NEW COLORS: This weekend at Michigan International Speedway (MIS), the No. 2 Chevrolet will be sporting a new paint scheme with the logos of Grange Insurance and their partner Copart.com. Elliott Sadler will take the wheel of the Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) machine, making his fourth start of the season with the organization.
LAP LEADER: Sadler earned the WIX Lap Leader award in his last KHI start, leading 31 laps and rallying back from a pit miscue to earn a fifth-place finish at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. Sadler was also the WIX Lap Leader in his KHI debut at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway in February, leading 25 laps at the season opener. Sadler is now tied with KHI co-owner Kevin Harvick (who was the lap leader at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Martinsville (Va.) Speedway) and hopes to break the tie by leading more laps than any other WIX filters driver at MIS.
PICKING FAVORITES: Sadler has named MIS as one of his favorite tracks on the NASCAR circuit. Although this weekend will be his first Truck Series appearance at the 2.0-mile oval, Sadler has made 22 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Michigan. Of those 22 Cup Series starts, he has one top-five and five top-10 finishes at the track, earning his best finish of fifth in June of 2004.
THOUGHTS FROM THE DRIVER: Elliott Sadler
How do you feel going into this weekend’s race at Michigan International Speedway?
“I am really looking forward to getting back into the truck at Michigan. I’ve never made a Truck Series start there, but it’s one of my favorite tracks that we visit in the Cup Series, and I feel it’s one of my best. I’m also feeling really confident going into Michigan after the top-five run I had in the No. 2 truck at Charlotte. This team knows how to rally back and they make it a whole lot of fun to race.”
How much does it mean to you to be running up front in your Truck Series races for KHI?
“I’ve had a tough last four years, so to be able to come back and run up front and compete with these guys is so much fun and it’s great for my confidence. I tell you what, don’t let Truck Series racing fool you. This is real racing. These boys go at it really hard. I’ve learned a lot, I’ve had a lot of fun and I’m looking forward to every time I get into one of these KHI trucks. This team works so hard, and I know that I’ve got a chance to put the No. 2 in Victory Lane before the end of the season.”
PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: NASCAR veteran Ken Schrader overcame a failing tire and rallied back from being two laps down to score a fifth-place finish in his second career start at Texas Motor Speedway. Schrader earned the No. 2 team their fifth top-five finish of the season and moved the truck up to 3rd in the Owner’s Point standings, only 51 points out of first.
CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 2 team will utilize chassis No. 045 this weekend at Michigan International Speedway. No. 045 is a brand-new chassis which will hit the track for the very first time at the 2.0-mile oval.
ARE YOU A FOLLOWER? Twitter users can now keep up-to-date with Kevin Harvick Inc.’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Teams by following at http://twitter.com/KHI_TruckSeries. In addition, you can follow KHI’s Nationwide Series team at http://twitter.com /KHI_NNS. Want more from KHI? Follow KHI’s co-owners Kevin and DeLana Harvick at http://twitter.com/kevinharvick and http://twitter.com/delanaharvick.
MEDIA ACCESS: Members of the media can now log on to www.kevinharvickinc.com to gain access to press kit information online. For more information, please email Jessica Trippy at KHI: jtrippy@kevinharvickinc.com.
QUICK NOTES
Race Info:
June 12, 2010
Michigan International Speedway
VFW 200
Truck Specs:
Chassis: 045
Engine: Earnhardt-Childress Racing (ECR)
Track Layout:
2.0-mile D-Shaped Oval
Length: 100 Laps/200 Miles
Banking:
Turns: 18-degrees
Frontstretch: 12-degrees
Backstretch: 5-degrees
WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Friday:
Practice: 10:30 a.m. – 11:20 a.m. EST
Final Practice: 1:10 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. EST
Saturday:
Qualifying: 9:30 a.m. EST
Race: 2:00 p.m. EST
TV: The VFW 200 can be seen live on SPEED on Friday at 1:30 p.m. EST
Radio: The Motor Racing Network (MRN) will broadcast live at 1:30 p.m. EST
Elliott Sadler Truck Series Statistics at
Michigan International Speedway
-No Previous Starts-
Elliott Sadler Nationwide Series Statistics at
Michigan International Speedway
Starts: 5
Wins: 0
Poles: 0
Top 5: 0
Top 10: 2
Laps Led: 0
Average Start: 26.0
Average Finish: 18.0
Elliott Sadler
Sprint Cup Series Statistics at
Michigan International Speedway
Starts: 22
Wins: 0
Poles: 0
Top 5: 1
Top 10: 5
Laps Led: 22
Average Start: 19.8
Average Finish: 22.2