Budweiser Racing Team Notes of Interest
· Kevin Harvick and the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet team took home a seventh-place finish in Saturday night’s Budweiser Shootout at Daytona International Speedway. While Harvick didn’t end up in Victory Lane at the conclusion of the race, the team learned a lot of information to put toward next Sunday’s Daytona 500.
· Harvick started the Budweiser Shootout from 18th position and quickly paired up with his Richard Childress Racing teammate Jeff Burton to form a two-car draft. The duo made it to the front by lap 8 with Harvick running in second position pushing Burton to the lead.
· The No. 29 Budweiser pit crew changed tires and added fuel during the 10-minute break at lap 25. Harvick hit pit road only once more during the race at lap 29 for a splash of fuel.
· Harvick continued pairing up with Burton as the two-car draft proved to be key to getting to the front of the field throughout the race. The pair ran together inside the top six until the lap 51 restart. Burton and Harvick weren’t able to get back together after the field took the green.
· Separated from his teammate, Harvick partnered up with fellow Chevrolet driver Jeff Gordon. They worked well together until Harvick’s engine started hitting the rev limiter chip during the final portion of the race. Harvick remained inside the top 10 and took the checkered flag in seventh position.
· Kurt Busch scored the win in the 33rd annual Budweiser Shootout. There were 28 lead changes among nine drivers over the course of the 75-lap race, a Budweiser Shootout record.
Follow along each weekend with Harvick and the team on Twitter. Check out @KevinHarvick for behind-the-scenes information straight from the driver of the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet. Get live updates from the track each weekend from @Black29Car, the PR team for Harvick. Also, follow @RCRracing and @RCR29KHarvick for additional information about the Richard Childress Racing organization.
Kevin Harvick discusses his finish in the Budweiser Shootout:
When you get hooked up with another car, how great is the speed differential to pass someone who might have lost their partner? “It looks like they are blowing up. They are going so much slower, that you have to really be careful. You go by them so fast that it is pretty amazing how fast you go by them. Then when you get detached it is pretty tough to realize how much slower you are going when you actually come apart from one another.”
How much has this race made you rethink plate racing? “It’s different. When the pace picked up there at the end, we were up on the rev limiter and couldn’t go anywhere; that was what was holding us back. It actually just started there with 15 laps to go and I had to manage that. I couldn’t push like I could with the No. 31 (Jeff Burton) in front of me with the No. 24 (Jeff Gordon). All-in-all, we have good stuff and we are right in there. We just have to do a little bit better on the rev limiter and we’ll be good.”
Was this a good gauge for next weekend? “Oh yea, I think everybody was looking forward to tonight for sure. It is one of those deals where we needed tonight to figure out some things and we know what we need to do. All we need to do is change one rev chip and we’ll be ready.”
The following is the finish position of the other beverage-sponsored cars participating in the Budweiser Shootout:
Matt Kenseth and the No. 17 Crown Royal Black Ford Team finished 13th
Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the No. 88 National Guard/AMP Energy Chevrolet team finished 19th
Kasey Kahne, driver of the No. 4 Red Bull Toyota, finished 24th
The following is the finish position of the other Richard Childress Racing teams participating in the Budweiser Shootout:
Jeff Burton and the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet team finished eighth
Clint Bowyer and the No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet team finished ninth
Next up is qualifying for the Daytona 500. Harvick is scheduled to be the 13th driver to take the track in Sunday’s qualifying session. FOX will provide live television coverage of Daytona 500 qualifying starting at 1 p.m. ET. MRN Radio and SIRIUS NASCAR Radio will provide the live radio broadcast.