BOWYER IN THE HOT SEAT AT DARLINGTON: Driver Clint Bowyer returns to the seat of the No. 33 Chevrolet Impala this weekend for a Friday night date with the “Lady in Black.” In six previous NASCAR Nationwide Series starts at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, Bowyer has two top-five and three top-10 finishes. The driver has led 13 laps around the 1.366-mile track with a best start and finish of second in 2008.
KHI WOES WITH THE LADY IN BLACK: Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) looks to finally tame Darlington Raceway, one of the tracks that has eluded the organization in both Nationwide Series starts and finishes. Darlington is one of 11 tracks on the current series schedule where KHI has not won a race or a pole. Driver Ryan Newman collected KHI’s best start and finish at the South Carolina oval in 2009. Behind the wheel of the No. 33 Chevrolet Newman started the event from the outside pole and finished in the sixth position.
SHADES OF GRAY: The No. 33 Chevrolet will swap its familiar black and red Rheem colors for shades of gray this weekend to showcase RUUD, a proud member of the Rheem family of quality brands. KHI co-owner Kevin Harvick drove the No. 33 Chevrolet to an eighth-place finish with a similar RUUD paint scheme in this event last season.
CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 33 RUUD team has prepared chassis No. 071 for this weekend’s race at Darlington Raceway. The KHI team, led by crew chief David Hyder, has utilized this particular chassis in two events this season. Kevin Harvick drove the car to a third-place finish at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif. in March. The following week at Texas Motor Speedway, Paul Menard wheeled this chassis to a back-to-back third-place finish.
PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: Paul Menard and the No. 33 Menards team collected a second-place finish last Friday night at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway. After starting from the sixth position, Menard spent the majority of the 250 laps racing in the top 10 before coming across the finish line in second-place. The solid finish by the KHI team advanced the No. 33 two positions in the Nationwide Series Owner’s Point standings. The team heads to Darlington ranked second, 30 points behind the standings leader.
BOWYER’S THOUGHTS ON RACING AT DARLINGTON:
What are your thoughts about this Friday night’s race at Darlington?
“Darlington Raceway is one of those tracks that are just tough to get around and really tough to win at. It really tests your skills on every lap. The history of the place makes it so cool though. I have had some good runs there in both the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series. I won my first Sprint Cup Series pole in 2007 there, so that adds to making the track special. To win at Darlington would definitely make it more special, especially considering how tough the track can be.
“I’m looking forward to getting back to work with David Hyder and the No. 33 KHI team this weekend. We had a good run at Daytona and fell on some bad luck at Talladega. I’m hoping this Friday night we’ll find better luck and even better, victory lane.”