Catchfence

2009 NSCS Kevin Harvick - (Photo Credit: Sam Greenwood/Getty Images for NASCAR)

* This Week’s No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet at Bristol Motor Speedway … Kevin Harvick will pilot Chassis No. 261 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. Built new for the 2008 season, this is the same Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet Impala SS that Harvick drove to seventh-place finishes at Martinsville Speedway in October and Phoenix International Raceway last November. The car has been updated, incorporating the latest RCR team specifications.

* Bristol Stats … In 16 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at NASCAR’s fastest half-mile, Harvick has one win (2005), nine top-five and 11 top-10 finishes. Additionally, “Happy” has led 390 laps and has a 9.6 average finishing position.

* RCR in Thunder Valley … In 108 Sprint Cup Series starts at Bristol, RCR boasts nine wins – seven with Dale Earnhardt, one with Harvick and one with Jeff Burton – three poles, 30 top-five and 51 top-10 finishes. Last March, RCR-prepared race cars swept the top three positions in the Food City 500 when Burton drove to Victory Lane, Harvick finished second and Clint Bowyer rounded out the top three. Additionally, in 43 starts, RCR Nationwide Series teams have claimed six wins – four with Harvick, one with Bowyer and one with Jeff Green – four poles, 19 top-five and 24 top -10 finishes.

* Bristol Sweep … Harvick captured his first NASCAR sweep in April 2005 at BMS, winning the NASCAR Nationwide Series race and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race in the same weekend. Since then, Harvick has added three more weekend sweeps to his résumé (Phoenix International Raceway in April 2006, Richmond [Va.] International Raceway in September 2006 and Daytona [Fla.] International Speedway in February 2007).

* Summing Up the Season … In the season’s first four events, Harvick has earned two top fives, two top 10s and has led nine laps. He has a 17.5 starting average to go along with a 14.0 finishing average. He has completed 974 of the 1,017 laps (95.8 percent) run this season and earned just over $1.5 million in purse money.

* Now Appearing … Harvick will take part in Food City Family Race Night at BMS on Fri., March 20. He will sign autographs from 6-7 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (an autograph sticker is required to receive an autograph. A total of 300 tickets will be handed out beginning at 5 p.m. EDT), then head over to the Food City Stage to play the video game, Rock Band, with driver Tony Stewart at 7:45 p.m. EDT. Fans will be selected from the crowd to come on-stage to participate with Harvick and Stewart. For more information, visit www.foodcityracing.com.

* New Additions … Two members of the No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil team have recently welcomed new additions to their respective families. Shock specialist Chris Chase is the proud parent of twin girls, Hayden and Addison, born on Feb. 27. Engine tuner John Goodwin is the father of a baby girl, Ella Grace, born on March 12.
* Don’t Miss A Beat … This weekend Harvick’s Shell-Pennzoil Chevy will be one of four cars featured on DIRECTV’s HotPass Coverage. With a channel dedicated solely to the Shell-Pennzoil Racing team during the Food City 500 from Bristol Motor Speedway, fans will be able to watch all the action from Harvick’s in-car camera, listen to in-car audio communication and see the network race broadcast on one screen. NASCAR HotPass, only on DIRECTV, features four driver channels. The service, which is free to all DIRECTV customers, combined with race day telecasts and NASCAR.com coverage, gives race fans the most comprehensive and powerful NASCAR experience possible. Harvick’s team will be showcased on DIRECTV channel 797.

* Double Duty … Harvick will pull double duty this weekend at BMS, competing in both the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series races. In addition to his duties in the No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet in Sunday’s Food City 500, Harvick will drive the No. 33 Chevrolet Impala SS for Kevin Harvick, Inc., in the Sat., March 21 Scotts Turf Builder 300. Harvick’s entry is sponsored by Armour canned meats, a brand of Pinnacle Foods Group, LLC. Qualifying for the Nationwide Series will be held at 9:40 a.m. EDT Saturday, and the race will air live on ABC, as well as the Performance Racing Network and Sirius XM Satellite Radio, that afternoon at 2 p.m. EDT.

* Catch all the Action … The Food City 500 from Bristol Motor Speedway will take the green flag Sun..,March 22 at 2 p.m. EDT. Race coverage will be televised live on FOX beginning at 1:30 p.m. EDT and broadcast worldwide on PRN and Sirius XM Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the fifth race on the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule will be televised live on SPEED Fri., March 20 at 3:30 p.m. EDT.

KEVIN HARVICK QUOTES:

What is your mindset going into Bristol since it’s a track where anything can happen?

“Bristol has always been a pretty good track for us. Bristol, like any short track, is tight and you can easily get into trouble. You just have to stay clean and focused.. As long as you are there at the end, you have a shot at winning the race.”

Did you like racing better at Bristol when it was more bumping and single-wide racing or do you like it better now that there are multiple grooves and you can pass a whole lot more?

“I think Bristol did a great job with the race track and making more racing grooves. The first time we went there, I think the tires were a little too hard and you could run all the way up at the wall. The last couple of times we went there, it was more like the old Bristol, but you still had a couple of options from the bottom to the middle. I think once they got the tires squared away, the race track kind of came back around and the racing was a lot more normal in the fall.”

Why do you enjoy running at Bristol so much?

“Bristol is one of my favorite race tracks. I enjoy the short track stuff and we’ve always been fortunate to run really well there. We go there with high expectations but you never know what’s going to happen. You can get caught up in a wreck in a hurry and have your day ended. You have to go to Bristol and enjoy it but know that the outcome could be the opposite of what you want it to be.”

Richard Childress Racing, Press Release