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Kevin Harvick No. 4 Budweiser Chevrolet Event Preview: Richmond

Pre-Race Reports | NASCAR Cup Series | 09/10/15

Make a Plan to Make it Home

KANNAPOLIS, North Carolina (Sept. 10, 2015) – Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Budweiser Make a Plan to Make it Home/Jimmy John’s Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), will celebrate his return to the Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship field during the post-race infield party following Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway. But, Harvick’s No. 4 Chevrolet will also remind fans attending the race, at the post-race party or watching the race somewhere other than home to Make a Plan to Make it Home. Whether you call a cab, call a friend or arrange for a designated driver, make a plan to make it home every time you go out.  Do whatever it takes to get home safely

The responsibility-themed paint scheme will promote Budweiser’s Make a Plan to Make it Home campaign, which encourages customers to plan ahead to get home safely as part of Anheuser-Busch InBev’s Global Be(er) Responsible Day on Friday, Sept. 18 − a day dedicated to promoting alcohol responsibility.

On Sept. 18, Anheuser-Busch InBev thousands of employees and distributors will visit retailers and consumers to remind them of the importance of making a plan to make it home.

In the past three decades, Anheuser-Busch and its wholesalers have invested more than $1 billion in national advertising campaigns and local programs to promote responsible drinking and prevent underage drinking and drunk driving.

Harvick and the No. 4 team are hoping to aid in promoting the Make a Plan to Make it Home message Saturday night as they clinch their bid to defend their 2014 Sprint Cup title.

Harvick clinched his spot in the Chase field by points with his eighth-place finish July 11 at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, which guaranteed him a top-30 finish in the driver standings after Saturday night’s race No. 26 of the regular season. He only needs to attempt to qualify Friday afternoon for Saturday night’s Sprint Cup event to make it official.

In 2015, the Sprint Cup points leader has consistently run and finished in the top-five since the start of the season with a chance to win nearly every weekend. He has two wins and 10 second-place finishes. Three times he’s finished third, twice he’s finished fourth, and he recorded first fifth-place finish last Sunday night at Darlington. He has amassed 22 top-10s in 25 Sprint Cup races.

With only the Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond remaining before the start of the 10-race Chase playoffs, Harvick would like to add his third Sprint Cup win of the season at Richmond Saturday night. He scored his first of the year in the season’s third race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and his second the very next week at Phoenix International Raceway.

Twenty-five races into 2015, Harvick’s 18 top-five finishes lead the series, and he sits atop the driver standings with 948 points. The No. 4 Chevrolet SS has led a series-high 1,450 laps with an average finish of 7.4. The 1,450 laps led are 613 more than the next-closest competitor – 837 by Joey Logano.

Harvick has led at least one lap in 20 of 25 Sprint Cup races this season, including a streak of 14 in a row from March 1 at Atlanta Motor Speedway through June 14 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn. The staggering number of laps led and the 14 consecutive races with laps led is among numerous other impressive numbers Harvick has compiled this season.

He leads several other statistical categories: 119.8 driver rating, 34 bonus points, 957 fastest laps run, 24.9 percent of fastest laps run, 20.9 percent of laps led, 1,862.45 miles led, 5,303 laps in the top-15, and average running position of 7.317 in addition to his average finish of 7.4.

While Harvick and the No. 4 team are locked into the Chase field by points and wins, gaining bonus points for additional wins is now a priority for Saturday night at Richmond – along with making sure all race fans make a plan to make it home safely.

KEVIN HARVICK, Driver of the No. 4 Budweiser Make A Plan To Make It Home/Jimmy John’s Chevrolet SS:

Do you have a favorite win at Richmond?

“I remember the ones I lost more than I do the ones I won. The first one where Ricky Rudd and I were racing in 2001 was pretty cool. But as you look back at the last one we won in 2013 as part of a green-white-checkered finish, I think we came from seventh to win, so I didn’t really expect to win that one. I think the other two were probably fairly strong nights for us.”

Describe the energy of racing under the lights at Richmond in the last race before the Chase.

“The second Richmond race each year is especially intense just because you know that there’s a lot on the line. There are a lot of people racing for different things. It’s the end of our regular season. If you’re not in the Chase, it’s your last chance to win a race. There are some guys who will probably be fighting for points spots as you go in there, but Richmond is kind of your perfect short track. It has good speed, a short-track feel to it, and the tires wear out. That’s kind of what we all grew up racing on. It’s got a little bit of everything and that makes it a fun place to race.”

Chassis Information: Chassis No. 4-843: Kevin Harvick will pilot the No. 4 Budweiser “Make a Plan to Make it Home”/Jimmy John’s Chevrolet SS built on Chassis No. 4-843 in the Federated Auto Parts 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Saturday night at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway. Built in 2014, Chassis No. 4-843 won two races, two pole positions and led 748 laps in its first season. Harvick won the pole and led 238 laps en route to winning the Southern 500 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway. At Dover (Del.) International Speedway, Harvick won the pole, led 223 laps and finished 13th. The final race of 2014 for Chassis No. 4-843 was perhaps the most impressive as it started third and led 264 at Phoenix International Raceway in November. In its three starts of 2015, Harvick started and finished second and led 116 of 325 laps at Atlanta Motor Speedway, and started eighth, led 26 laps and finished ninth in the Coca- Cola 600. In its most recent appearance at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway, Harvick started second, led three laps and finished 42nd after an engine failure. 

Richmond Notes of Interest:


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