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Getting Closer at the Tricky Triangle

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. (June 3, 2015) – Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Budweiser/Jimmy John’s Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), is looking to score his first Sprint Cup win at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway in Sunday’s Axalta “We Paint Winners” 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.

The fact Pocono Raceway is known as “The Tricky Triangle” is not lost on Harvick or the No. 4 team. The difficult three-turn racetrack is one of only five on the Sprint Cup circuit where Harvick remains winless. But, if the start to the 2015 race season is any indication, Harvick should be a favorite Sunday.

Thirteen races into 2015, Harvick has scored nine top-two finishes – including wins at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Phoenix International Raceway. He sits atop the driver standings with 516 points. His five straight Sprint Cup finishes of second or better to start the season is a series record. He has led a series-high 1,123 laps with an average finish of 6.1 thus far. His 1,123 laps led are 464 laps more than the next-closest competitor – 659 by his SHR teammate Kurt Busch.

The Bakersfield, California native leads several other statistical categories: 126.1 driver rating, nine top-five finishes, 12 top-10s, 23 bonus points, 684 fastest laps run, 19.3 percent of fastest laps run, 26.0 percent of laps led, 1,220.38 miles led, 4,011 laps in the top-15, 92.8 percent of laps in the top-15, average running position of 5.4, average finish of 6.1, and a pass differential of 225.

The reigning Sprint Cup champion has led at least one lap in 12 straight Sprint Cup points events in 2015. The only race he hasn’t led was the season-opening Daytona 500. That trend should continue this weekend based on his most recent performance at Pocono. 

Harvick’s scored his best finish at 2.5-mile racetrack in his most recent start in August 2014. He started sixth, led five laps and finished runner-up to Dale Earnhardt Jr. by 0.228 of a second.

While Harvick is still looking for his first Sprint Cup win at Pocono, he does know how to find victory lane. In August 2011, Harvick scored a win from the pole and led 44 of 55 laps in his only start at Pocono Raceway in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

Harvick’s two Sprint Cup race wins in 2015 virtually secure his spot in this year’s Chase for the Sprint Cup, but from this point on he is looking for race wins and bonus points to start the Chase.

KEVIN HARVICK, Driver of the No. 4 Budweiser/Jimmy John’s Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing:

How do you approach each corner at Pocono Raceway? 

“The first thing you do is you’ve got to survive the restart. We learned last time that practice didn’t really matter. If you could get a good restart and survive going through the corner and get in line, then you were in good shape. It’s really fast and the thing I like about what they did at Pocono (Raceway) is that all the bumps are now kind of swells, and you have the same kind of feel that you had there, they are just not extreme bumps. Each corner is fast. Turn one is a corner where you drive in and downshift. The key to Pocono now is getting up off the corners and in the throttle and being able to stay in the throttle, really, in all three (turns).”

Do you have a favorite Pocono memory?

“Pocono is one of those places where I haven’t had a ton of success. I think right before they repaved it is when I started to figure the old Pocono out and we were starting to run better. Probably the best memory I have there is winning a (Camping World) Truck (Series) race, so that’s about the extent of it for me.”

Chassis Information: Chassis No. 4-841: Kevin Harvick will pilot the No. 4 Budweiser/Jimmy John’s Chevrolet SS built on Chassis No. 4-841 in the Axalta “We Paint Winners” 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Sunday at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway. Built in 2014, Chassis No. 4-841 served as an unused backup for 19 races last season and never saw racing action of any kind. Chassis No. 4-841 finally made its Sprint Cup debut this past March at Phoenix International Raceway, where it scored a dominant win from the pole and led 224 laps to score Harvick’s second win of the 2015 season. In its most recent appearance, Chassis No. 4- 841 started fifth, led two laps and finished second at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway. 

Axalta ‘We Paint Winners’ 400 Notes of Interest:

• 2014 Sprint Cup Champion: Harvick, the defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion, is teamed with crew chief Rodney Childers in his second season at Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR). In their first season together, Harvick and Childers combined to produce five victories, eight poles, 14 top-five finishes and 20 top-10s, and led 2,137 laps on their way to winning the Sprint Cup title.
• Harvick in 2015: Harvick, the current Sprint Cup points leader, has wins at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Phoenix International Raceway through the first 13 events. Harvick started from the pole and led 224 laps en route to his Phoenix win and his third perfect 150.0 driver rating at the mile oval. He scored his first Sprint Cup win of the season the previous week in the Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas. Harvick has finished second or better in nine of 13 Sprint Cup starts and has scored 12 top-10s in 2015. He has led a series-high 1,123 laps with an average finish of 6.1.
• Inside the 2015 Loop Data: Harvick’s two wins trails only Jimmie Johnson’s four wins for the most among Sprint Cup drivers. Harvick and Martin Truex Jr., both have 12 top-10 finishes and are tied for the lead in that category. Harvick also leads the Sprint Cup Series in points (516), top-five finishes (nine), driver rating (126.1), average finish (6.1), average running position (5.4), number of fastest laps run (684), percentage of fastest laps (19.3), laps led (1,123), percentage of laps led (26.0), miles led (1,220.38), pass differential (225), laps in the top-15 (4,011) and percentage of laps in the top-15 (92.8).
• Dynamic Duo: Harvick (two Sprint Cup wins and 1,123 laps led) and SHR teammate Kurt Busch (one Sprint Cup win and 659 laps led) have combined for three Sprint Cup wins, led more than 41 percent (1,782 of 4,321) of total laps, combined to lead 1,909.07 miles and recorded 22 percent (956 of 4,321) of the fastest laps in points-paying Sprint Cup races in 2015. Harvick and Busch also rank first and second in driver rating at 126.1 and 110.6, respectively.
• Top-Two Finishes since Joining SHR: Harvick and the No. 4 team have finished first or second in 19 of 48 Sprint Cup points races since joining SHR – nearly 40 percent of the total Sprint Cup starts during that time. Harvick also has scored seven Sprint Cup wins, 22 top-five finishes, 31 top-10s, nine poles and led 3,169 laps during the 48-race span.
• Bonus Points: Harvick leads all Sprint Cup drivers in bonus points scored (23) through the first 13 points races of 2015. He has scored at least one bonus point in every race this season except the season-opening Daytona 500. He has led laps in 12 straight Sprint Cup points races, including leading the most laps in five races – Atlanta Motor Speedway, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Martinsville (Va.) Speedway and Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. He also scored an additional three bonus points for each of his wins at Las Vegas and Phoenix. Jimmie Johnson is second with 20 bonus points and SHR teammate Busch is tied with Brad Keselowski for third with 13 bonus points.
• Harvick at Pocono in the Sprint Cup Series: Harvick will make his 29th Sprint Cup start at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway Sunday. Harvick’s best finish at Pocono is second in the August 2014 Sprint Cup race. Harvick’s Pocono resume shows six top-five finishes, 10 top-10s and 10 laps led with an average finish of 13.6.
• Harvick at Pocono in the Camping World Truck Series: In his only start at Pocono in the Camping World Truck Series, Harvick won from the pole and led 44 of 55 total laps in August 2011. He won the pole with a speed of 162.684 mph.
• Career Totals: Harvick has 30 wins, 123 top-five finishes, 241 top-10s and 15 poles in 515 career Sprint Cup starts heading into Sunday’s Axalta “We Paint Winners” 400 at Pocono.
• NASCAR Hall of Fame Voter: As the reigning Sprint Cup champion, Harvick had a vote two weeks ago to help elect the incoming 2016 class to the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Harvick is only the second reigning Sprint Cup champion – Jimmie Johnson was the first in 2014 – to cast a ballot to help determine a class to be enshrined. The 58-member panel voted for the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2016 on May 20 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
• Honored at the White House: President of the United States Barack Obama honored 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick and the No. 4 team from SHR April 21 on the South Lawn of the White House.
• Kevin Harvick Day in Bakersfield, California: Bakersfield, California Mayor Harvey Hall proclaimed March 18 “Kevin Harvick Day” in the driver’s hometown. Local leaders met at the Boys & Girls Club of Kern County March 18 to celebrate the 2014 Sprint Cup championship. Also on March 18, The Kevin Harvick Foundation, in partnership with the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation, announced a plan to renovate and remodel the gymnasium and outdoor play area of the Boys & Girls Club of Kern County. Harvick’s hometown of Bakersfield is in Kern County. 

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