This Week’s Rheem/Menards Chevrolet at Charlotte Motor Speedway ... Kevin Harvick will pilot Chassis No. 112 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Nationwide Series stable in the Dollar General 300. Harvick drove this No. 33 Chevrolet to a pair of third-place finishes at Kentucky Speedway in June and Atlanta Motor Speedway in August.
Welcome Back ... The two-time Nationwide Series champion will return to the driver’s seat of the No. 33 Chevrolet for his 12th of 13 scheduled appearances in the Nationwide Series this season. The 200-lap event marks Harvick’s 288th-career Nationwide Series start and 22nd appearance at Charlotte Motor Speedway. In his first 11 Nationwide Series races with RCR in 2012, Harvick has earned one win at Richmond International Raceway in Sept., one pole award at RIR in April, seven top-five and eight top-10 finishes.
Racing in the Queen City ... Harvick will make his 22nd Nationwide Series appearance at the Concord, N.C.-based facility Friday night. In his 21 previous starts at the track, the Bakersfield, Calif., native captured three pole awards (Spring 2001, Spring and Fall 2003), three top-five and 12 top-10 finishes. Harvick maintains a 12.2 average starting position, 12th-place average finishing position, has completed 4,153 of 4,178 (99.4 percent) of the laps contested and is credited with 252 laps led.
In the Loop ... Since the inception of NASCAR’s Loop Data Statistics in 2006, Harvick has competed in 13 Nationwide Series events at Charlotte Motor Speedway. In those 13 starts, the RCR driver has completed 597 Green Flag Passes while spending 1,682 Laps in the Top 15, ranking him second and third respectively in each category. Harvick is credited with 117 Laps Led placing him fourth amongst his competitors and has posted the fifth-most Fastest Laps Run (85) at the 1.5-mile facility.
To the Points ... The No. 33 RCR Chevrolet team sits fifth in the Nationwide Series owner’s championship point standings, 73 points behind the No. 18 team. The No. 33 team has earned one win (Richmond International Raceway in Sept. with Harvick), 13 top-five and 18 top-10 finishes between six different drivers (Ty Dillon, Brendan Gaughan, Harvick, Paul Menard, Max Papis and Tony Stewart) thus far this season.
About Rheem ... Rheem Manufacturing Company (www.rheem.com) is privately held with headquarters in Atlanta and U.S. operations in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Indiana, Minnesota and North Carolina. In its 86th year of operation, the company manufactures a full-line of eco-friendly, technologically advanced residential and commercial heating and cooling systems; tank, tankless, solar and hybrid heat pump water heaters; whole-home standby generators, controls, swimming pool and spa heaters; indoor air-purification products; and commercial boilers throughout North America and world markets. The company’s premium brands, including Rheem, Raypak, Ruud and Richmond have been recognized with countless industry and consumer awards for reliability, innovative design and high quality. Rheem is the official heating, cooling and water heating supplier to Richard Childress Racing, and is a primary sponsor of RCR’s No. 29 Chevrolet in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
Double Duty ... In addition to competing in the Dollar General 300 Friday evening, Harvick will also drive RCR’s No. 29 Jimmy John’s Chevrolet in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Charlotte 500 Saturday night. The race is scheduled to air live on ABC beginning at 7 p.m. Eastern Time and will be broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
In the Rearview Mirror: Dover International Speedway ... Menard drove the No. 33 Rheem/Menards Chevrolet to a second-place finish in the Nationwide Series OneMain Financial 200 at Dover International Speedway.
KEVIN HARVICK QUOTES:
What are your thoughts on returning to Charlotte Motor Speedway in the Nationwide Series?
“It’s always fun to get back into the Nationwide car with the No. 33 guys, especially at Charlotte (Motor Speedway). I seem to run well there, and our intermediate-rack program has been pretty good this season. I’m hoping things will go our way and we can put the Rheem/Menards Chevrolet in Victory Lane.”