This Week
Race: Food City 500
Date: Sunday, March 17
Track: Bristol Motor Speedway
TV: FOX, 1 p.m. ET
Radio: PRN Radio Affiliates, Sirius XM NASCAR Radio
Track Facts
Track Length: 0.533 miles
Race Length: 500 laps/266.5 miles
Grandstand Seating Capacity: 160,000
First Race: July 30, 1961
2012 Results
Start: 14th
Finish: 11th
Rearview Mirror
Harvick earned a ninth-place finish Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and moved up 11 spots to 19th in the 2013 driver point standings.
Budweiser Racing Team Notes of Interest
Kevin Harvick and the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet SS team travel to Bristol Motor Speedway (BMS) this week for Sunday’s Food City 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) race.
Sign Here… Harvick will be signing autographs from 5:30 – 6:15 p.m. on Friday during the Food City Race Night fan event at BMS in the Hospitality Village. Wristbands will be given out at 4 p.m. when the event opens.
Bud Tap Room… Fans wanting to take their Bristol racing experience to the next level can purchase tickets for the Bud Tap Room package, which combines grandstand seat tickets with access to an indoor, climate-controlled, skybox suite. Not only will fans have spectacular racing views, but also a $25 food and drink voucher, access to private restrooms and the ability to watch closed-circuit TVs. Harvick will make a special appearance at the Bud Tap Room on Sunday prior to the Food City 500. More information on the special ticket package can be found by calling 866-415-4158 or by visiting www.bristolmotorspeedway.com.
Chassis Info… The No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet team will utilize chassis No. 391 from the Richard Childress Racing (RCR) stable this weekend. Harvick raced this car twice last spring and scored an 11th-place finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and a ninth-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway.
Statistically Speaking… Harvick has made 24 NSCS starts at BMS highlighted by a victory in the 2005 Food City 500. He’s earned a total of nine top fives and 12 top 10s, and has an average start of 17.8 and average finish of 12.5 at BMS. He’s completed 11,790 of 12,013 laps (98.1 percent) in those 24 races and has led 427 laps at the 0.533-mile track.
Loop Data… Harvick has scored well in several Loop Data statistics categories at BMS, including: first in closers (24 positions improved in the last 10 percent of laps in each race); third in green-flag passes (742); fourth in fastest drivers late in a run (113.223 mph); fifth in green flag speed (114.390 mph); fifth in fastest drivers early in a run (116.116 mph); sixth in speed by quarter; seventh in speed in traffic (113.922 mph); eighth in average running position (13.902); ninth in driver rating (89.7); and 10th in laps in the top 15 (4,745 laps).
Double Duty… Harvick also will race in Saturday’s Jeff Foxworthy’s Grit Chips 300 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at BMS driving the No. 33 Armour Chevrolet Camaro for RCR. ESPN2 will provide live television coverage of the race starting at 1:30 p.m. ET. The radio broadcast will be carried by Sirius XM NASCAR Radio and Performance Racing Network radio affiliates.
Harvick Discusses Racing at BMS
What did you learn about Bristol’s new track configuration during the 2012 fall race?
“I don’t think the changes that were made to the track did much to the top lane. Everyone still wound up in the top groove and the racing ended up pretty much as it was in the past. We had an exciting race there last time. I think any time you go to a short track no matter if the groove is top, bottom or middle you’re going to have cars beating and banging on each other. I think the way the groove moved up the track, everyone is a little more aggressive in trying to slide themselves into a spot, so you have to be aggressive to take the opportunity to pass somebody.”
How would you compare the performance of the new Gen-6 car to older generation cars on short tracks?
“Once you get going after a couple of weeks you don’t think about gen-4 or gen-5, you are just in a routine and search to find what makes your car the fastest on the track. That’s really what we’re focused on is being the most productive and finding what works on the car and what doesn’t. We’re still learning the car. We’ve been to three different tracks so far. Bristol will be a fourth and California will be a fifth. You’ll have a lot of different styles of tracks that you’ll be able to compile some good notes to use throughout the rest of the year.”
BUDWEISER
Enjoy Responsibly
©2013 Anheuser-Busch, Budweiser® Beer, St. Louis, MO
The stylized no.29 and the RCR checkered flag logo are registered trademarks of RCR Enterprises, LLC. The Name, likeness, signature of kevin Harvick and the Kevin Harvick, Incorporated, logo are registered trademarks of kevin Harvick, Incorporated, and are used under license from Kevin Harvick, Incorporated. All Trademarks and the likeness of the no.29 race car are used under license from their owners.
