Catchfence

JOLIET, Ill. (July 10, 2010) – Earning his 21st career Nationwide Series Pole, Kevin Harvick and the No. 33 Jimmy John’s team led nine laps, ran the entire race in the top nine and earned a solid seventh-place finish in Saturday night’s Dollar General 300 at Chicagoland Speedway.

“We tried a little different set up at Chicago and while we were able to have the speed we needed for qualifying, it didn’t hold up for the race,” said Harvick. “We fought a tight-handling car all race long and I’m just glad we were able to get the finish we did.”

Leading the field to the green flag, Harvick led the first nine laps before settling into the second position on lap 10. Harvick quickly radioed crew chief Ernie Cope that the car was too tight, a condition the team fought throughout the practice sessions. With the race continuing under green-flag conditions, Harvick radioed the team on lap 47 while running in the third position that he felt like he had a tire going down. With green-flag pit stops beginning on lap 50, Harvick gave up the fifth position on lap 54 for four tires, fuel, and an air-pressure and track-bar adjustment. After examining the tires off the car, the team determined the left-front tire had begun to cord. As the field cycled through pit stops, Harvick was scored in the fifth position on lap 59.

Making his way up to third, Harvick radioed the team on lap 63 that he now needed rear grip back as the car was too loose following the previous round of adjustments. Taking advantage of a caution on lap 69, Harvick pitted for four tires, fuel and an air-pressure adjustment. With teams opting for various pit strategies, including two-tire and fuel-only stops, Harvick restarted the race ninth on lap 76.

With four fresh tires, Harvick moved into fifth on lap 79 and reported that the car was too tight. Continuing under another long green-flag run, the field again was forced to make green-flag pit stops. Harvick pitted on lap 131 for four tires, fuel and an air-pressure adjustment to help with the tight-handling conditions. As the field cycled through pit stops, Harvick returned to the seventh position on lap 140. Two laps later, NASCAR waved the caution flag for debris. Harvick stayed out and restarted sixth on lap 147.

Running in the seventh position, Harvick continued to battle the handling of the No. 33 car and when the caution waved on lap 185, the team opted to pit for the final time for four tires, fuel and an air-pressure adjustment. Unfortunately, the changes made the car even tighter for the final laps of the race. The caution flag waved for the last time on lap 196, forcing NASCAR to a green-white-checkered finish. Harvick was able to hold onto seventh to score his 14th top-eight finish in 15 starts this season.

Kyle Busch won, breaking his tie with Harvick on the all-time Nationwide Series win list, moving him solely into the second position behind Mark Martin. Joey Logano finished second followed by Brian Scott, David Reutimann and Jason Keller.

About Jimmy John’s:

Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches was founded in 1983 by 19-year-old Jimmy John Liautaud in a converted garage in Charleston, IL. Since its inception, the company has grown to over 1,000 corporate and franchised locations in more than 37 states throughout the U.S. The company is known for its obsession with fresh, quality products and high-speed execution. For more information, visit www.jimmyjohns.com.

About Kevin Harvick Inc.:

Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI), established in 2001 by Kevin and DeLana Harvick, is an 80,000 sq. ft. facility located in Kernersville, N.C. Home of the 2009 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship team, KHI enters 2010 in its seventh full year of competition with two full-time Truck Series teams and one full-time Nationwide Series team. Four-time Truck Series champion Ron Hornaday returns to the helm of the No. 33 Truck team looking for his fifth title and third championship for KHI (2009 and 2007), while Sprint Cup series stars Kevin Harvick and Elliott Sadler guide the No. 2 Truck team. Two-time NASCAR Nationwide Series champion Harvick will again shine as the lead driver of the No. 33 Nationwide Series team as he continues to make his mark in motorsports and establish KHI as one of the top teams in NASCAR competition. For more information about KHI and its teams, please visit www.KevinHarvickInc.com.

- Kevin Harvick Inc. Press Release