WINNING COMBINATION: Heading to Phoenix International Raceway (PIR), Kevin Harvick looks to defend his truck series win from one year ago, this time behind the wheel of the No. 4 Longhorn Chevy Silverado.

In nine previous starts at the track, Harvick has recorded three wins, all for Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI), four top-five and four top-10 finishes.

In his four previous starts for KHI in the Truck Series, Harvick has started no worse than 10th, recorded three wins and his worst finish is fifth. In those four races, he has a starting average of 4.75, an average finish of 2.0, has led 234 laps and completed 100 percent of attempted laps (652 of 652).

100 STRONG: This weekend when Kevin Harvick climbs behind the wheel of the No. 4 Longhorn Chevy Silverado, he will make his 100th career start in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. In 99 previous starts, Harvick has accumulated four wins (three at PIR and all for KHI), 29 top-five and 42 top-10 finishes. In addition, he has completed 16, 236 laps and led 934. Harvick’s first career start in the series came at Mesa Marin (Calif.) on October 15, 1995, driving for his father, Mike Harvick.

ELITE GROUP: Harvick became the first driver at PIR to win a race in all three of NASCAR’s elite series by scoring his first Truck Series win in 2002, followed by a sweep in 2006 of the Nationwide and Cup Series events. Kyle Busch has also completed this task at PIR.

BEFORE THE RACE: QUOTES WITH DRIVER KEVIN HARVICK:

Returning to Phoenix International Raceway as the defending Truck Series race winner, what are you expectations?

“I always seem to do well at Phoenix, so I’m excited to see what we can do with the Longhorn Chevy this weekend. I run well in the Truck Series and every time I climb in the truck, I expect to be in contention at the end to win. Our truck program has really peaked and that makes it a lot of fun to race and see what we can do on the track. Hopefully at the end of the night, I can defend my win from last year and get the No. 4 team their first win of the season.”

Why do you have so much success at Phoenix International Raceway?

“Phoenix is one of those places that I grew up racing on. I raced a lot in the Southwest Tour, Winston West and Truck Series races at Phoenix. I have learned the characteristics of the race track and the little things that you can do when your car is not handling perfect. I like the flat race tracks. Racing on Phoenix my entire career has also translated into flat track success on the entire circuit.”

Does Phoenix fall into the same category as a short track like Martinsville or Richmond?

“I don’t really see Phoenix as a short track. Even though places like Phoenix and New Hampshire are only a mile, they both have a lot of room to race. Phoenix is always a fun race track. There are always at least two lanes, and sometimes even more, to pass.”

CHASSIS HISTORY:

This weekend the No. 4 Longhorn team will unload chassis No. 039 at Phoenix International Raceway for KHI co-owner Kevin Harvick. This is a brand-new chassis to the KHI stables and this weekend will mark its race debut.

PREVIOUS RACE RECAP:

Ricky Carmichael made his last scheduled start of the season for KHI at Texas Motor Speedway behind the wheel of the No. 4 Monster Energy Chevy Silverado. Starting the race from the ninth position, Carmichael lost the handling of the truck at the beginning of the race and fell back to the 16th spot. Working on the truck throughout the race and gaining valuable experience on the track, Carmichael was able to move through the field and finish the race in the 12th spot.

QUICK NOTES

Race length: 150 laps/150 miles

Banking: 11-degrees in turns 1and 2

9-degrees in turns 3 and 4

3-degrees on the frontstretch

9-degrees on the backstretch

Track layout: 1 mile

Shape: Tri-Oval

Pre-Race Schedule:

First Practice: 5:45 p.m. – 7:00 p.m., ET

Final Practice: 7:30 p.m. – 8:45 p.m., ET

Friday:

Qualifying: 4:30 p.m., ET

TV: The Lucas Oil 150 can be seen live on SPEED at 7:30 p.m., ET.

Radio: The Motor Racing Network (MRN) will broadcast the race live at 7:30 p.m., ET.

No. 4 Longhorn Chevrolet Specs:

Chassis: 039

Kevin Harvick Truck Stats at Phoenix

Year No. Team Start Finish

2008 2 KHI 10 1

2007 2 KHI 4 5

2003 6 KHI 2 1

2002 6 KHI 3 1

1999 98 JH 3 23

1998 75 WS 13 18

1998 75 WS 18 13

1997 75 WS 36 34

1996 72 MH 21 35

*KHI: Kevin Harvick Inc.

*JH: Jim Herrick

*WS: Wayne Spears

*MH: Mike Harvick

About Swedish Match:

Swedish Match is a global Group of companies with a broad assortment of market leading brands in smokeless tobacco, cigars and pipe tobacco, matches and lighters. Some of our well known brands include Red Man, Timber Wolf, Longhorn, Macanudo, Partagas, Cohiba and Borkum Riff. Swedish Match North America is headquartered in Richmond, VA, with manufacturing facilities in Owensboro, KY, Dothan, ALA, and the Dominican Republic. For more information visit the website at www.SwedishMatch.com.

About Kevin Harvick Inc.

Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI), established in 2001, is a 70,000 sq. ft. facility located in Kernersville, N.C. KHI houses two full-time Truck Series teams, including the 2007 series champions. The No. 33 team is led by three-time Truck Series champion Ron Hornaday and the No. 4 team is comprised of Ricky Carmichael, the most successful motocross racer in American history, and a variety of NASCAR Sprint Cup stars. KHI is also home to the No. 33 Nationwide Series team competing full-time with drivers Kevin Harvick (a two-time Nationwide Series champion), 2008 Daytona 500 champion Ryan Newman and Ron Hornaday. The 2009 season marks KHI’s sixth year of full-time competition in NASCAR’s elite divisions. Visit www.kevinharvickinc.com for more information.

- Kevin Harvick Inc. Press Release