Kevin Harvick
No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet
Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway
Budweiser Racing Team Notes of Interest:
Kevin Harvick and the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet team return to Richmond (Va.) International Raceway (RIR) this week for Saturday night’s Federated Auto Parts 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) race.
Locked in… Harvick and the No. 29 Budweiser team enter Saturday night’s race already locked into the field for the 2012 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. On the strength of four top fives and 10 top-10 finishes, Harvick is currently ranked ninth in the NSCS driver point standings.
Looking to Repeat… Harvick returns to RIR as the defending race winner of the fall NSCS event at the 0.75-mile track and he and the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet team are looking for a repeat performance on Saturday night. In last year’s race Harvick started seventh and took the lead for the first time at lap 58. The driver of the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet went on to hold the point position on five occasions for a total of 202 laps and took the checkered flag 0.139 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Carl Edwards. Winless thus far in 2012, a victory in Saturday night’s event would secure Harvick three valuable bonus points once the Chase field is reset prior to the race at Chicagoland Speedway.
Chassis Info… The No. 29 team will utilize chassis No. 320 from the Richard Childress Racing (RCR) stable this weekend at RIR. Harvick raced this car to an eighth-place finish at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in July. He also earned a 19th-place result in the car at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway in April.
Harvick at Richmond… In 23 starts at RIR, the Bakersfield, Calif., native has earned two wins (September 2006 and 2011), one pole award (September 2005), six top fives and 14 top-10 finishes. Harvick has completed 98.7 percent of the laps run in NSCS competition at RIR since 2001 (9,086 of 9,203 laps). He holds an average starting position of 16.7 and an average finish of 11.8 at the 0.75-mile track.
Fall Peak… While NSCS teams visit RIR twice a year, a closer look at Harvick’s stats reveals a spike in performance during the fall race weekends at the short track. Harvick scored both of his NSCS wins at RIR in the track’s September race (2006 and 2011) and his average finish in the fall race (8.4) is 6.5 positions better than his average finish in the spring race (14.9) at RIR. He’s also earned more top-10 finishes (8 vs. 6), led more laps (538 vs. 404) and completed a greater percentage of laps in the fall race (99.98) than in the spring event (97.6) at RIR.
Richmond Loop Data… Since the implementation of NASCAR’s Loop Data Statistics in 2006, Harvick has competed in 15 NSCS races at RIR and holds an impressive set of marks entering this weekend’s event, including: first in Laps in Top 15 (5,525 laps/91.9 percent); first in Quality Passes (488); second in Laps Led (895 laps/14.9 percent); second in Fastest Drivers Early in a Run; third in Average Running Position (7.404); third in Driver Rating (111.6); third in Fastest Laps Run (421 laps/8.4 percent); third in Fastest on Restarts; third in Green-Flag Speed; third in Speed in Traffic and eighth in Fastest Drivers Late in a Run.
In the Rearview Mirror… In last weekend’s race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Harvick started 24th, raced his way to the front of the field and led on four occasions for a total of 101 laps. He battled a tight-handling car in the closing laps and scored a fifth-place finish.
Double Duty for Harvick… In addition to his duties in the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet, Harvick will drive the No. 33 Armour Chevrolet in Friday night’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race at RIR. ESPN will air coverage of the race starting with the pre-race show at 7 p.m. ET. Sirius XM NASCAR Radio and MRN Radio affiliates will provide the live radio broadcast.
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 Richmond International Raceway:
You head into the race at Richmond International Raceway already locked into the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship. How does that change your outlook on the race this weekend? “It definitely takes the pressure off of us as a team. Knowing that we are already locked into the Chase (for the NASCAR Sprint Cup), we’ll be able to race harder, take a few chances and direct our focus on getting that first win of the season.”
You are the defending race winner, and both of your wins at Richmond International Raceway have come during the fall event. Does that make you feel more confident about your chances of gettingyour first win of the season this weekend? “Richmond (International Raceway) is a good track for me in general. Since I started racing, it seems I’ve been successful on the flatter-type race tracks; they really seem to fit my driving style. On paper, this is one of our best tracks. Over the past two weeks our team has really been stepping up our game and avoiding big mistakes. As long as we stay focused, avoid mistakes and make the right calls, we should have a shot to get the Budweiser Chevrolet back to Victory Lane.”
Do you approach Richmond International Raceway as more of a short track or a speedway? “It really is a little of both, but I look at it with a short-track mindset. There is more contact at Richmond (International Raceway) than you have at a bigger track. I think sometimes drivers use the short track as an excuse to beat and bang, but as tight as the racing is there, it’s hard to not have incidental contact.”
Harvick’s Career Record at Richmond International Raceway:
Richmond International Raceway Track Facts: Track Length: 0.75 miles Race Length: 400 laps/300 miles Grandstand Seating Capacity: 97,912 First Race: April 19, 1953 Banking in Corners: 14 degrees Banking on Frontstretch: 8 degrees Banking on Backstretch: 2 degrees Frontstretch: 1,290 feet Backstretch: 860 feet TV: ABC, 7 p.m. ET Radio: MRN Radio, Sirius XM NASCAR Radio
