This Week's Budweiser Folds of Honor Chevrolet SS at Charlotte Motor Speedway ... Kevin Harvick will pilot chassis No. 425 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable in the Coca-Cola 600. This Chevrolet is new to the No. 29 team lineup and will make its first competitive laps this weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
CLT Stats ... This Sunday's race marks Harvick's 24th points-paying Sprint Cup Series start at the Concord, N.C.-based facility. In addition to his 2011 Coca-Cola 600 victory, the California native has collected two top-five and seven top-10 finishes, completed 97.3 percent of the laps contested and led six laps.
Here's to the Heroes ... The No. 29 Budweiser Folds of Honor Chevrolet will don a special patriotic paint scheme for Sunday's 600-mile event at Charlotte Motor Speedway to reflect the special "Red, White and Blue Summer" packaging featured on the iconic Budweiser bottles and cans this summer. The packaging represents a special initiative in which the brand will contribute a portion of all sales from May 5 - July 4 to help raise as much as $1.5 million for the Folds of Honor Foundation*, which provides post-secondary educational scholarships for families of U.S. military personnel killed or disabled while serving their country. Since 2010, Budweiser has raised more than $5 million for the Folds of Honor Foundation and provided more than 1,000 educational scholarships to the families of soldiers killed or disabled in service. (*Donation of 2 cents per case of Budweiser sold, May 5, 2013 to July 4, 2013, with a maximum donation of $1.5 million.)
Harvick Visiting Fort Bragg ... On Thursday, Harvick will join Folds of Honor Foundation Founder Major Dan Rooney and Rocky Sickmann, director of military sales for Anheuser-Busch, at Fort Bragg to make a special presentation to the base, tour the Warrior Transition Battalion and meet with soldiers. The visit is a part of Budweiser's "Red, White and Blue Summer" initiative, which benefits the Folds of Honor Foundation. Media members will have an opportunity to interview Harvick, Rooney and Sickmann at 10 a.m. ET at the Fort Bragg Mini-Mall.
Budweiser Red, White and Blue Festival ... Budweiser will honor area members of the U.S. Armed Forces and their families with the Budweiser Red White and Blue Festival in Fayetteville, N.C., from 4 - 10 p.m. on Thursday, May 23, at Festival Park. Entertainment for the evening includes country music recording artists Jason Michael Carroll, Parmalee and Jamie Tate, and members of the All Veteran Parachute Team. The event will feature photo opportunities with the iconic Budweiser Clydesdales and Kevin Harvick's No. 29 Budweiser Folds of Honor Chevrolet. Guests can also try their hand at being a NASCAR pit crew member with the Richard Childress Racing interactive pit car or participate in a cornhole tournament. Food and beverages will be available for purchase, but admission to the festival is free and open to the public. Additional details about the Budweiser Red, White and Blue Festival are available on the Festival Park website: http://www.faydogwoodfestival.com.
Welcome Home ... Army Lt. Jennifer Jackson, who recently returned from a deployment in Southwest Asia, will be an honorary member of the No. 29 Budweiser Folds of Honor Chevrolet team on Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Jackson is being recognized as part of the track's "Welcome Home Our Troops" program to honor the many men and women returning from deployment. The speedway placed members of several units that recently returned to Fort Bragg with each of the 43 NSCS teams competing this weekend.
Teeing Off for a Cause ... On Wednesday, Harvick will tee off in the fourth annual John Paul Linville Memorial Golf Tournament Presented by BB&T Wealth, an event that honors wife DeLana's father who lost his battle with cancer in 2005. Funds raised at the tournament will benefit the Kevin Harvick Foundation which is dedicated to the support of programs that positively enrich the lives of children throughout the United States by supporting programs such as the Kevin Harvick Athletic Scholarship, Kevin's Krew, children in foster care and P.O.W.E.R. of Play.
Double Duty ... In addition to driving the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet SS in Sunday night's race, Harvick will pilot the No. 33 Hunt Brothers Pizza Chevrolet Camaro in the NASCAR Nationwide Series event on Saturday, May 25. This race is scheduled to air live on ABC at 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time, along with the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Race Rewind ... Harvick and RCR's No. 29 Budweiser Folds of Honor team collected an eighth-place finish in the 2012 Coca-Cola 600 under the lights at Charlotte Motor Speedway, after starting 14th and battling handling issues for the majority of the event.
KEVIN HARVICK QUOTES:
The Coca-Cola 600 is a special race annually, because it falls on Memorial Day weekend. Share your thoughts about the event and the many ways it honors America's Armed Forces.
"To be able to have so many service men and women at the race track for our race this weekend and be able to see them, and shake their hands and tell them thank you is something that I think all the fans and drivers - and our sport in general - do a very good job of showing our appreciation. To have the race on Memorial Day weekend is just an added bonus, but to honor our troops is what it's all about."
Share your thoughts on running the Coca-Cola 600.
"Man, the Coca-Cola 600 is a long race. For drivers, our bodies have adapted to running 400 or 500-mile events. This event is unique not only because we have to mentally prepare ourselves for that extra 100 miles, but the team also has to set the car up to go from day to night. It's a challenging race and a lot can change or happen. We were fortunate to win this race in 2011 and it came down to the last lap and fuel mileage, so you just never know how things are going to play out."
What is the key to being physically and mentally prepared for such a long, competitive race?
"The biggest thing is just hydration. Obviously you're mentally trained to run 400 or 500 miles, so that last 100 miles is different than what your body and mind is used to. You definitely have to prepare yourself a little bit different to get through those last 100 miles."
How much does Charlotte Motor Speedway change from start to finish during the Coca-Cola 600?
"Charlotte (Motor Speedway) is definitely a track that changes more than most. For some reason it seems like sun changes that track drastically, so when the sun starts going down the race track starts to take a turn in a different direction. You have to be prepared, and try to set your car up in advance for those changing conditions."