Kevin Harvick
No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet
Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway
Budweiser Racing Notes of Interest:
After scoring their first win of the year in last weekend’s race at Phoenix International Raceway (PIR), Kevin Harvick and the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet team travel to Homestead-Miami Speedway for Sunday’s Ford EcoBoost 400 – the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) season finale.
Media Availability… Harvick will be available to members of the media at 12:45 p.m. ET on Friday at the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet hauler in the NSCS garage. Chassis Info… The No. 29 team will utilize chassis No. 378 from the Richard Childress Racing (RCR) stable at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Harvick has raced the car four times this season to earn the following finishes: fifth (Atlanta 9/2), sixth (Kansas 4/22), 10th (Michigan 6/17) and 11th (Kansas 10/21).
Harvick at Homestead… Harvick has made 11 NSCS starts at Homestead-Miami Speedway and has completed all but one of the 2,942 laps run in NSCS competition at the track during that span. He has earned five top fives and nine top-10 finishes at the 1.5-mile track and has an average finish of 7.9. Harvick has led in six of his 11 starts at Homestead-Miami Speedway for a total of 128 laps. His best finish at the track is second, a mark he’s earned twice, first in 2003 and again in 2008.
Homestead Loop Data… Since the implementation of NASCAR’s Loop Data Statistics, Harvick has competed in seven NSCS races at Homestead-Miami Speedway and earned several high marks, including: second in Closers; second in Fastest Drivers in an Early Run; second in Laps in Top 15 (80.2 percent/1,499 laps); fourth in Average Running Position (9.727); fourth in Driver Rating (102.5); fourth in Green-Flag Speed; fifth in Fastest on Restarts; fifth in Speed in Traffic; sixth in Quality Passes (307); seventh in Fastest Drivers in a Late Run; eighth in Laps Led (3.7 percent/70); and 10th in Fastest Laps Run (67 laps).
Last Time Around… Harvick started 21st and finished eighth last year at Homestead-Miami Speedway after leading a total of 12 laps.
In the Rearview Mirror… Harvick scored his 19th career NSCS victory Sunday at PIR after starting 19th. The win ended the No. 29 Budweiser team’s 44-race winless streak that dated back to their September 2011 victory at Richmond International Raceway.
2012 in Review… Heading into the final race of the season, Harvick has earned one win, five top fives and 13 top-10 finishes so far this year. He’s led a total of 256 laps and has an average finish of 12.2. Entering the weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Harvick sits eighth in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings with 2,285 points.
Happy’s Birthday Bash… Harvick will celebrate his birthday a week early this year with the Budweiser Presents Happy’s Birthday Bash at The Fox Theater on Saturday, December 1, in his hometown – Bakersfield, Calif. Country music star Craig Morgan headlines the charity event benefitting the Kevin Harvick Foundation and Bridgette Tatum will make a special guest appearance. Tickets to the event start at $29 and are available at www.vallitix.com, The Fox Theater box office and any Vallitix outlet, or by phone at 1-888-825-5484.
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 Homestead-Miami Speedway:
What’s your approach going into Sunday’s race at Homestead-Miami Speedway? “I think for us it’s all about going down there and trying to get the best finish we can. Ideally, we’d love to repeat last weekend and close out the season with back-to-back wins, butoverall we want to run the best we can to end the season strong and finish as high as possible in the point standings.”
You’ve had a lot of strong runs at Homestead-Miami Speedway. What do you attribute that to? “It’s been a good track for us. We were good on the flat surface, but have run well with the new configuration, too. Homestead has been one of those tracks we’ve been fortunate to go to where everything kind of fits the styles of the way our cars are built to run and my driving style. It’s definitely been a good race track for us and we’re looking forward to going down there and closing out the season strong this week.”
How does Homestead-Miami Speedway fit your driving style? “It’s just unique. You can charge Turn 1 a little bit more than you can at most places, because as you get through the corner, the banking seems to get steeper all the way through, and you have options. You can run the top, you can run the bottom, you can run the middle, or you can split the middle-top or middle-bottom and make your car turn. It’s just a unique race track, and it seems to fit the guys that like to move around and make their cars work in different spots.”
Why is Homestead-Miami Speedway one of your favorite tracks? “Homestead is one of those race tracks that you don’t know when it is going to stop aging. It seems like every time we return to the track it loses a little grip, which is a good thing. Since they repaved the track a few years back it has become one of my favorites. You can move all around trying to find a groove that works for you. There are a lot of different places where you can make your car work. For me it has been a lot of fun to race on.”
Harvick’s Career Record at Homestead-Miami Speedway:
Homestead-Miami Speedway Track Facts: Track Length: 1.5 miles Race Length: 267 laps/400.5 miles Grandstand Seating Capacity: 65,000 First Race: Nov. 14, 1999 Banking in Corners: 18-20 degrees Banking on Straights: 4 degrees Frontstretch: 1,760 feet Backstretch: 1,760 feet TV: ESPN, 3 p.m. ET Radio: MRN Radio affiliates and Sirius XM NASCAR
