Harvick OnLine: Event Preview: Infineon

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

Event/Date: Toyota/Save Mart 350 – June 24, 2007
Venue: Infineon Raceway – Sonoma, Calif.

NOTES:

• This Week’s Race Car at Infineon Raceway … Kevin Harvick will pilot Chassis No. 211 from the Richard Childress Racing (RCR) stable. This is a new Shell-Pennzoil Chevy Impala SS.

• Made to Move … Harvick climbed one spot in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series point standings after his seventh-place finish at Michigan International Speedway. The 2007 Daytona 500 winner now sits in the eighth spot, 125 markers out of fifth and 598 points behind current leader Jeff Gordon.

• Stat Facts … In six NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series races at Infineon Raceway, Harvick has earned one top-five finish and has led one race for five laps. Additionally, the 11-time NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series winner has earned a 12.3 starting average and a 17.3 finishing average and has completed all but one lap at the wine country raceway.

• Twists and Turns … In 12 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series road course starts (Infineon Raceway and Watkins Glen International), the Bakersfield, Calif., native has one win (Watkins Glen 2006), three top-five and five top-10 finishes. The 2007 All-Star Challenge winner has also led 36 laps and has earned a 10.8 starting average and a 12.7 finishing average.

• Testing One, Two, Three, Testing … The Shell-Pennzoil team tested Chassis No. 211 at Virginia International Raceway (VIR) April 25th and June 5-6 in preparation for this weekend’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway.

• Throwing Him in the Deep End … RCR development driver Tim McCreadie will make his first NASCAR Busch Series start this weekend at The Milwaukee Mile behind the wheel of RCR’s No. 21 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS. McCreadie, 33, of Watertown, N.Y. has only three career asphalt starts to his credit and finished fourth in his ARCA Series debut last weekend Michigan International Speedway. Prior to last Friday, McCreadie finished 11th in his NASCAR West Series debut in April at Phoenix International Raceway and followed that up with a 10th-place run on May 20 at Iowa Speedway. McCreadie is the 2006 Chili Bowl Midget Nationals winner and the defending World of Outlaws Late Model Series Champion.

• RCR at Infineon … Richard Childress is tied for third on the Infineon Raceway all-time car owner win list. Dale Eanhardt won the 1995 Save Mart Supermakets 300 and Robby Gordon won the Dodge/Save Mart 350 in 2003. Additionally, in 34 starts at the 10-turn stadium course, RCR owns one pole, seven top-five and 14 top-10 finishes.

• Time Off … After competing in 12 of the season’s first 16 NASCAR Busch Series (NBS) races, Harvick will take a hiatus from Busch Series competition before returning to action in NASCAR’s junior division next weekend at New Hampshire International Speedway for the Camping World 200 presented by RVs.com. Despite missing four races this season, Harvick sits third in the NBS driver point standings.

• Up to Speed … Live coverage of the Toyota/Save Mart 350 begins Sunday, June 24 at 5 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on TNT. The race will also be broadcast on the Performance Racing Network (PRN) and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the 16th of 36 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series races will be televised live on SPEED Friday, June 22 at 7 p.m. EDT.

KEVIN HARVICK QUOTES:

Do you enjoying road course races?

“I really enjoy road course racing. I grew up in Bakersfield, Calif., racing go karts on road courses so I enjoy doing it a couple times a year. Infineon is such an incredible road course. It has really good elevation changes and nice combination of a tight course and high speed sections. It is one of the most challenging tracks I’ve raced on. We had engine failure there a couple of years ago and had some problems on pit road last season, so our finishes haven’t shown what we are capable of. We usually run well at Infineon, we just have to make sure we keep it running the whole race and we should be fine. I feel like we are a top-five road race team.”

What do you and the Shell-Pennzoil team have to do to be successful at Infineon?

“The biggest thing there is not tearing your car up. You have to take care of your transmission, take care of the rear-end gear, and don’t wheel hop it. The main thing is to finish. It’s hard to keep from getting your car torn up because the racetrack has turns and hills and it’s hard to pass. It’s hard to keep the fenders on you race car. It’s like going to a short-track race. They usually tear as much up at Sonoma as they do at Bristol or anywhere else. It’s hard to run by yourself, let alone with 42 other cars.”

Do you think Sonoma is going to be a big challenge for the Car of Tomorrow?

“I think they are going to be a challenge to drive. The forward bite is not as good as the other cars. The cars are also a little slower and hard to handle. However, I think you will really see the good road course drivers shine this year at Sonoma.”

Is your day pretty much over with one mistake during the race?

“Pretty much, one mistake and you’re done at Sonoma. If you make a mistake on pit road or on the race track and lose track position, your chances of a good finish are slim to none. Track position is very valuable at Sonoma because the race is rather short and it is really hard to pass on a road course.”

Do you think it is important for RCR to have a fourth team?

“I think it sounds like something that we are working towards. I don’t know if it will be next year or the year after or when it will be. That is up to Richard (Childress). The main thing is you just have to have somebody come in and be able to fit into the chemistry that we already have and the teammates that we already have a RCR. That is my only concern about having a fourth team.”