NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
SHOWTIME SOUTHERN 500
DARLINGTON RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
MAY 6, 2011
KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 29 BUDWEISER CHEVROLET, met with members of the media at Darlington Raceway and discussed taking more chances in races, what it takes to be successful at Dover, how RCR is running as a whole and more. Full transcript.
ON DARLINGTON. “It’s a fun race track and we’ve had okay results here. We’ve got a couple of different things we want to try this weekend and hopefully it will all work out.”
WITH WHERE YOU ARE IN THE POINTS AND TWO WINS, CAN YOU TAKE MORE CHANCES AND DO THINGS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT? “Well I think all that started last week at Richmond just trying to know where we need to be and depending upon where we are at in September. Dover and Charlotte you’ve got to know where you need to be to get back in the Chase. It’s an important week for us to put the notebooks where they need to be and have a good understanding of the things that we need to do.”
NOW THAT THE RCR CARS SEEM LIKE THEY’VE BEEN CATCHING UP, DOES THAT CHANGE THE ATTITUDE AROUND THE SHOP? “I think the best thing that happened is that Paul came out of the box and ran really well. Our cars, it hasn’t had the consistency that I would like to see it have but it’s been fast for many weeks and we’ve been able to knock off a couple of wins so that makes a big difference. It’s nice that the No. 33 car is turned around. The No. 31 car just has to get a little bit of luck. But yeah it definitely helps when everybody is running good because you have more to lean on as a driver and as a team when you have more available notes.”
DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU ARE A LITTLE MORE RELAXED NOW AT THIS POINT WITH THOSE TWO WINS THAN A FEW YEARS AGO? “I just feel like we have difference conversations in our competition meetings about different things. It’s not just about worrying about top-fives its worrying about how you are going to win races and then its worrying about how you can better yourself to be in position to try to get the performance that you need to try to win a championship. It’s been an interesting month I guess you can say.”
WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE SUCCESSFUL AT DOVER? “Dover is just one of those places as a driver feels really fast. With this style of car it seems like the forward drive up off the corner is probably the most important thing but you still have to make your car turn in the center of the corner so as a driver the car has to be comfortable to be really aggressive.”
DO YOU HAVE TO APPROACH YOUR DRIVING THERE DIFFERENTLY BECAUSE OF THE CONCRETE? “Not necessarily because of the concrete but the style of the track.”
WHEN THERE’S SOMETHING GOING ON THE TRACK LIKE THERE WAS LAST WEEK WITH THE NO. 42 AND THE NO. 39, CAN YOU SEE THAT AS A DRIVER AND SAY MAYBE I BETTER STAY AWAY FROM THOSE GUYS? “Usually if there is a situation you are around and you see it you need to be on your toes or something is going to happen. I wasn’t around that situation so I really didn’t know what was happening. They were just kind of giving me play by play on the radio.”
IS THAT KIND OF A FUN POSITION TO BE IN WHEN YOU ARE HEARING ABOUT A COUPLE OF OTHER GUYS DOING IT AND YOU JUST PAYING ATTENTION TO YOUR BUSINESS? “It’s always fun. That’s why the fans come, we’re no different we like to watch it too.”
NEXT WEEK WE KNOW YOU’RE DRIVING THE TRUCK RACE, WHAT ABOUT THE GOLF TOURNAMENT? “I’m sure everybody else will have the same thoughts on this. I was actually not going to run the Truck race then decided not to run it at the last minute because we already had all the plans for the golf tournament. Hopefully they can raise a lot of money and have a lot of fun, that’s really what it’s all about.”
SO YOU’RE NOT RUNNING THE TRUCK RACE JUST TO GET OUT OF THE TOURNAMENT? “No, not really.”
BEING MOTHER’S DAY WEEKEND WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MEMORY YOU HAVE OF YOUR MOM? “Well I think my mom has a lot of responsibility about me just being here to be honest with you because I was kind of at a cross roads in my racing career and in my life, whether I should go and try to finish college or take a chance on my racing career and she was the one who said you need to go take your chance on your racing career and see how it works out because if it doesn’t school will still be here when you get back. I guess it all worked out okay.”
WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN GRILLING THE LAST COUPLE OF NIGHTS? “We grilled steaks one night. Been trying to eat better so eating at home is a lot better for us. Lots of fish, chicken, steak, whatever?”
ARE YOU THE GRILL MASTER? “The Foreman. (laughing).”
Note: Team Chevy press releases, high-resolution images, and media kit can be downloaded from the Team Chevy media website:
About Chevrolet: Founded in Detroit in 1911, Chevrolet celebrates its centennial as a global automotive brand with annual sales of about 4.25 million vehicles in more than 140 countries. Chevrolet provides consumers with fuel-efficient, safe and reliable vehicles that deliver high quality, expressive design, spirited performance and value. The Chevrolet portfolio includes iconic performance cars such as Corvette and Camaro; dependable, long-lasting pickups and SUVs such as Silverado and Suburban; and award-winning passenger cars and crossovers such as Spark, Cruze, Malibu, Equinox and Traverse. Chevrolet also offers “gas-friendly to gas-free” solutions including Cruze Eco and Volt. Cruze Eco offers 42 mpg highway while Volt offers 35 miles of electric, gasoline-free driving and an additional 344 miles of extended range. Most new Chevrolet models offer OnStar safety, security and convenience technologies including OnStar Hands-Free Calling, Automatic Crash Response and Stolen Vehicle Slowdown. More information regarding Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.
