This Week’s Jimmy John’s Chevrolet at Richmond International Raceway ... Kevin Harvick will pilot Chassis No. 365 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. This chassis was used by the No. 33 RCR team during the 2011 Sprint Cup Series season, and Harvick most recently drove it to a second-place finish at Phoenix International Raceway in March.
Freaky Fast! Freaky Good! ... Jimmy John’s joins Harvick and the No. 29 team for the second of six races during the 2012 Sprint Cup Series season. The 36-year-old driver made his first NASCAR appearance at Richmond International Raceway in 1998 in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. The Richard Childress Racing veteran driver has completed a total of 14,938 laps at the 0.75-mile track spread across all of NASCAR’s top three racing series. Harvick has collected a total of seven wins, three poles, 22 top-five, 33 top-10 finishes and has led 1,767 laps at this short track.
Looking Back ... Harvick and the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet team scored a 12th-place finish in last April’s event at Richmond International Raceway after battling an ill-handling car for the majority of the race. Harvick and the No. 29 crew improved their finishing position during the fall event, capturing the team’s fourth victory of the season after a speedy pit stop under the final caution put the No. 29 Chevrolet in the lead for the final 15 laps of the 400-lap race.
In the Loop ... Harvick has competed in 14 Sprint Cup Series races at Richmond International Raceway since the inception of NASCAR’s Loop Data Statistics in 2006. The 0.75-mile short track is one of Harvick’s best tracks on the circuit as shown in the following statistics: first in Quality Passes (458), first in Laps in the Top 15 (1,561), second in Laps Led (882) and third in Fastest Laps Run (407).
In the Rearview Mirror: Kansas Speedway ... Harvick and the No. 29 Rheem crew started from the second position during the STP 400 at Kansas Speedway last Sunday afternoon. The Bakersfield, Calif., native ran out of fuel during a green-flag run and battled handling issues before crossing the finish line in the sixth position.
Find a Jimmy John’s ... Jimmy John’s, known for fresh, quality products and freaky fast service have 1,200 stores nationwide. Visit www.jimmyjohns.com to view the Jimmy John’s Freak Good menu and find your nearest location. You can order online or download the Jimmy John’s mobile application for Freaky Fast delivery. There are five Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwich shops in the greater Richmond area for hungry race fans located on West Franklin Street, Three Chopt Road and Midlothian Turnpike in Richmond, on West Broad Street in Glen Allen, and on Southshore Point Road in Midlothian.
Double Duty ... In addition to competing in Saturday night’s Sprint Cup Series race, Harvick will also climb behind the wheel of the No. 33 Fast Fixin’ Chevrolet, fielded by RCR, for the Virginia 529 College Savings 250 Friday evening. The NASCAR Nationwide Series race will air live on ESPN2 beginning at 7 p.m. ET and will be broadcast live on MRN Radio and Sirius NASCAR Radio.
Media Availability ... Harvick will be available to members of the media at 8:30 a.m. ET on Friday, April 27 in the Richmond International Raceway Media Center.
KEVIN HARVICK QUOTES:
You are the defending race winner at Richmond International Raceway and have had great success there in the past. What are your thoughts on heading back there this season with crew chief Shane Wilson and new team members?
“Richmond (International Raceway) has been a great track for me. I really like the short-track style racing, so I’m looking forward to the race. I’ll be driving in both the NASCAR Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series races this time, so the extra track time never hurts. As far as going back with a new team, we just need to keep our focus. The No. 29 team is doing well so far this season, but we just need to quit making the little mistakes and put a whole day together to come out ahead.”
The term ‘Racer’s Track’ has been used to describe Richmond International Raceway. What do you think that means?
“Richmond (International Raceway) is just one of those places that is short-track style racing, but it has enough speed to where it has that 1.5-mile track feel to it because the front straightaway is so fast. The great thing about Richmond now is the tires fall off so much. The cars slide around a lot. You have to really work on the mechanical setup of the car.”