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Leader of the Pack

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. (July 1, 2015) – Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Jimmy John’s/Budweiser Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), has led or been near the front of the field in each of the first 16 Sprint Cup Series races of 2015 – a trend he hopes to continue this weekend in the Coke Zero 400 powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.

Harvick’s second-place finish in the season-opening Daytona 500 in February propelled the defending Sprint Cup champion toward the top of the point standings early in 2015. Including the Daytona 500, Harvick went on to assemble a series-record five straight top-two finishes to start the season, including back-to-back Sprint Cup wins at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Phoenix International Raceway.

Sixteen races into 2015, Harvick has scored a series-best 10 top-two finishes, 14 top-10s, and he sits atop the driver standings with 616 points. The No. 4 Chevrolet SS has led a series-high 1,225 laps with an average finish of 7.1. The 1,225 laps led are 517 more than the next-closest competitor – 708 by his SHR teammate Kurt Busch.

However, Harvick’s streak of 14 consecutive Sprint Cup events in which he led at least a lap ended last Sunday in the Save Mart 350k at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway. The only other race he didn’t lead a lap was the season-opening Daytona 500.

The last Sprint Cup driver to lead more than 1,225 laps through the first 16 Sprint Cup races of a season was Jeff Gordon, who led 1,276 laps though 16 races en route to winning his fourth Sprint Cup championship in 2001.

The staggering amount of laps led and the 14 consecutive races with laps led are impressive, but just as impressive for Harvick are numerous other statistics this season.

The Bakersfield, California native leads several other statistical categories: 125.0 driver rating, 11 top-five finishes, 26 bonus points, 764 fastest laps run, 19.9 percent of fastest laps run, 25.9 percent of laps led, 1,443.88 miles led, 4,377 laps in the top-15, 92.6 percent of laps in the top-15, average running position of 5.75, an average finish of 7.1 and a 67.9 percentage of quality passes.

While Harvick’s streak of leading Sprint Cup races ended at 14, he has a challenge ahead of him this weekend at Daytona International Speedway if he plans to start a new streak in Sunday night’s Coke Zero 400.

KEVIN HARVICK, Driver of the No. 4 Jimmy John’s/Budweiser Chevrolet SS:

What makes racing under the lights at Daytona in July so special?

“The July Fourth race at Daytona is special for a lot of reasons. I think, when you look at the night race at Daytona, it kind of marks the halfway point of the year and you know that you’re going to Daytona. It’s not the Daytona 500, but it’s still Daytona and everybody wants to win a race at Daytona no matter what it’s in or what it’s for. Daytona just has that special place in our sport and everybody wants to win there.”

What does it mean to you that NBC Sports is returning to NASCAR as a broadcast partner?

“Anytime you have a new partner come into the sport, it’s exciting. But when you have a new television partner and you see the enthusiasm and everything that comes with NBC and the excitement that they’ve built around our sport, it’s exciting for competitors and sponsors and everybody involved. We are excited to have NBC back and are looking forward to getting started in Daytona.”

Chassis Information: Chassis No. 4-949: Kevin Harvick will pilot the No. 4 Jimmy John’s/Budweiser Chevrolet SS built on Chassis No. 4-949 in the Coke Zero 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Sunday night at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. Built in 2015, Chassis No. 4-949 is a new chassis making its race debut at Daytona. 

Coke Zero 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 14 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 10 of 16 Sprint Cup starts and has scored 14 top-10s in 2015. He has led a series-high 1,162 laps with an average finish of 7.1.
• Harvick’s Sonoma Firesuit Goes to Auction: Outback Steakhouse will donate the Folds of Honor/Outback Steakhouse/ Budweiser firesuit worn by Harvick in last Sunday’s Sprint Cup race at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway to the Goodyear Gives Back program for auction. The online auction will began June 26 and runs through Tuesday with all proceeds benefiting Folds of Honor. Visit https://www.goodyear.com/en-US/company/goodyear-gives-back for additional details.
• Harvick Appears in Jake Owen Music Video: Harvick appears in the new music video for RCA Nashville recording artist Jake Owen’s new single, “Real Life,” which debuted exclusively on CMT as part of the “CMT Hot 20 Countdown” last Saturday at 9 a.m. EDT. The video highlights Owen’s ability to make real life a party and features a cast of characters set in real-life adventures. The video included Owen’s friends and family, from Harvick to his twin brother Jerrod and his mother.
• Inside the 2015 Loop Data: Harvick’s two wins tie him with SHR teammate Kurt Busch and trail only Jimmie Johnson’s four wins for the most among Sprint Cup drivers. Harvick’s 14 top-10 finishes tie him with Martin Truex Jr.’s for most in the series. Harvick also leads the Sprint Cup Series in points (616), top-five finishes (11), driver rating (125.0), average finish (7.1), average running position (5.754), number of fastest laps run (764), percentage of fastest laps (19.9), laps led (1,225), percentage of laps led (25.9), miles led (1,443.88), laps in the top-15 (4,377), percentage of laps in the top-15 (92.6), percentage of quality passes (67.9) and bonus points (26).
• Dynamic Duo: Harvick (two Sprint Cup wins and 1,225 laps led) and SHR teammate Busch (two Sprint Cup wins and 708 laps led) have combined for four Sprint Cup wins, led nearly 41 percent (1,933 of 4,729) of total laps, combined to lead 2,230.14 miles and recorded more than 22 percent (1,061 of 4,729) of the fastest laps in points-paying Sprint Cup races in 2015. Harvick and Busch also rank first and second in driver rating at 125.0 and 113.2, respectively.
• Top-Two Finishes Since Joining SHR: Harvick and the No. 4 team have finished first or second in 20 of 51 Sprint Cup points races since joining SHR – 39 percent of the total Sprint Cup starts during that time. Harvick also has scored seven Sprint Cup wins, 24 top-five finishes, 33 top-10s, nine poles and led 3,271 laps during the 51-race span.
• Bonus Points: Harvick leads all Sprint Cup drivers in bonus points scored (26) through the first 15 races of 2015. He has scored at least one bonus point in every race this season except the season-opening Daytona 500 and Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway. He has led laps in 14 Sprint Cup points races, including the most in six races – Atlanta Motor Speedway, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway and Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn. He also scored an additional three bonus points for each of his wins at Las Vegas and Phoenix. Jimmie Johnson is second with 22 bonus points and SHR teammate Busch is third with 18 bonus points.
• Harvick in the Sprint Cup Series at Daytona: Harvick will make his 29th career Sprint Cup points-paying start at Daytona in Sunday night’s Coke Zero 400. Harvick has two wins, seven top-five finishes and 12 top-10s at the famed 2.5-mile racetrack. Harvick has led 178 laps, has an average starting position of 16.2, average finish of 16.2, and has completed 90.3 percent (4,425 of 4,901) of the laps he’s contested there.
• Harvick at Daytona in February: Harvick started eighth, led one lap and finished 11th in the season-opening Sprint Unlimited non-points-exhibition at Daytona. In the Budweiser Duel at Daytona, Harvick competed in the first qualifying race for the Daytona 500, starting 14th and finishing sixth. He finished second in the Daytona 500 and later went on to finish in the top-two for the first five Sprint Cup points-paying events of 2015.
• Harvick at Daytona in the Xfinity Series: Harvick has 19 career starts in the Xfinity Series at Daytona with one win, three poles, 12 top-five finishes and 14 top-10s. He has led 230 laps, has an average starting position of 8.8 and average finish of 7.6, and has completed 99.2 percent (2,102 of 2,119) of the laps he’s contested there.
• Harvick in the Rolex 24 at Daytona: Harvick drove the No. 90 Flis Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette in the American GT class of the 2002 Rolex 24 at Daytona. The four-man team consisted of Harvick, Dave Liniger, Rick Carelli and John Metcalf. The team finished eighth in class after a mechanical issue forced the car’s retirement after completing 123 of 716 laps.
• Harvick in the IROC Series at Daytona: Harvick, the 2002 IROC champion, made three starts at Daytona in the series with a best finish of seventh in 2003 and 2004.
• Career Totals: Harvick has 30 wins, 125 top-five finishes, 243 top-10s and 15 poles in 518 career Sprint Cup starts heading into Sunday’s Coke Zero 400.
• Stewart-Haas Racing at Daytona: In 34 overall starts at Daytona, SHR-prepared Chevrolets have earned one pole (Danica Patrick, February 2013), two wins (Tony Stewart, July 2009 and 2012) seven top-five finishes and 11 top-10s, have been atop the leaderboard for 260 laps, and have completed 92.1 percent of the laps contested (5,522 of 5,995).
• SHR in 2015: Sixteen races into the 2015 season, SHR’s four Sprint Cup entries have recorded four wins, four poles, 17 top-five finishes and 25 top-10s. SHR Chevrolets have completed 18,615 of 18,916 laps contested and collectively have led 1,949 laps.
• NASCAR Hall of Fame Voter: As the reigning Sprint Cup champion, Harvick had a vote last month 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. 

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