Catchfence

No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet Impala SS

HOME BOUND WITH A MISSION: This week NASCAR will make the trip across the country to Auto Club Speedway in California where Bakersfield, California native Kevin Harvick will pilot the No. 33 Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) Rheem Chevrolet in the NASCAR Nationwide Series Copart 300, making his 14th career Nationwide Series start at the 2-mile track and looks to score his first NASCAR career win at his home track.

In 13 previous starts at the track, Harvick has seven top-five and 11 top-10 finishes. He has led 118 laps and completed 99.9 percent of laps attempted (1949 of 1950 laps). Earlier this year Harvick finished second in the No. 33 KHI Chevrolet, coming up one position short and now returns looking to finish what he left on the table in February.

The only victory Harvick has at Auto Club Speedway came in 2002 behind the wheel of an International Race of Champions (IROC) car as he went on to win the 2002 True Value IROC points title in just his first year competing in the series. The win helped him to become the sixth rookie and the first driver representing the Nationwide Series (for his 2001 Nationwide Series title) to win the IROC championship. In addition to the win at California, he also finished ninth at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, third at Chicagoland Speedway and fourth at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the four-race IROC series.

MR. CONSISTENCY: Set to make his 20th Nationwide Series start of the 2009 season, Harvick is fresh off his sixth consecutive top-five finish. In his last six starts, Harvick has one win (Atlanta Motor Speedway), one second-place, three fourth-place and one fifth-place finish. In 19 starts this season, Harvick has two wins, two poles, 12 top-five and 13 top-10 finishes and has led 455 laps.

15 AND COUNTING: With Harvick’s top-five finish at Kansas Speedway, the No. 33 KHI Chevrolet now has 15 top-five and 20 top-10 finishes this season.

Kevin Harvick

Do you consider Auto Club Speedway your home track since you are from Bakersfield, California? “I do consider Auto Club Speedway my home track. I remember growing up watching races at Riverside and Ontario. It’s always nice to come back to California and race in front of family and friends.”

Coming off your sixth top-five finish of the season and the consistency of the team recently, what are your expectations heading to your home track, Auto Club Speedway? “Every time I climb into the race car, I expect to have a shot at the win. These guys have really improved as the season has progressed and they keep me up front and in contention every week. Earlier this year, we ran really well at California and stayed in the top 10 the entire race before coming up a little short at the end. As long as we do what we’ve been doing every week, it will pay off and hopefully I can get my first career win at the track in front of family and friends.”

HARVICK RETURNS TO BAKERSFIELD SPEEDWAY TO SUPPORT YOUTH RACING SERIES PROGRAM: Harvick will return to Bakersfield, California this week to continue his support of a racing program for local high school students as well as help kick-off the 24th annual Budweiser Nationals at Bakersfield Speedway.

“We’ve been supporting the Kern County Youth Racing Series for a few years now, and we want to give these kids the opportunity to race, so we’re coming to the Speedway to help make that happen,” said Harvick.

The program was designed for high school students to experience all aspects of the sport of auto racing at the new half-mile paved raceway planned in west Bakersfield, but a delay in its opening has spurred Harvick to keep the program going by having an event at Bakersfield Speedway on Wednesday, October 7th.

The teams of high school students that make up the Kern County Youth Racing Series have already built their race cars and are ready for their first event. Not only will Harvick be at Bakersfield Speedway to be part of the event, he will spend time with the teams during their afternoon practice session and will actually race with the students during the event on October 7th. For more information, please contact the Bakersfield Speedway at (661) 393-3373 or visit their website at www.bakersfieldspeedway.com.

AUTOGRAPH SESSION: The first 150 people to purchase a No. 33 Camping World diecast for $20 on October 10, 2009, from 9:00 a.m. until Noon, at the Camping World store located on track property at Auto Club Speedway will receive a ticket to the Kevin Harvick autograph session set to take place on Sunday, October 11, 2009, from 8:45 a.m. to 9:45 a.m.

CHASSIS HISTORY: This week the No. 33 Rheem team will unload chassis No. 048 for Kevin Harvick at Auto Club Speedway. A brand-new chassis to the KHI stables, this will mark the first appearance of this chassis.

PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: Heading to Kansas Speedway, KHI team co-owner Harvick returned to the No. 33 KHI Chevrolet following a week out of the seat at Dover (Del.) International Speedway. Starting the Kansas Lottery 300 from the 14th position, the team made adjustments throughout the race to improve the handling of the car and had solid stops all day on pit road. With a fast car, Harvick was able to score a solid fourth-place finish to earn his sixth consecutive top-five finish of the season.

ARE YOU A FOLLOWER? With the Twitter craze sweeping the nation and the cyber world, the 2007 Daytona 500 champion recently began posting as a way to keep fans updated on what’s going on both on and off the track. You can now follow Harvick’s “tweets” at http://twitter.com/kevinharvick. Want more from the Harvick’s? You can also follow KHI co-owner DeLana Harvick on twiitter at http://twitter.com/delanaharvick.

No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet Specs:

Chassis: 048

Engine: ECR

Kevin Harvick Nationwide Stats at California

Year No. Team Start Finish

2009 33 KHI 9 2

2008 33 KHI 9 11

2008 33 KHI 6 3

2007 33 KHI 12 7

2007 33 KHI 6 6

2006 21 RCR 3 2

2006 33 KHI 28 8

2005 21 RCR 6 2

2004 21 RCR 23 3

2004 21 RCR 3 8

2003 21 RCR 1 3

2001 2 RCR 5 5

2000 2 RCR 38 14

*KHI: Kevin Harvick Inc.

*RCR: Richard Childress Racing

About Rheem:

Rheem Manufacturing Company (www.rheem.com) is a privately held company with headquarters in Atlanta, Ga. In its 81st year of operation, the company distributes throughout North America and world markets an award-winning line of eco-friendly, technologically advanced residential and commercial heating, cooling, water heating, whole-home standby generators, controls, pool and spa heaters, indoor air purification products and commercial boilers. The nation’s leading consumer products review magazine recently reported that Rheem products have been rated most reliable among all leading brands by tens of thousands of consumers. The premium brands of Rheem Manufacturing Company include Ruud, Raypak and Rheem. Rheem Manufacturing Company is the primary sponsor of Kevin Harvick Inc.’s No. 33 Chevrolet Nationwide® Series car and is an associate sponsor of KHI’s No 33 truck in the Camping World Truck Series. Rheem is also the major associate sponsor of Richard Childress Racing’s No 29 Sprint Cup Series car driven by Kevin Harvick.

About Kevin Harvick Inc.

Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI), established in 2001, is a 70,000 sq. ft. facility located in Kernersville, N.C. KHI houses two full-time Truck Series teams, including the 2007 series champions. The No. 33 team is led by three-time Truck Series champion Ron Hornaday and the No. 4 team is comprised of Ricky Carmichael, the most successful motocross racer in American history, and a variety of NASCAR Sprint Cup stars. KHI is also home to the No. 33 Nationwide Series team competing full-time with drivers Kevin Harvick (a two-time Nationwide Series champion), 2008 Daytona 500 champion Ryan Newman and Ron Hornaday. The 2009 season marks KHI’s sixth year of full-time competition in NASCAR’s elite divisions. Visit www.kevinharvickinc.com for more information.

- Kevin Harvick Inc. Press Release