This Week’s Budweiser Chevrolet at Kansas Speedway ... Kevin Harvick will pilot Chassis No.378 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable in the Kansas 400. The No. 29 team utilized this car twice during the 2011 season at Chicagoland Speedway in September (started 30th, finished second) and Kansas Speedway in October (started 14th, finished sixth). Harvick drove this Chevrolet in 2012 to a sixth-place finish at Kansas Speedway in April, a 10th-place result at Michigan International Speedway in June, and most recently a fifth-place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway in September.
Stating the Stats ... Sunday’s 267-lap affair will mark Harvick’s 426th career Sprint Cup Series start and 14th appearance at the 1.5-mile facility. During the Bakersfield, Calif., native’s first 13 showings, he has collected one top-five and six top-10 finishes. Harvick holds an average starting position of 20.7 coupled with an average finishing position of 13th, has completed 3,309 of 3,419 (96.8 percent) of the laps contested and is credited with 83 laps led.
Going for a Loop in the Midwest ... Harvick has nine starts at the Kansas City, Kan.-based facility since the inception of NASCAR’s Loop Data Statistics in 2006. The 36-year-old driver leads the field in Green Flag Passes (721). Harvick ranks sixth amongst all competitors in Speed in Traffic (161.300 mph), is the seventh-Fastest Driver Late in a Run (160.770 mph), holds the seventh-best Driver Rating (92.1) and has completed 1,591 Laps in the Top 15, positioning him seventh in the Loop Data category.
The Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup ... Following the fifth Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup event at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Harvick remains 10th in the standings, 56 markers behind the leader.
Heading to the Hall ... NASCAR Hall of Fame attendees will have the opportunity to take part in a special fan question-and-answer session with Harvick on Tuesday, Oct. 16 at 4:25 p.m. Eastern Time. Tickets to the NASCAR Hall of Fame can be purchased by calling 877-231-2010 or at www.NASCARHall.com.
Meet the Driver ... Kansas Speedway race fans will have the opportunity to join RCR driver Kevin Harvick for a fan question-and-answer session at The Finish Line Fan Hospitality area on Saturday, Oct. 20 from 10-10:15 a.m. ET (9 - 9:15 a.m. Central Time). Tickets for The Finish Line Hospitality are on sale now by calling the Kansas Speedway ticket office at 866.460.7223 or online at www.kansasspeedway.com.
Supporting a Tar Heel ... On Monday, Oct. 15, Harvick presented University of North Carolina Chapel Hill student wrestler, Nick Heilmann, with the inaugural UNC Kevin Harvick Foundation Athletic Scholarship. The scholarship presentation marked the first stage of the foundation’s three-year commitment for an annual, full-ride scholarship to UNC for one need-based student athlete.
Honoring a Fallen Solider ... The No. 29 Budweiser team will wear a special memorial bracelet in honor of fallen soldier, Army Specialist Chris Horton this weekend at Kansas Speedway. Horton, a sniper in the 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team of the Oklahoma National Guard, was killed during a tour of duty in Afghanistan on Sept. 9, 2011. His wife Jane shares his killed-in-action bracelet with others to remind people of her late husband and all of the soldiers who have lost their lives while serving our country.
You’re Invited to Happy’s Birthday Bash ... Harvick will celebrate his 37th birthday when Budweiser presents Happy’s Birthday Bash at The Fox Theater in his hometown of Bakersfield, Calif., on Saturday, Dec. 1. Country music star Craig Morgan will headline the charity event benefiting the Kevin Harvick Foundation with a special guest appearance by Bridgette Tatum. Tickets to the event are on sale now and can be purchased at www.vallitix.com, by phone at 1-888-825-5484, The Bakersfield Fox Theater Box office or any Vallitix outlet.
Win Happy’s Chevy ... One lucky winner will help children in need and take home Harvick’s 2012 Chevrolet Camaro 2SS Coupe. The vehicle includes gray leather interior, 21-inch black painted wheels, six-speed manual transmission, V8 engine, rear parking assist and much more. Proceeds will be used to further the mission of the Kevin Harvick Foundation through programs such as Kevin’s Krew, Chase Your Dreams Scholarships and the Kevin Harvick Athletic Scholarship Fund. For more information or to purchase a ticket for only $29, visit http://www.winhappyschevy.com/.
The Last Time By ... After struggling with the car’s handling for most of the day, Harvick and the No. 29 team made changes on their final pit stop and raced their way back toward the front of the field to score a sixth-place finish in 2011 400-mile event at Kansas Speedway.
In the Rearview Mirror: Charlotte Motor Speedway ... Harvick and the No. 29 Jimmy John’s team collected a 16th-place finish under the lights of Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday night after battling handling issues.
KEVIN HARVICK QUOTES:
What are your thoughts going into the weekend at Kansas Speedway considering the track has been repaved since the spring race?
“I’m not a big fan of repaving anywhere, to be honest, and I enjoyed racing on the old surface at Kansas (Speedway). However, I understand they had some issues with the track that made repaving necessary, so obviously it’s what they had to do it. Paul (Menard) and the No. 27 team went out there for the Goodyear tire test in August, so we have some data to go off of entering the weekend that should help us. The guys that took part in the test had good things to say about the track, so we’ll see what we’ve got to work with when we get there on Wednesday.”