Kevin Harvick – No. 33 Rheem Tankless Water Heaters Chevrolet Impala
NASCAR Nationwide Series Race 13 of 34 – Charlotte Motor Speedway
HARVICK RETURNS: Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) co-owner Kevin Harvick returns to the driver’s seat of the No. 33 Rheem Tankless Water Heaters Chevrolet Impala this weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The two-time NASCAR Nationwide Series champion has 19 starts at the Concord, N.C. track, which most in the sport consider their “home track.” Harvick boasts a record with three poles, two top-five and 11 top-10 finishes, but is still searching for a win at the 1.5-mile facility. The driver has led 127 laps at Charlotte and has a best finish of third (2004).
KHI AT CHARLOTTE: The 1.5-mile Concord track remains one of 15 tracks on the Nationwide Series schedule at which KHI does not have a pole award. While Harvick has three poles to his credit, none have come behind the wheel of a KHI vehicle.
Charlotte also remains one of 17 tracks at which the organization has yet to score a victory in the series. KHI has scored two wins (2009, 2007) with driver Ron Hornaday in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
CHASSIS HISTORY: Crew chief David Hyder and the No. 33 team will unload chassis No. 071 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. This chassis has competed in three events this season with top-10 results. Harvick piloted the No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet to at third-place finish at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif. back in March. Paul Menard brought the KHI team a back-to-back third-place finish the following week at Texas Motor Speedway. This chassis was also used at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway at the beginning of this month with Clint Bowyer behind the wheel. Bowyer collected a sixth-place finish.
PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: Austin Dillon wheeled the No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet Impala to a 10th-place finish at Iowa Speedway on Sunday, May 22. Dillon, in his second start with the KHI team, started from the third position after NASCAR canceled qualifying for the third consecutive week due to inclement weather and set the field according to Owner’s Points. The young driver fought a loose-handling race car and battled his way to the top-10 result. Dillon has two additional races with the No. 33 team this season, Nashville Superspeedway and Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis in July.
HARVICK’S THOUGHTS ON CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY: “Charlotte is one of those places where I seem to run well, but haven’t had the finishes that I would like to have had. We’ve run well at the mile-and-a-half tracks so far this season. I’m really hoping we can get this Rheem Tankless Water Heater Chevrolet into victory lane on Saturday.” About Rheem: Rheem Manufacturing Company (www.rheem.com) is privately held with headquarters in Atlanta. In its 86th year of operation, the company 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 to Richard Childress Racing (RCR), Kevin Harvick, Inc. (KHI) and is a primary sponsor of RCR’s No. 29 Sprint Cup Series car and KHI’s No. 33 Nationwide Series car and Camping World Truck Series No. 2 truck. Harvick was named Nationwide Series “Driver of the Decade” in 2010.
Fast Facts:
Kevin Harvick Nationwide Series Statistics at Charlotte Motor Speedway Starts: 19 Wins: 0 Poles: 3 Top 5: 2 Top 10: 11 Laps Led: 127 Average Start: 13.0 Average Finish: 12.2
Race Info: May 28, 2011 Charlotte Motor Speedway Top Gear 300 1.5-mile Quad-Oval 200 Laps/ 300 Miles
Broadcast Info: TV:ABC will broadcast live at 2:30 p.m. EST Radio:The Performance Racing Network (PRN) will broadcast live at 2:00 p.m. EST
CarSpecs: Chassis:071 Engine:Earnhardt-Childress Racing (ECR)
