BEHIND THE WHEEL: Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) and the No. 2 team continue their bid for the Owner’s championship with a new face behind the wheel. Veteran driver Ken Schrader will drive the No. 2 Chevrolet Silverado at Kansas Speedway, making his first career start for KHI. Schrader is the third driver to compete in the No. 2 this season, with Elliott Sadler making one start and team co-owner Kevin Harvick making three starts.
VETERAN ROOKIE: Ken Schrader is one of NASCAR’s most veteran drivers, having made 732 Cup Series starts, 115 Nationwide Series starts and 91 Truck Series starts, totaling 938 races in NASCAR’s top three series. In addition to making his first start for KHI, it will also be his first Truck Series start at Kansas Speedway. But don’t count Schrader out: he has made seven Cup Series starts at the track and has made 47 Truck Series starts at intermediate tracks (tracks between 1-2 miles in length).
GOLDEN OLDIES: This weekend’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 250 will mark the first time in KHI history that the team has had two drivers over 50 years old in its Truck Series entries. Between Schrader (54) and Ron Hornaday (51), the combined age of KHI’s driver lineup is 105. Together, the two veterans have made 345 Truck Series starts, and have earned 46 wins and four championships.
RETURN OF E-Z-GO: E-Z-GO, a Textron Company, returns to the No. 2 Chevy Silverado to promote its consumer-direct e-commerce site, shopezgo.com. E-Z-GO appeared on the No. 2 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, where Kevin Harvick drove the truck to Victory Lane for the first time in 2010.
JARET’S ANGELS: This weekend the No. 2 and No. 33 KHI trucks will run a special decal in honor of Jaret’s Angels.
2010 marks the 10th anniversary of the Jaret’s Angels organization. Jaret’s Angels is a family-and-friend support group for 11-year-old Jaret Arneson, who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes (often referred to as juvenile diabetes) at the age of two. All of the donations collected by Jaret’s Angels go directly to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). Jaret’s Angels has collected over $100,000 over the last 10 years to support efforts to find a cure for this disease. This year Jaret surpassed the 10,000 shot mark. 10,000 times Jaret has rolled up his sleeve, his pants leg, his shirt offering his arms, his leg, his stomach to a sharp needle and syringe loaded with life-saving insulin.
While KHI is racing at Kansas Speedway with the Jaret’s Angels logo on the trucks, Jaret will planning his annual Walk to Cure Diabetes that will be held in Charlotte, NC on May 1st. Over the years Jaret has done his part to raise awareness for Type 1 diabetes appearing in public service announcements, radio spots, throwing out the first pitch at baseball games, talking with elected representatives and cheering on his favorite NASCAR entities carrying the Jaret’s Angels logo. This weekend he will be cheering for KHI as we partner with Jaret to raise awareness for Type 1 diabetes.
Thoughts from the Driver: Ken Schrader
How do you feel about the opportunity to drive for KHI for the first time?
“I’m just thrilled to have the opportunity to drive for KHI. I’ve had a lot of opportunities in the past to be at the racetrack, but I don’t want to just be at the racetrack. I want to be competitive. KHI has top-notch equipment and top-notch people, and I’m very excited to go to the racetrack and know that I’ll be competing for the win.”
You’ve never raced at Kansas Speedway in the Truck Series, but you have 47 Truck Series starts at intermediate tracks. What do you think is the key to doing well at an intermediate track?
“The key is the same as it is at most places, and that’s driving for good teams with good equipment. That’s the reason I am so thrilled about the opportunity to run for KHI in Kansas.”
You have a lot of experience in different stock car racing series. Is there something you like best about the Truck Series? What do you think makes it unique from the other NASCAR series?
“I think if you’re starting out, it’s a real good place to race without getting thrown to the wolves. In Nationwide, you’ve got a lot of Cup Series guys that you’re competing against. The Truck Series is great because you get to run the big tracks and the half-mile tracks. You get to go to a lot of different places and actually learn what the heavier vehicles are like. But when you’re like I am, on the other end of the spectrum, the 25 weekend schedule is pretty nice. It allows you to do other things that you want to do, which in my case is still race, but the schedule is something I really like. Plus we’ve really seen time and time again that they have good racing. They put on good shows.”
PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: Kevin Harvick and the No. 2 Charter Chevrolet Silverado team scored a solid second-place finish at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway on Friday, April 2, heading up a 2-3 finish for KHI. With the performance, the No. 2 team takes over the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Owner’s points lead by 2 points heading into Kansas Speedway.
CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 2 team will utilize chassis No. 042 this weekend at Kansas Speedway. Harvick drove No. 042 to Victory Lane at Atlanta Motor Speedway in March and scored a second-place finish at Nashville Superspeedway on April 2.
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.
About E-Z-GO
E-Z-GO, a Textron Inc. company, is a leading manufacturer of golf cars and utility vehicles.
E-Z-GO is the preferred golf car fleet provider for many of the world’s most revered golf courses, clubs and resorts. E-Z-GO boasts the largest sales and service network in the industry, with more factory branch locations and independent distributors than any other manufacturer of golf cars and utility vehicles.
More than a maker of golf cars, E-Z-GO is also a leading provider of turf and utility vehicles for a variety of applications and industries. Products sold under the E-Z-GO brand include Shuttle personnel carriers, MPT turf-maintenance vehicles, and ST personal utility vehicles. E-Z-GO also produces the Cushman line of heavy-duty material carriers. Founded in 1954 in Augusta, Ga., E-Z-GO became part of Textron Inc. in 1960.
About Textron
Textron Inc. is a multi-industry company that leverages its global network of aircraft, defense, industrial and finance businesses to provide customers with innovative solutions and services. Textron in known around the world for its powerful brands such as Bell Helicopter, Cessna Aircraft Company, Jacobsen, Kautex, Lycoming, E-Z-GO, Greenlee, and Textron Systems. More information is available at www.textron.com.
About Kevin Harvick Inc.
Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI), established in 2001 by Kevin and DeLana Harvick, is an 80,000 sq. ft. facility located in Kernersville, N.C. Home of the 2009 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship team, KHI enters 2010 in its seventh full year of competition with two full-time Truck Series teams and one full-time Nationwide Series team. Four-time Truck Series champion Ron Hornaday returns to the helm of the No. 33 Truck team looking for his fifth title and third championship for KHI (2009 and 2007), while Sprint Cup series stars Kevin Harvick and Elliott Sadler guide the No. 2 Truck team. Two-time NASCAR Nationwide Series champion Harvick will again shine as the lead driver of the No. 33 Nationwide Series team as he continues to make his mark in motorsports and establish KHI as one of the top teams in NASCAR competition. For more information about KHI and its teams, please visit www.KevinHarvickInc.com.
QUICK NOTES
Race Info
May 2, 2010
Kansas Speedway
O’Reilly Auto Parts 250
Race length: 167 Laps/250.5 Miles
Banking/Turns: 15-degree turns;
10.4-degree frontstretch,
5-degree backstretch
Track layout: 1.5-mile
Shape: D-shaped oval
Pre-Race Schedule
Saturday:
Practice: 10:00 a.m. – 11:10 a.m., EST
Final Practice: 11:40 a.m. – 12:50 p.m., EST
Qualifying: 4:35 p.m., EST
TV: The O’Reilly Auto Parts 250 can be seen on SPEED on Sunday at 1:00 p.m., EST
Radio: The Motor Racing Network (MRN) will broadcast live at 1:00 p.m., EST
Truck Specs:
Chassis: 042
Engine: Earnhardt-Childress Racing (ECR)
Ken Schrader
Truck Series Statistics at
Kansas Speedway
-No Previous Starts-
Ken Schrader
Sprint Cup Series Statistics at
Kansas Speedway
Starts: 7
Wins: 0
Poles: 0
Laps Led: 0
Average Start: 33.9
Average Finish: 24.4
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