This Week’s Budweiser Chevrolet at Watkins Glen International ... Kevin Harvick will pilot Chassis No. 395 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. This No. 29 Chevrolet was built new for competition in 2012 and was put through its first competitive laps at Sonoma when Harvick brought home a 16th-place finish after starting from the 26th position.
Returning Winner ... The 36-year-old driver made his first NASCAR appearance at Watkins Glen International in 2000 for RCR while competing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Harvick has completed a total of 1,541 laps at the 2.45-mile road course between the Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series. The Bakersfield, Calif., native has collected a total of two wins (NSCS - 2006, NNS - 2007), eight top-five and six top-10 finishes, one pole award and is credited for leading 109 circuits.
Going for a Loop at the New York Road Course ... Since the inception of NASCAR’s Loop Data Statistics in 2006, Harvick has completed seven Sprint Cup Series events at the Watkins Glen, N.Y.-based facility and holds a 14.9 average starting position and a 15.7 average finishing position. The RCR veteran driver ranks fifth amongst all competitors in the category of Laps in the Top 15, after completing 402 laps (63.4 percent) running in a position of 15th or higher position. Harvick has also led 28 laps during the last seven events ranking him eighth in Laps Led.
Points Racing ... With 21 points-paying events in the books, Harvick now sits ninth in the Sprint Cup Series driver championship point standings, 63 markers behind the leader. Harvick has collected three top-five and nine top-10 finishes thus far this season, completing 99.76 percent (5,573 of 5,586) of the laps contested.
Red, White and Blue Summer ... For the sixth and final time this season, the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet will sport the patriotic colors of Budweiser’s “Red, White and Blue Summer” packaging featured on bottles and cans of the King of Beers, found at various locations this summer.
Cheering on Team USA ... As we enter the final weekend of the 2012 London Olympics, the No. 29 Budweiser team will be keeping tabs on Dennis Bowsher, a member of the U.S. Army who will represent Team USA in the men’s modern pentathlon competition on Saturday, August 11.. Bowsher helped teach the No. 29 Budweiser team the basics of fencing when the crew visited the U.S. Olympic Complex in Colorado Springs, Colo., in June. Photos of the team’s trip to the Olympic Training Center are available on the Budweiser Racing media site: http://www.budracingmedia.com.
Transform Reality with Blippar ... Emerging technology from Blippar delivers an exclusive mobile experience to fans of Harvick and the No. 29 Budweiser Racing Team. Blippar is the first image-recognition phone app aimed at bringing to life products with exciting augmented reality interactions and instantaneous content. With the Blippar app fans can use their smart phones to convert the Bud 29 logo into an interactive, wow experience where they can view footage of Harvick and the team, get behind-the-scenes access and take their photo with the driver of the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet. The free app is available for download on iOS and Android devices. Once downloaded, fans can utilize the app to blipp (scan) the Bud 29 logo, accessible in retail locations and on team merchandise, to access the special content.
Testing with Goodyear ... Prior to traveling to Watkins Glen, Harvick and the No. 29 team will spend Tuesday and Wednesday participating in a Goodyear tire test at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, where they’ll run the new 2013 Sprint Cup Series Chevrolet SS. The test is scheduled to run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern Time both days with an hour-long lunch break at noon. The grandstands will be open to the public, free of charge.
Meet Harvick ... Race fans in the Watkins Glen, N.Y., area can meet Harvick on Thursday, August 9. The driver of the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet will appear at the Walmart Supercenter, located at 515 East 4th Street, from 4:30 - 6 p.m. ET. Please contact the store for additional details on the appearance.
Golfing with Harvick ... Following Sunday’s race at Watkins Glen International, the 73rd annual Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, N.C., will tee off on Monday, August 13 with the third annual Kevin Harvick Foundation Pro-Am Presented by Technology Concepts & Design, Inc. The Kevin Harvick Foundation Pro-Am is the first official event of the Wyndham Championship, the seventh-oldest event on the PGA TOUR, is being held at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, N.C. PGA TOUR professionals will join Harvick and other amateur golfers on four-player teams teeing off at 10 a.m. ET.
The Last Time By ... Harvick and the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet team survived a wild green-white-checkered finish to score a sixth-place result in last season’s rain-delayed Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen road course race at Watkins Glen International.
In the Rearview Mirror: Pennsylvania 400 ... The start of the Pennsylvania 400 was delayed nearly two hours by rain and once the track was dry Harvick took the green flag from the 21st position in the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet and was credited with a 16th-place finish in last Sunday’s rain-shortened Sprint Cup Series event at Pocono Raceway.
KEVIN HARVICK QUOTES:
Last year you finished sixth at Watkins Glen International. What are the biggest challenges of racing there?
“Watkins Glen (International) is really fast, so the biggest thing there is to get your car good under braking so you can make passes during the race. Usually you can gain the most time is in the braking zones.”
You’ve raced Watkins Glen International 11 times, is it to the point now where you’ve learned as much as you can and it’s just a matter of having the perfect day to seal the deal at Watkins Glen International?
“I don’t think so. Every time we go there something’s a little bit different because the cars are always getting better and the tire is constantly changing. A couple of years ago they changed the race track a little bit with the concrete patches, so there’s always something that seems to change so you’re constantly learning. Obviously, you know the majority of the characteristics and direction and gears, and things you need to be in because we’ve been there so many times, but there’s always something to learn.”
How crazy does it get racing through the bus stop?
“The bus stop is obviously a very fast entry to the corner and you run over all the curbs as you go through the corner, so it’s a fun section of the race track and obviously a passing zone. Sometimes you have to get a little bit defensive getting into the bus stop, but there’s definitely a lot of time to be gained or lost there.”
What sections or turns are the most challenging at Watkins Glen International?
“It just depends on how your car is handling. I think they can all present problems. As the race goes on turn one becomes more of an issue because it’s downhill and the brakes start to get worn out. The wheel hop becomes easier to start happening as the race goes on. That is the one you have got to watch for me during the race, but they all present different challenges.”
Describe the increased emphasis on road courses in recent years. How things have changed?
“Well, that didn’t really change much over the last four or five years. I think before that there was a big change just because of the points and the things are all still the same from every other week. There were a lot of people that were good at it. You had to become good at it to be competitive so you’ve got to put a lot of effort into it.”
Are the road courses still odd ball races or do they seem like just another race now?
“They are pretty much just another race now. I think everybody knows that you are going to a road course and you’ve got a lot of different aspects from a driver’s standpoint and the team standpoint that you have to pay attention to.”