Catchfence

BRISTOL, Tenn. (August 21, 2010) - Making his first start in a Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) Nationwide Series car, Elliott Sadler climbed behind the wheel of the No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet, scoring the pole position and leading 26 laps before finishing the Food City 250 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway solidly in the third position.

“I had a ball, I felt like a little 16-year-old kid running up front, running for the lead and racing with these guys that race every single week,” said Sadler after the race. “It was a ton of fun to sit on the pole and be competitive all race. I got a little too tight at the end. I used up my tires from lap 170 to 190 trying to get around Brad (Keselowski) and just got a little too tight at the end. But, I had a ball. The car is in one piece, not a scratch on it, and we ran up front and were competitive all race. We’re going to call that a pretty good race.”

Scoring his first Nationwide Series pole since April 4,1998 at Texas Motor Speedway, Sadler ran most of the 250-lap event in the top five before finishing third. With the green flag in the air, Sadler slipped a few positions at the start of the race, falling to third and radioing the team on lap 14 that he needed more rear grip.

Moving in on lapped traffic, Sadler continued to run third as he maneuvered his way around competitors. On lap 50, Sadler radioed crew chief Ernie Cope that the water temperature of the car was rising due to either trash on the grill or too much tape. Hoping for a caution to check on the car, the team received the needed break on lap 58 when the first caution of the night waved. Sadler pitted for four tires, fuel, an air-pressure adjustment and to clean and remove tape from the grill of the car. Sadler restarted sixth on lap 61.

Taking over third on lap 67, the caution again waved on lap 81. Under caution, Sadler reported that the car was a little too tight in the center and that he could use more front grip. Debating on pit strategies, Cope made the call to bring Sadler to pit road for four tires, fuel and air-pressure and track-bar adjustments. Good to the end of the race on fuel, Sadler was 15th on the lap 89 restart.

Shuffled back in the pack on the restart, Sadler patiently worked to get around competitors’ cars, not wanting to take any chances and damage the Rheem Chevrolet. The caution flag waved again on lap 116 with Sadler running 13th, but after the leaders pitted on lap 119, Sadler was scored second on the lap 123 restart. Taking a few laps to get going, Sadler took over the lead on lap 129. Leading the next 26 laps, Sadler slipped to third on lap 155 while in heavy lapped traffic.

Continuing to run in the third spot, Sadler radioed the team on lap 170 that he had picked up a vibration in the brakes from the heat and needed to cool them off. With the top-four cars holding a slight lead, Sadler moved from third to fourth while trying to use the brakes a little less and allowing them to cool off.

Avoiding being caught in multiple cautions that took place in front of the No. 33 car andmaintaining his position in the top five, Sadler moved as high as second on lap 193 and again on lap 234. With the final restart taking place on lap 240, Sadler restarted second, but slipped one position to third when the checkered flag waved. The finish marked Sadler’s second top-five finish at Bristol in the Nationwide Series.

Kyle Busch won his 10th Nationwide Series race this season, followed by Jason Leffler, Sadler, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Carl Edwards.

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