Kevin Harvick No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet Finger Lakes 355 at Watkins Glen International
Budweiser Racing Team Notes of Interest: Kevin Harvick and the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet team go to Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International this weekend for Sunday’s Finger Lakes 355 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) road course race. Testing for 2013… Prior to travelling to Watkins Glen, Harvick and the No. 29 Budweiser team will spend Tuesday and Wednesday participating in a Goodyear tire test at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway where they’ll run the new 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Chevrolet SS. The test is scheduled to run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET each day with an hour-long lunch break at noon. The grandstands will be open to the public, free of charge. Chassis Info… The No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet team will utilize chassis No. 395 from the Richard Childress Racing (RCR) stable this weekend at Watkins Glen. The team raced this car to a 16th-place finish at the road course in Sonoma, Calif., in June. Red, White and Blue Summer… For the sixth and final time this season, the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet will sport the patriotic colors of Budweiser’s “Red, White and Blue Summer” packaging featured the King of Beers’ bottles and cans found at various locations this summer.
Meet Harvick… Race fans in the Watkins Glen, N.Y., area can meet Harvick on Thursday, August 9. He will appear at the Walmart Supercenter, located at 515 East 4th Street, from 4:30 – 6 p.m. ET. Fans can contact the store for more details. Cheering on Team USA… As we enter the final weekend of the 2012 London Olympics, the No. 29 Budweiser team will be keeping tabs on Dennis Bowsher, a member of the U.S. Army who will represent Team USA in the men’s modern pentathlon competition on Saturday. Bowsher helped teach the No. 29 Budweiser team the basics of fencing when the crew visited the U.S. Olympic Complex in Colorado Springs, Colo., in June. Photos of the team’s trip to the Olympic Training Center are available on the Budweiser Racing media site: .
Transform Reality with Blippar… Emerging technology from Blippar delivers an exclusive mobile experience to fans of Harvick and the No. 29 Budweiser Racing Team. Blippar is the first image-recognition phone app aimed at bringing products to life with exciting augmented reality interactions and instantaneous content. With theBlippar app, fans can use their smart phones to convert the Bud 29 logo into an interactive experience where they can view footage of Harvick and the team, get behind-the-scenes access and take their photo with the driver of the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet. The free app is available for download on iOS and Android devices. Once downloaded, fans can utilize the app to blipp (scan) the Bud 29 logo, accessible in retail locations and on team merchandise, to access the special content.
Golfing with Harvick… Following Sunday’s race at Watkins Glen International, the 73rd annual Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, N.C., will tee off on Monday, August 13 with the third annual Kevin Harvick Foundation Pro-Am Presented by Technology Concepts & Design, Inc. The Kevin Harvick Foundation Pro-Am is the first official event of the Wyndham Championship, the seventh-oldest event on the PGA TOUR, held at Sedgefield Country Club. PGA TOUR professionals will join Harvick and other amateur golfers on four-player teams at 10 a.m. ET for the Pro-Am.
Harvick at Watkins Glen… In 11 starts at Watkins Glen International, Harvick has earned one win (2006), two top fives and six top-10 finishes. Harvick has led 29 laps at the road course and completed 97.2 percent of the laps run in NSCS competition at the track since 2001 (966 of 994 laps). He holds an average starting position of 12.7 and an average finish of 12.9 at the 2.45-mile track. Last Time Around… Harvick started last year’s rain-delayed race at Watkins Glen International from the 23rd spot and was able to take home a sixth-place finish.
In the Rearview Mirror… Last weekend at Pocono Raceway Harvick started 21st and finished 16th in the rain-shortened race. For the online version of the Budweiser Racing media guide, please visit . Follow along each weekend with Harvick and the team on Twitter. Check out @KevinHarvick for behind-the-scenes information straight from the driver of the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet. Get live updates from the track each weekend from @Black29Car, the PR team for Harvick. Also, follow @RCRracing and @RCR29KHarvick for additional information about the Richard Childress Racing organization. Fans can also interact with Harvick on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/OfficialKevinHarvick.
Harvick talks about racing at Watkins Glen International:
Last year you finished sixth at Watkins Glen. Talk about the biggest challenges of racing there. “Watkins Glen is really fast, so the biggest thing there is to get your car good under braking so you can make passes during the race. Usually where you can gain the most time is in the braking zones.”
Since you’ve raced there 11 times, is it to the point now where you’ve learned as much as you can and it’s just a matter of having the perfect day to seal the deal at Watkins Glen? “I don’t think so. Every time we go there something’s a little bit different because the cars are always getting better and the tire is constantly changing. A couple of years ago they changed the race track a little bit with the concrete patches, so there’s always something that seems to change so you’re constantly learning. Obviously you know the majority of the characteristics and direction and gears, and things you need to be in because we’ve been there so many times, but there’s always something to learn.”
Talk about racing through the bus stop and how crazy it gets. “The bus stop is obviously a very fast entry to the corner and you run over all the curbs as you go through the corner, so it’s a fun section of the race track and obviously a passing zone. Sometimes you have to get a little bit defensive getting into the bus stop, but there’s definitely a lot of time to be gained or lost there.”
Describe the increased emphasis on roadcourses in recent years and how things have changed. “Well that didn’t really change much over the last four or five years. I think before that there was a big change just because of the points and the things are all still the same from every other week. There were a lot of people that were good at it. You had to become good at it to be competitive so you’ve got to put a lot of effort into it.”
What sections or turns are the most challenging at Watkins Glen International? “It just depends on how your car is handling. I think they can all present problems. As the race goes on Turn 1 becomes more of an issue because it’s downhill and the brakes start to get worn out. The wheel hop becomes easier to start happening as the race goes on. That is the one you have got to watch for me during the race, but they all present different challenges.”
Are the road courses still odd ball races or do they seem like just another race now? “They are pretty much just another race now. I think everybody knows that you are going to a road course and you’ve got a lot of different aspects from a driver’s standpoint and the team standpoint that you have to pay attention to.”
Harvick’s Career Record at Watkins Glen International:
Watkins Glen International Track Facts: Track Length: 2.45 miles Race Length: 90 laps/220.5 miles/354.9 kilometers TV: ESPN, 1 p.m. ET Radio: MRN Radio affiliates, Sirius XM NASCAR Radio
