No. 29 Jimmy John’s Chevrolet Impala
Race Notes and Quotes
This Week’s Jimmy John’s Chevrolet at Indianapolis Motor Speedway ... Kevin Harvick will race chassis No. 304 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. The No. 29 team has utilized this car twice so far in 2011, scoring a sixth-place finish at Bristol (3/20) and a 17th-place finish at Darlington (5/7) after late-race contact. Harvick also drove chassis No. 304 four times in 2010, earning finishes of third (Richmond, 5/1), fifth (New Hampshire, 6/27), ninth (Richmond, 9/11) and 13th (Phoenix, 4/10).
So Fast You’ll Freak at Indy ... Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches returns as primary sponsor on the No. 29 Chevrolet this weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In Jimmy John’s last race as primary sponsor, Harvick drove the No. 29 Jimmy John’s Chevrolet to Victory Lane after making a last-lap pass at Auto Club Speedway in March.
Meet the Press ... Harvick will be available to members of the media in Plaza Pavilion, room 1C at 12:15 p.m. on Friday, July 29.
Harvick at Indianapolis Motor Speedway ... In 10 starts at IMS, Harvick has earned one win, one pole award, four top-five and seven top-10 finishes. His average starting position is 14.1 and his average finishing position is 9.9. Harvick has led 92 laps at IMS and completed 99.3 percent (1,589 of 1,601) of the laps run in the 10 races in which he’s competed.
Kissing the Bricks ... Harvick and the No. 29 team kissed the bricks at IMS after becoming the first driver to win the Brickyard 400 from the pole position in 2003.
In the Loop ... Harvick holds a number of impressive loop data statistics at IMS: fifth in laps run in the top 15 (695), sixth in laps led (61), sixth in quality passes (145), sixth in driver rating (95.1), eighth in average running position (13.4), 10th in fastest laps run (28) and 10th in fastest on restarts.
Find a Jimmy John’s ... Jimmy John’s, known for fresh, quality products and freaky fast service, has 21 locations in the Indianapolis area, including one less than two miles from IMS at 5945 Crawfordsville Road. Visit www.jimmyjohns.com to view the Jimmy John’s menu, find your nearest location, order online or download the Jimmy John’s mobile application.
Autograph Session…On Saturday, Harvick will participate in the largest NASCAR Sprint Cup Series autograph session of the 2011 season at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Brickyard 400 ticket holders can obtain an autograph session wristband at 9 a.m. on Saturday at Pavilion 1A and 1B. Drivers will be split into two groups, signing in pairs from noon-12:45 p.m. and 1-1:45 p.m. at the Plaza Pavilion. Harvick will be in the first group of drivers. Additional details about the autograph session are available at www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com.
KEVIN HARVICK QUOTES:
Do you think the Brickyard 400 has lost any of its luster in the last few years with attendance problems and other things? Is it still as high on the bucket list as a race you want to win? “Absolutely. When you go to Indy there can be nobody sitting in the grandstands and it’s still Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It’s still been there for 100 years and still is our second biggest race that we go to. So for us, it’s where you bring your latest and greatest car, you latest and greatest engine, and it’s just kind of like the Daytona 500. It’s all about trying to win the race and putting it on the line to do that. It’s a prestigious race to win and nobody in the garage is going to go there with any intention other than to try to win the race when they unload their cars.
When you look at your stats at Indy - you’ve won there and were the runner up a year ago - why almost from the get-go have you been good there? “You know that’s a good question. I don’t know. From the first time we stepped foot in that place, it’s been a good race track for us. We’ve had good results there. It’s just one of those places where I really like going to. All the guys enjoy going there and being able to just race there is an honor. It’s flat and we’ve always been good on the flatter type race tracks and I think that’s got something to do with it as well.”
What’s the key to getting around Indianapolis Motor Speedway? “Really it’s just getting off of all four corners and being able to make your car turn well enough to be in the gas so you can get down the long straightaways. I would say (Turns) Two and Four are probably the most important corners because you have so much distance to carry down the long straightaways. It’s definitely a challenge every lap. If it’s really hot it becomes even more of a challenge. It’s just a fun place.”