Catchfence

FONTANA, Calif. (February 21, 2010) — With high hopes of securing his first Nationwide Series win at Auto Club Speedway, Kevin Harvick started the Stater Bros. 300 from the eight position and ran the majority of the race in the top five before an engine failure late in the race relegated the No. 33 Rheem Tankelss Water Heaters team to a 38th-place finish.

“It’s been a long time since that’s happened,” said Harvick as he climbed from the car with a smile on his face. “The guys did a great job today on pit road and the engine was great for most of the race. ECR provide great engines and it’s been a long time since we’ve been in this situation. I hate it for Rheem, but we had a good day with a fast car, we just didn’t get the finish we wanted.”

Starting the race from the eighth position, Harvick moved into the top five by lap nine and radioed crew chief Ernie Cope that the car was a touch loose. Discussing the changes that needed to be made, the team was able to come down pit road on lap 33, under caution, for four fresh tires, an air-pressure adjustment to both right-side tires and fuel. The race restarted on lap 37 with Harvick in the fourth position.

At the halfway point, Harvick continued to run in the top five. Several laps later as the race moved into a long green-flag run, teams began making scheduled green-flag stops. Cope made the call to bring Harvick down pit road on lap 79 for four fresh tires, an additional air-pressure adjustment and fuel. Harvick quickly radioed the guys that they were doing great on pit road.

As the field cycled through the stops, Harvick ran in the fourth position on lap 86 when the caution waved for debris. The team opted to again pit for four fresh tires and fuel. The race restarted on lap 91 with Harvick in the 12th spot as teams began gambling with varying strategies.

Racing his way as high as second on lap 95, Harvick would soon learn his day would end differently than hoped. While running comfortably in the top five, Harvick began to slow on lap 117 and realized his engine had expired. Making his way to the garage, Harvick and the team would finish the race in the 38th position.

Kyle Busch won the race followed by Greg Biffle, Brad Keselowski, Carl Edwards and Joey Logano. The DNF (Did Not Finish) marked Harvick’s first since October of 2005 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. Harvick’s streak of no DNF’s in the Nationwide Series ended at Auto Club Speedway with 109 races.

STATS RECAP

February 20, 2010

Auto Club Speedway

Stater Bros. 300

Race: 2 of 35

Driver: Kevin Harvick

Started: 8th

Finished: 38th

Owner’s Point Standings: 16th (-13 spots, 116 points out of 1st)

Race length: 150 laps/300 miles

Banking: 14-degrees in the turns

11-degrees on the frontstretch

3-degrees on the backstretch

Track layout: 2 miles

Shape: D-shaped Oval

Number of Race Cautions: 4 for 18 Laps

First Practice: 12th (40.975 seconds; 175.717 mph)

Final Practice: 15th (41.514 seconds; 173.435 mph)

Qualifying: 8th (40.511 seconds; 177.730 mph)

Next on the Nationwide Series Schedule:

Date: February 27, 2010

Track: Las Vegas Speedway

Event Name: Sam’s Town 300

Driver: Kevin Harvick

Sponsor: Rheem

Broadcast Time: 4:00 p.m., ET on ESPN2 and 4:00 p.m., ET on PRN Radio

- Kevin Harvick Inc. Press Release