: Event Preview: Bristol

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

Event/Date: Food City 500 – March 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) sable. This Car of Tomorrow (COT) chassis tested at Bristol Motor Speedway on Feb. 28-March 1.

• Car of Today … The No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet Impala SS, NASCAR’s next-generation race car, makes its competition debut Sunday in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series’ Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. The culmination of a seven-year project by NASCAR’s Research & Development Center, the new car offers major safety enhancements along with performance and competition improvements and cost management for teams. The COT is being introduced on a multi-year schedule and will compete in 16 of this season’s 36 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series events.

Harvick in the Loop

- Stat Facts … In 12 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series starts at NASCAR’s fastest half-mile, Harvick has one win, six top-five and eight top-10 finishes. Additionally, “Happy” has led 349 laps and has a 10.6 average finishing position.
- Top Rated Driver … Harvick has a Driver’s Rating of 102.1, 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.
- Now that’s Quality … Strong performances by Harvick at Bristol Motor Speedway have definitely shown as Harvick is rated third in the quality passes category. Harvick has 61 quality passes in last year’s races at Bristol.

• Return of the Impala … After two years of conducting wind tunnel and track testing, developing scale models, submitting designs and collaborating with its teams, GM Racing is ready for the Impala SS debut this weekend at Bristol. The race will mark the first of 16 Car of Tomorrow races in 2007 as well as the return of Chevrolet's Impala nameplate to NASCAR competition. After introducing the Impala in 1957 (as a 1958 model) drivers immediately took to the car with Bob Welborn winning the 1959 Daytona 500. In 1960 Rex White won the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup championship and Ned Jarrett followed that up with a second consecutive NASCAR title for the Impala in 1961. Stock-car legend Junior Johnson also ran the famous white No. 3 Impala in 1963 collecting seven wins, 12 top fives, 13 top 10s and nine pole starts in 32 races.

• RCR at Bristol … In 96 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup starts at Bristol, RCR boasts eight wins – seven with Dale Earnhardt and one with Harvick – three poles, 23 top-five and 42 top-10 finishes. Additionally, in 32 starts, RCR Busch Series teams have claimed five wins – four with Harvick and one with Jeff Green – 15 top-five and 18 top-10 finishes.

• Short-Track King … Harvick’s NASCAR NEXTEL Cup short track stats include four wins, 15 top-five and 26 top-10 finishes in 55 starts. That’s a victory in eight percent of the NEXETEL Cup Series short track races he has entered, a top-five 28 percent of races and a top-10 in 48 percent of the races. He has also led 1,432 laps on tracks that are less than one mile.

• 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 International Raceway in September 2006 and Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway in February 2007).

• Testing, Testing … Harvick and the No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil team tested at Bristol Motor Speedway February 28-March 1 in preparation for the Food City 500. This test was the third of seven allowed under NASCAR’s 2007 testing policy. The remaining tests available to teams in NASCAR’s top division will be conducted at Richmond International Raceway (April 3-4), Lowe’s Motor Speedway (May 7-8), Dover International Speedway (May 14-15) and Talladega Superspeedway (Sept. 10-11).

• Meet the Driver … Harvick will appear at the Shell Experiential Unit Sunday, March 25 from 10-10:15 a.m. The Shell Experiential Unit will be located outside turn four off speedway property. Harvick will answer questions for his fans.

• More Double Duty … Harvick will also race Harvick Incorporated’s No. 33 Bounty Super Duty Shop Towels Chevrolet at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday, 24 in the Sharpie Mini 300 NASCAR Busch Series race. The race will be televised on ABC beginning at 2:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) and also broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network (PRN) and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying will air live on ESPN 2 Saturday morning beginning at 11 a.m. EDT.

• Up to Speed … The Food City 500 from Bristol Motor Speedway will take the green flag Sunday, March 25 at 1:30 p.m. EDT and will be telecast live on FOX. The event will also be broadcast live on PRN and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying will air live on SPEED, PRN and Sirius Friday, March 24 at 3:30 p.m. EDT.

KEVIN HARVICK QUOTES:

Why is Bristol one of your better tracks on the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup circuit?

“I grew up on a half-mile, high-banked racetrack. I know Bristol is a lot more banked but it’s kind of the same mindset for me driving around the track. It’s a very fast, high-banked concrete track. It’s short-track beating and banging and it’s a lot of fun. I seem to have a lot of success every time I go so I’m always excited to go back.”

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 there. 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.”

How is the concrete surface different from the typical pavement?

“When you are out on the racetrack, it’s almost like you are riding your bicycle on the sidewalk with the bumps so constant. It usually takes a toll on the body when you have to sit through that for 500 laps. It wears you out. Physically, it’s like running 500 qualifying laps, which is hard to do because you have to be up on it the wheel the whole time. That’s probably the biggest factor, having to concentrate for so long and not lose focus.”