WINNING DUO: Coming fresh off a win in the Nationwide Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Ernie Cope and Kevin Harvick will once again team up in an effort to score Harvick’s first Truck Series victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Cope already has two victories at the 1.54-mile speedway. In 2008, he and Ryan Newman went to Truck Series victory lane for Cope’s first NASCAR win as a crew chief. At the end of last year Cope and Harvick raised the trophy as they added Nationwide Series winners at Atlanta Motor Speedway to their racing résumés.
REDEMPTION SEEKER: Harvick returns behind the wheel of the No. 2 Kevin Harvick Inc. Chevrolet for the first time in 2010 at Atlanta Motor Speedway (AMS). In 2009, Harvick competed in the No. 2 at AMS only to fall 0.122 seconds short of the victory to race winner Kyle Busch. 2009 marked Harvick’s first start at AMS in a Truck.
WINNING NOTE: Harvick returns to the Truck Series following two wins in the final two Truck Series events of the 2009 season at Phoenix International Raceway and Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway in the 2009 season finale. Harvick led 108 of the 130 laps of the event.
LAND OF FIRSTS: Atlanta Motor Speedway (AMS) holds a special place in Kevin Harvick’s racing career. AMS is the home to Harvick’s first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win in 2001.
Ron Hornaday, Harvick’s teammate, also scored his first career win for KHI at AMS in 2005. The victory marked KHI’s first win by a driver other than Harvick and it was the company’s second Truck Series victory.
Thoughts from the Boss: Kevin Harvick
Atlanta is a very special place for you. How does it feel coming back to the site of your first Cup Series win?
“I will be honest with you, that whole first win and that first year was really just kind of a blur. It is obviously something you can’t do again, win your first race, so it’s pretty cool to go back and watch the race and see how it all shook out. It is a special place for us to go back every time, because of the fact that was the place of my first Cup win. When I watch the race, the only thing I think about is I drove in high and I probably should have went low. I almost threw the thing away. That is what I think about every time I watch it is ‘why did I go high and not go low?’ It worked, barely, but it worked. I had gotten to that point by racing on the bottom and for some reason on the last lap, I thought he (Jeff Gordon) was going to go high because I had been going on the bottom but, it all worked out.”
The only race you haven’t won at AMS is the Truck Series event. What would it mean to you to make it a three-series sweep?
“The only track I think I have won in all three series is at Phoenix. So it would mean a lot for me to get a 1.5-mile track in the mix. The Nationwide Series win at Atlanta last year was huge for our KHI team. We had worked really hard on that program and it was great to have such a dominant car. Now we just have to mark the truck win off the list. Traditionally, Hornaday and the KHI teams have run very well at Atlanta. I know Hornaday has finished twice there a bunch so we will see if we can get our first win this weekend.”
CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 2 ShopEZGO.com team will take chassis No. 042 to Atlanta Motor Speedway. Chassis No. 042 is the sister truck to chassis
No. 040 which Hornaday is driving at AMS. Chassis No. 042 is a brand new and has undergone extensive testing but has never seen a lap of competition.
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 Stroupe at KHI: jstroupe@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 is also the golf car of choice of nine of the nation’s 10 largest course-management companies. 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.
Special note to Editors: The correct spelling of ‘E-Z-GO’ is with all capital letters and two hyphens.
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
March 6, 2010
Atlanta Motor Speedway
Atlanta 200
Race length: 130 Laps/ 200.2 Miles
Banking/Turns: 24-degree turns;
5-degree straight-a-ways
Track layout: 1.54-mile
Shape: Quad-oval
Pre-Race Schedule
Friday:
Practice: 1:00 p.m. – 2:20 p.m., EST
Final Practice: 4:10 p.m. – 5:00 p.m., EST
Saturday:
Qualifying: 9:35 a.m., EST
TV: The Atlanta 200 can be seen on SPEED Saturday at 1:30 p.m., EST
Radio: The Motor Racing Network (MRN) will broadcast live at 1:30 p.m., EST
Truck Specs:
Chassis: 042
Engine: Earnhardt-Childress Racing (ECR)