Tuesday
Kevin Harvick, 2011 NSCS AAA 400 Race Preview
Press ReleaseKevin Harvick
No. 29 Rheem “Chasing the Cure” Chevrolet Impala
Event Preview Fact Sheet
This Week’s Rheem “Chasing the Cure” Chevrolet at Dover International Speedway … Kevin Harvick will race chassis No. 353 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. Prior to this weekend the team utilized this No. 29 Chevrolet twice in 2011 to score a win in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May and a seventh-place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway in early September.
Chasing the Cure with Rheem … While all eyes may be on the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, with the debut of the No. 29 Rheem “Chasing the Cure” Chevrolet, Rheem and RCR hope to inspire the racing community to join in “Chasing the Cure”, the company’s month-long program created to help raise national awareness of the importance of regular check-ups and early diagnosis in the fight against breast cancer. Rheem and RCR will mark the start of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month with a pink and black paint scheme on the No. 29 Rheem Chasing the Cure Chevrolet for Sunday’s race.
Pretty in Pink … DeLana Harvick, wife of the driver of the No. 29 Chevrolet, will wear a specially designed pink and black Rheem firesuit for the AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway. She will also present a duplicate version of her firesuit autographed by the entire No. 29 team to the Young Survival Coalition prior to the start of Sunday’s race.
Chase Update … Two races into the 10-race Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, Harvick is ranked second in the driver point standings and sits just seven markers back from the top spot. He has earned one top-five and has an average finish of seventh.
Harvick at Dover … In 21 starts at Dover International Speedway, Harvick has accumulated two top-five and eight top-10 finishes. His average starting position is 21.190 and he holds a 16.952 average finish at the track. Harvick has led 134 laps at Dover and has completed 98.3 percent (8,264 of 8,404) of the total laps run in NSCS competition at the track since 2001.
Last Time Around … In last year’s fall race at Dover, Harvick started 33rd and finished 15th. In May, he started and finished in the 10th position.
In the Loop … With 28 races complete, Harvick holds several impressive Loop Data statistics leading into Sunday’s race at Dover International speedway, including: second in fastest speed in traffic; third in closers (2.1 average spots gained in the last 10 percent of each race); fourth in percentage of laps run on the lead lap (90.31 percent/7,264 of 8,043 laps); seventh in driver rating (92.4); seventh in drivers late in a run; eighth in average running position (13.505); eighth in green-flag speed; eighth in laps in the top 15 (64.7 percent/5,200 laps); 10th in laps led (4.1 percent/333 laps); 10th in drivers fastest early in a run; and 10th in fastest drivers on restarts.
Survivors to Share as Well … In addition to the paint scheme, Rheem will launch a month-long contest on the Rheem Racing Facebook fan page to build awareness and garner support for breast cancer awareness. The contest will encourage breast cancer survivors to share their best celebratory photo and a 200-word description about why this photo is poignant. Rheem and RCR will award the winner and companion with a VIP trip and racing experience to the 2011 season-ending NSCS race in South Florida on November 20.
Benefitting the Young Survival Coalition … In addition, Rheem has pledged to donate one dollar for the first 10,000 Rheem Facebook fans who pledge one dollar or more to the Young Survival Coalition. The No. 29 crew will wear special pink and black Rheem Chasing the Cure T-shirts and hats for the Dover race; these hats and shirts, as well as a special ladies T-shirt, will be on sale at the RCR merchandise hauler at Dover as well as online at the RCR and Kevin Harvick, Inc team stores. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Young Survival Coalition. Rheem Facebook visitors can also request a free Chasing the Cure window sticker.
About Rheem … Rheem Manufacturing Company (www.rheem.com), is a privately held company in its 86th year of operation. Rheem manufactures a full line of eco-friendly, technologically advanced residential and commercial heating and cooling systems; tank, tankless, solar and hybrid heat pump water heaters; whole-home standby generators, controls, swimming pool and spa heaters; indoor air-purification products; and commercial boilers throughout North America and world markets. The company’s premium brands, including Raypak, Ruud and Rheem, have been recognized with countless industry and consumer awards for reliability, innovative design and high quality. Rheem is the official heating, cooling and water-heating supplier for Richard Childress Racing and Kevin Harvick Inc.
About the Young Survival Coalition … Founded in 1998 by three young breast cancer survivors, the Young Survival Coalition is the premier international organization dedicated to the critical issues unique to young women and breast cancer. YSC works with survivors, caregivers and the medical, research, advocacy and legislative communities to increase the quality and quantity of life for women diagnosed with breast cancer ages 40 and under. YSC members attend conferences; lobby federal and state legislators; speak at universities, colleges, and health fairs; and run an annual awareness campaign targeted at the medical community – encouraging doctors and researchers to focus more resources on this underserved segment of the population. The YSC also strives to educate and support young women living with a diagnosis of breast cancer.
KEVIN HARVICK QUOTES:
What are some of the challenges for your team in going to Dover International Speedway this weekend?
“We’ve had a good car there the last several times and haven’t necessarily got the finishes that we probably have deserved with where we ran all day, but it’s been a decent race track for us. It’s a fast race track. You’ve got to keep up with the race track as the groove moves around and the rubber builds up on the track. The biggest challenge is being able to get the car up off of the corner under power, wide open throughout the whole run.”
What does it take to be successful at Dover International Speedway?
“We’ll have to have our Rheem “Chasing the Cure” Chevrolet handling good because it’s so fast and there are so many things happening so fast at Dover that the driver has to be comfortable in the car. It seems like at Dover they always have one of those runs where you have green-flag pit stops and halfway through that run the caution comes out, so you have to be a little bit lucky to not end up on the wrong side of that there.”
How do you feel going into this weekend’s race at Dover International Speedway?
“We should be fine in Dover. I felt like we’ve run well there the last few times so I don’t really have any specific concerns. I think as you go to every race track there is always concern on whether you’re going to run good or bad and you never really know until you get there and see what the tire is and see exactly what the weekend brings with weather and all the different things that come with putting a weekend together. We can run really well at any race track. Along with anybody in the garage we have that opportunity to run bad, too. You just have to make the best out of whatever the weekend gives you.”
- Richard Childress Racing, Press Release
Article Tags: AAA 400, Dover (DE), Dover International Speedway, NASCAR, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NSCS, The Monster Mile
