Catchfence

No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet Impala

ADDING TO AN ALL STAR LINE-UP: This week at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) welcomes another new addition to the No. 33 Nationwide Series team line up. Elliott Sadler will make his first start in the No. 33 car, but is no stranger in KHI equipment. Earlier this season, Sadler won the inaugural Truck Series race at Pocono (Penn.) Raceway behind the wheel of the No. 2 KHI Chevrolet.

Heading to his favorite track on the circuit, Sadler will pull triple duty this weekend as he makes his first Truck Series start at the 0.533-mile track on Wednesday night in the No. 2 truck, followed on Friday night in the No. 33 Nationwide Series car and conclude the weekend on Saturday night behind the wheel of the No. 19 Cup car.

In seven previous Nationwide Series starts at the ‘World’s Fastest Half-Mile,’ Sadler has one win, one top-five and one top-10 finish. He has led 99 laps and completed 80.7 percent of laps attempted (1413 of 1750 laps). This will mark Sadler’s first Nationwide Series start at the short track since 2008.

On the Cup side, Sadler will be making his 25th-career start at the famous Tennessee track. In his 24 previous starts, he has one win, three top-five and four top-10 finishes. He has led 113 laps and completed 90.3 percent of laps attempted (10853 of 12013 laps).

With a win in both the Nationwide and Cup Series, Sadler will be looking to add a Truck Series win to his Bristol résumé as he makes his first-career Truck Series start at the track.

BEFORE THE RACE: QUOTES WITH DRIVER ELLIOTT SADLER:

This will mark your first Nationwide Series race for KHI. Having won at Truck race earlier this season for KHI, talk about the opportunity to now pilot the No. 33 Nationwide Series car. “It’s a huge honor for me. I can’t think KHI enough for giving me the opportunity they have in the trucks this year. Obviously, we’ve been pretty successful by winning a race and poles, running up front and leading laps. I’ve got to thank Kevin and DeLana (Harvick) for giving me this opportunity at Bristol, my favorite track. It’s going to be neat to pull triple duty. His (Kevin’s) cars are always fast. I’ve known Ernie Cope (crew chief) for a long time and I’m looking forward to working with him. I think we’re going to have a great night at Bristol.

Talk about pulling triple duty by running the Truck Series race on Wednesday night, the Nationwide Series race on Friday night and concluding with the Sprint Cup Series race on Saturday night. “If I had to pick a race track to do it at, this would be a perfect spot for me. I love this track more than anything and people know that, all the Elliott Sadler fans know that. The night race at Bristol just has this certain electricity about it and I get to experience it all three nights and I get to experience it in very competitive equipment. We know we are going to be very fast and hard to deal with in the truck, we know we are going to be very fast in the Nationwide car as well and also in the Cup car. To be able to run triple duty at a place like this is going to be a lot of fun for me and just looking forward to working with the guys on Nationwide side here (at KHI). Hopefully we’ll have the same success that we’ve been having in the trucks and move on from that.

With Bristol being one of your favorite tracks and having had success at the track, what’s the perfect lap around Bristol? “The perfect lap around Bristol – You’ve got to get your car to turn in the middle and have good forward bite off (the corners), and no matter what style of vehicle you are in, even though I have never been around Bristol in a truck yet, you’ve got to get it to turn in the middle. If we can do that, we’re going to have really good races all three nights. That’s the main thing I will be keying on when I get there.”

CHASSIS HISTORY: For the high banks of Bristol Motor Speedway, the No. 33 team will unload chassis No. 055 for Sadler this week. This chassis was last used at Iowa Speedway where two-time Nationwide Series champion Kevin Harvick piloted the chassis from the seventh position to a solid second-place finish. Prior to Iowa, this chassis was on track at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway where Harvick started the race from the 18th position and finished sixth. The only other appearance this chassis has this season was the rain-delayed race at Texas Motor Speedway in April where the then brand-new chassis started the race 16th and finished fifth with Harvick behind the wheel.

PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: For the second new car race of season, the Nationwide Series unloaded at Michigan International Speedway. With team co-owner Harvick behind the wheel, the No. 33 team had a ‘freaky fast’ Jimmy John’s Chevrolet during practice, but qualified 15th, and from the start of the green flag fought a loose-handling car. Adjusting the car throughout the 125-lap event, Harvick ran as high as third before finishing the CARFAX 250 in the 10th position.

ARE YOU A FOLLOWER? Twitter users can now keep up-to-date with Kevin Harvick Inc.’s NASCAR Nationwide Series by following @KHI_NNS. In addition, you can follow KHI’s Truck Series teams @KHI_TruckSeries. Want more from KHI? Follow KHI’s co-owners Kevin and DeLana Harvick @KevinHarvick and @DeLanaHarvick.

Elliott Sadler Nationwide Stats at Bristol

Year   No.     Team    Start   Finish

2008   9       GG       4      21
1999   35      BA      24      24
1998   66      GB      28      32
1998   66      GB       3       1
1997   29      GB      32      41
1997   29      GB      28      14
1996   29      GB      25      13

*GG: George Gillett, Jr.
*BA: Bill Amick
*GB: Gary Bechtel

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.

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