KEVIN HARVICK
COTA Advance
No. 4 GEARWRENCH® Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing

Event Overview

● Event: EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix (Round 6 of 36)
● Time/Date: 3:30 p.m. EDT on Sunday, March 27
● Location: Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas
● Layout: 3.426-mile, 20-turn road course
● Laps/Miles: 68 laps/231.88 miles
● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 15 laps / Stage 2: 15 laps / Final Stage: 38 laps
● TV/Radio: FOX / PRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Notes of Interest

● GEARWRENCH®, a premier hand tool brand from Apex Tool Group, makes its debut as a primary partner on the No. 4 Ford Mustang of Stewart-Haas Racing and driver Kevin Harvick this weekend at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas. GEARWRENCH is the No. 1 worldwide professional-grade mechanics’ hand tool brand, offering products that are designed and manufactured to meet the requirements of pros, mechanics and auto techs making a living with their tools. GEARWRENCH understands the problems mechanics face every day and provides tools that increase productivity through speed, strength and access. Since the launch of the original five-degree ratcheting wrench, the GEARWRENCH brand has led the industry with breakthroughs in pass-thru ratchets, sockets, screw/nut drivers, pliers, extraction tools and specialty tools. Learn more at GEARWRENCH.com.

● Featured on the decklid of Harvick’s No. 4 GEARWRENCH Ford Mustang during the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix NASCAR Cup Series race at COTA is Bolt Biter™, a line of extraction tools from GEARWRENCH that has quickly become a major force in the extraction tool category through its innovative design and unmatched durability. Bolt Biter reliably removes corroded, rusted, rounded and frozen fasteners, keeping fastener extraction problems from slowing pros, mechanics and auto techs down. The line includes unique products specific to removing a wide range of fasteners including sockets, standard nuts, lugnuts, screws and more. For full details, visit GEARWRENCH.com/extraction-tools.

● This weekend marks NASCAR’s second appearance at COTA. The 3.426-mile, 20-turn road course was constructed in 2011 and has been America’s home to Formula One since the global motorsports series returned to America with the 2012 United States Grand Prix. The United States Grand Prix dates back to 1950 when the Indianapolis 500 counted as a round of the world championship. Eleven times from 1950 to 1960, points scored at Indy were added to a Formula One driver’s season tally, and in 1959 America hosted two Formula One races when in addition to Indianapolis, the United States Grand Prix was held at Sebring (Fla.) International Raceway. It served as the ninth and final round of the 1959 season. In 1960, Formula One moved to Riverside (Calif.) International Raceway before finally settling down for a 20-year tenure at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International from 1961 to 1980. From 1976 to 1980, Watkins Glen was joined by Long Beach, California, on the Formula One schedule, with the United States Grand Prix West taking place until 1983. After Watkins Glen fell off the calendar, Las Vegas took its place for two seasons (1981-1982) with the Caesars Palace Grand Prix being held on its hotel parking lot. In 1982, America hosted three Formula One races when in addition to Long Beach and Las Vegas, Detroit was added to the schedule. Detroit hosted Formula One on a bumpy street circuit for seven years, with its last grand prix coming in 1988. Dallas made a one-race appearance in 1984 when Fair Park was converted to a Formula One circuit for the Dallas Grand Prix. Phoenix was next up for Formula One from 1989 to 1991 before a nine-year absence of the sport from America’s shores. But then Indianapolis Motor Speedway built a road course within the confines of the historic 2.5-mile oval and Formula One returned with the United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis from 2000 to 2007. Sadly, Formula One in America fell off the calendar again. It wasn’t until COTA was constructed, becoming the first purpose-built Formula One facility in the United States, that Formula One was able to return to America.

● Contrast best describes a lap around COTA. High speed and rapid changes of direction comprise the layout between turns two and 10, with this first sector akin to the Maggotts-Becketts-Chapel complex at the famed Silverstone Circuit in England. The end of the lap from turn 12 through turn 20 before hitting the frontstretch features low-speed combinations. The long backstraight, however, is where drivers want to retain as much speed as possible to either attack or defend through the tight turn 12. This corner, along with the uphill run to turn one and the hairpin in turn 11, provide good passing opportunities.

● Harvick has made a total of 49 NASCAR Cup Series starts on road courses. He has 20 starts at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway, 20 at Watkins Glen, four at the Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway Roval, two on the road course at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, and one apiece at COTA, Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, and the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He has scored two wins – Watkins Glen in 2006 and Sonoma in 2017 – along with 10 top-fives and 24 top-10s with 195 laps led.

● Harvick has two starts at COTA – one in the NASCAR Cup Series and one in the NASCAR Xfinity Series – and both came last year in NASCAR’s inaugural visit to the track. Harvick finished a strong fourth in the Xfinity Series race before suffering a DNF (Did Not Finish) in the Cup Series race due to an accident 19 laps into the 54-lap race, which was shortened 14 laps from its scheduled 68-lap distance due to heavy rain.

● When Harvick scored his first road-course victory at Watkins Glen in 2006, he had to beat his current team owner to do it. Tony Stewart – the “Stewart” in Stewart-Haas Racing – had won the past two NASCAR Cup Series races at the seven-turn, 2.45-mile road course and was poised to capture a third straight win as he was leading Harvick with four laps to go in the 90-lap race. But Harvick, who had already led once for 24 laps, passed Stewart on lap 87 as the two drag-raced down the frontstretch and into turn one. Harvick held onto the lead despite Stewart in his rearview mirror, earning a margin of victory of .892 of a second.

● Harvick’s second career road-course win also had a connection to Stewart. When Harvick won at Sonoma in 2017, he gave Stewart-Haas Racing its second straight victory at the 10-turn, 1.99-mile road course. The winner in 2016? None other than Stewart. It ended up being his 49th and final NASCAR Cup Series victory as Stewart retired from NASCAR racing at the conclusion of the season.

● Harvick’s last road-course win was his first in a Ford. When Harvick won at Sonoma in 2017, he became the 83rd different driver to win a NASCAR Cup Series race behind the wheel of a Ford. Harvick has now won 23 Cup Series races with Ford, which makes him one of only 13 drivers to win 20 or more races with the manufacturer. He is currently tied with Rusty Wallace and Carl Edwards for 11th on the all-time Ford win list.

● Harvick has four road-course wins outside of the NASCAR Cup Series. Two came in the NASCAR Xfinity Series – Montreal’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in 2007 and Watkins Glen in 2007 – and two were in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West – Sonoma in 1998 and Sonoma in 2017. Harvick’s K&N Series win at Sonoma in 1998 was three years before his Cup Series debut on Feb. 26, 2001 at North Carolina Speedway in Rockingham.

Kevin Harvick, Driver of the No. 4 GEARWRENCH Ford Mustang

Last year’s race at COTA was your first at the track. How did you prepare to race on a track you had never been to before?

“My big thing is just memorizing what’s next on the racetrack. You’re never going to get a good feel for the elevation, but I think the Ford simulator gives the best sense of how our GEARWRENCH Ford Mustang will perform at COTA. You’re able to sit in your own seat and have your own steering wheel and you’re just in a more realistic surrounding. In iRacing, I spent a lot of time in the V8 Supercar just making laps and trying to make sure I knew the direction of the corners before I got to the simulator so I understood what I was getting into.”

When it comes to road-course racing, do you feel that more of the race is in your hands?

“You do have more in your hands, for sure, especially when it comes to shifting and all the different things that could happen. But strategy and track position are a big part of that element too. It’s just like anything else, you’ve got to have the whole piece of the puzzle to put it all together.”

There are now six road-course races on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule compared to just two a few years ago. Do you feel that’s good for the sport?

“I think the additions of all of these road courses has been great for the sport. Road racing is the way to expand the sport because there are so many great road courses around the world.”

How do you approach these road-course weekends?

“There’s just a lot more time that goes into a road-race week. You have to spend a lot of time in the simulator. You have to spend a lot of time with your previous notes and make sure you have the shift points and all the things that you remember as far as curbs you need to hit and things you don’t need to hit, where you need to be on the racetrack, tire falloff. You have to have everything memorized before you get there so that the first few laps are valuable because you’re still going to be learning the real-life tolerances of the grip level. And you’re going to have to blend that into also trying to do it in a short amount of time and get something out of those practices to give some feedback about the cars. It’s a different preparation week for the road courses than it is anything else.”

Has the diversity of the NASCAR Cup Series schedule, combined with the NextGen car, made NASCAR the most prominent motorsports property in the United States?

“I think it’s the most relevant motorsport in our country, and I think this year is a huge reminder of that just in the relevance of the way that the car looks to the street car. You can look at everything that’s involved, and you see the sponsors and the big shops and everything that goes with that, but for the most part I would tell you that the drivers and the crew members are very blue collar, very relevant to the common person in our country. So I think that seeing normal people doing pretty exciting things and being able to do what we do, people can relate to the drivers and the team members because they all came from somewhere that was pretty normal. I think it’s just very relatable from being able to watch it on TV or go to the racetrack, and it’s been here for more than 70 years. It’s just become a generational thing because of families watching. In the end, I think the competitors are very relatable to the common person.”

NASCAR is filled with racers – people who are working at the pinnacle of the sport after starting at the grassroots level. Does it takes a racer’s mentality to make it to this level and then stay there?

“NASCAR is the pinnacle of motorsports in our country, just because of the fact that whether you raced at a local short track, worked on a car, drove a car, your goal was to wind up in NASCAR and be at the top level at some particular point. We see people come from all forms of racing and try to be a part of it. It’s just where everybody wants to be. No matter how you get here, where you came from or what you worked on or drove, NASCAR is really the top level of racing in our country.”

COTA is a race weekend that features all three of NASCAR’s top national touring series – Cup, Xfinity and Camping World Truck. How important is it for the drivers in the Xfinity and Truck Series to be racing on the same weekend at the same track where the Cup Series is racing?

“It’s important to have these training grounds at the same facilities, with a lot of the same officials, and to be able to see what’s happening during practice and how teams function. It all happens at such a young age for a lot of the drivers who come up, now. You have to be able to see the professionalism of what’s happening and how it functions, the marketing side of what happens. There’s a lot more to it than just jumping into the racecar. And you see the huge production of the race weekends, and coming to your first Truck race, and coming on a Truck weekend and being able to see the facilities that you get to race in, it’s an eye-opening experience. But you have to have somewhere that you can do that. The good news is, in the Truck Series and Xfinity Series, you can see all that, and there are a lot of things you can check off the list in the Xfinity and Truck Series before you get to Cup.”

No. 4 GEARWRENCH Team Roster

Primary Team Members

Driver: Kevin Harvick
Hometown: Bakersfield, California

Crew Chief: Rodney Childers
Hometown: Mooresville, North Carolina

Car Chief: Robert “Cheddar” Smith
Hometown: Whitewater, Wisconsin

Engineer: Dax Gerringer
Hometown: Gibsonville, North Carolina

Engineer: Stephen Doran
Hometown: Butler, Pennsylvania

Spotter: Tim Fedewa
Hometown: Holt, Michigan

Over-The-Wall Members

Front Tire Changer: Shayne Pipala
Hometown: Frankfort Square, Illinois

Rear Tire Changer: Daniel Smith
Hometown: Concord, North Carolina

Tire Carrier: Jeremy Howard
Hometown: Delhart, Texas

Jack Man: Stan Doolittle
Hometown: Ninety Six, South Carolina

Fuel Man: Evan Marchal
Hometown: Westfield, Indiana

Road Crew Members

Mechanic: Richie Bean
Hometown: Bradford, Vermont

Mechanic: Nick DeFazio
Hometown: Orange, California

Tire Specialist: Jamie Turski
Hometown: Trumbull, Connecticut

Engine Tuner: Robert Brandt
Hometown: Mobile, Alabama

Transporter Co-Driver: Rick Hodges
Hometown: Raleigh, North Carolina

Transporter Co-Driver: Stephen Mitchell
Hometown: Woodville, Ohio

Austin Dillon to Drive the No. 3 Bennett Transportation & Logistics Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at Circuit of the Americas

WELCOME, NC (March 21, 2022) – Building upon a successful start to the 2022 NASCAR season, Bennett Family of Companies is enhancing their relationship with Richard Childress Racing by extending their partnership into the NASCAR Cup Series with driver Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Chevrolet. Dillon will race the No. 3 Bennett Transportation & Logistics Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at the Circuit of the Americas, which airs live on Sunday, March 27 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX.

In addition, Bennett will have associate placement on the No. 3 Chevrolet for select NASCAR Cup Series races this season, further enhancing an already strong branding program that Bennett has been able to achieve through their relationship with Austin Hill and RCR’s No. 21 team in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

“Richard Childress Racing has been a world-class partner,” said Lynette Mathis, Vice President of the Bennett Family of Companies. “They have provided opportunities within motorsports to leverage customer relationships, develop new business opportunities and provide an avenue for recruitment among the sports’ passionate and dedicated fan base. We look forward to building on those successes this season by extending our relationship into the NASCAR Cup Series with Austin Dillon and the No. 3 team while continuing to activate around the successful program we have developed around Austin Hill in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.”

Headquartered in McDonough, Georgia, Bennett Family of Companies provides innovative logistics and transportation for companies across America. They offer a suite of trucking and specialized logistics services, from flatbed and step deck trucking, driveway, manufactured housing transport and RV delivery to 3PL/4PL logistics, customs brokerage and warehousing.

“I’ve been able to learn a lot about the transportation industry and the Bennett Family of Companies during their relatively short involvement with RCR this season and I am so impressed with not only their business model, but their core values and objectives,” said Dillon, the 2018 DAYTONA 500 Champion. “I’m looking forward to representing Bennett on the track this season and helping make their first year in motorsports a successful one.”

For more information, please visit rcrracing.com.

About Richard Childress Racing:
Richard Childress Racing (rcrracing.com) is a renowned, performance-driven racing, marketing and manufacturing organization. Incorporated in 1969, RCR has celebrated over 50 years of racing and earned more than 200 victories and 16 championships, including six in the NASCAR Cup Series with the legendary Dale Earnhardt. RCR was the first organization to win championships in the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Truck Series and is a three-time winner of the Daytona 500 (1998, 2007, 2018). Its 2022 NASCAR Cup Series lineup includes two-time NASCAR champion, 2017 Coca-Cola 600 winner and 2018 Daytona 500 champion Austin Dillon (No. 3 Chevrolet), along with two-time NASCAR Xfinity Series champion Tyler Reddick (No. 8 Chevrolet). RCR fields a full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series program with Sheldon Creed (No. 2 Chevrolet) and Austin Hill (No. 21 Chevrolet).

About Bennett Family of Companies
McDonough-Ga. based Bennett Family of Companies is a woman-owned, Women’s Enterprise Business Council (WBENC) certified, diversified transportation and logistics company. Through its 12 affiliated operating companies, the Bennett Family of Companies delivers integrated transportation and supply chain management solutions worldwide. For more information, visit www.bennettig.com

Ty Dillon, No. 42 Alsco Uniforms Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

START: 18th
FINISH: 36th
POINTS: 25th

Ty Dillon Post-Race Thoughts: “I don’t know what happened there. We were taking it easy. We had a penalty on pit road, so we had to restart last. I was just kind of chilling. I was trying to slow down with the wreck and the No. 14 (Chase Briscoe), I don’t know what he was looking at or doing. He just ran right through me and ended our day. I knew we had a good enough No. 42 Alsco Uniforms Camaro ZL1 to hopefully get up front with good track position and good pit stops. Just hate that it ended our day early. It was really hard to pass and you needed help (to pass). Even if you were handling better, if somebody could just stay in the middle lane, you could hardly get around them unless you had a massive run and they messed up. Track position matters. Hopefully we would have been up front, but it wasn’t our day.”

Erik Jones, No. 43 FOCUSfactor Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

START: 23rd
FINISH: 14th
POINTS: 19th

Erik Jones Post-Race Thoughts: “I’m proud of our entire FOCUSfactor team. Our Chevrolet Camaro started off on the loose side, but towards the end of the run, it felt pretty neutral. Dave (Elenz, crew chief) had the car handling a lot better than the rest of the guys we were racing around, but the cars were very aero dependent. Once we were involved in that accident, I couldn’t tell where our speed was because there wasn’t anyone behind me. It was definitely tough to pass, but we all were in the same boat. Just happened to be in the wrong lane at the end which shuffled us back outside the top-10. We will take a 14th-place finish and shift our focus to COTA.”

ABOUT PETTY GMS:

Petty GMS competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, operating the No. 42 Chevrolet for Ty Dillon and the No. 43 Chevrolet for Erik Jones. The newly formed team brought together two storied organizations in December 2021. Over the last decade, owner Maury Gallagher built a victorious team, capturing two NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championships, one ARCA Menards Series title, and two ARCA Menards Series East championships, as well as 65 wins and 235 top-five finishes across six series. Richard Petty, a member of the inaugural NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2010, serves as Chairman of Petty GMS. Petty, known as “The King,” accumulated over 200 wins and was the first of three drivers to win seven championships in the Cup Series. For more information, visit www.pettygms.com.

SOCIAL MEDIA:

To keep up-to-date with the latest news, information and exclusive content, follow Petty GMS on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

KOHLER Generators team rebounds from early contact for solid finish

HAMPTON, GA (March 20, 2022) – The NASCAR Cup Series took on the newly-repaved high banks of Atlanta Motor Speedway today for the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500. Brad Keselowski began the day in his No. 6 KOHLER Generators Ford Mustang from the 36th position after the team was forced to drop to the back for unapproved adjustments prior to the green flag.

When the green flag waved, Keselowski quickly picked up a dozen spots, moving himself to 24th before the first caution for a single car incident in turn two. The competition caution would wave on lap 45. Under yellow, the No. 6 team was involved in an incident on pit road when a few cars stacked up in front of them, creating damage on the nose of Brad’s Ford as he was left with nowhere to go. The crew went to work quickly to make repairs with multiple trips to pit road under yellow, keeping Keselowski on the lead lap.

The caution flew again on lap 91, giving Brad’s team more time to make repairs to the front of his Mustang, which helped give the car competitive speed once again. After a pile-up on the front stretch that would close out stage one, The KOHLER Generators team would round it out in 29th. The team would stay out to gain track position for the start of stage two.

Keselowski sliced and diced his way in and out of the Top-10 for the entirety of stage two, which saw a total of four cautions, many for incidents that caused near calamity for the team. The team earned stage points at the end of stage two for a 5th place finish.

The final stage was set up to be a game of fuel mileage, with Brad restarting in the 14th position. When a late race caution came out on lap 253, the No. 6 came in to top off with fuel multiple times. A multi-car wreck on lap 301 would bring the No. 6 back down pit road for a four-tire strategy for grip during the final run to the checkered. Keselowski would bring the No. 6 home in 12th as the field wrecked across the finish line.

The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Circuit Of The Americas next Sunday, March 27th for the sixth race of the season, set for 2 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Buescher earns Third Career Top-10 Finish at Atlanta

HAMPTON, GA. (March 20, 2022) – The No. 17 crew earned their second Top-10 finish of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season Sunday, fighting through 500 grueling miles at a newly-repaved Atlanta Motor Speedway that saw 12 caution flags.

Chris Buescher started the day from the 14th position, where he was calculated to start due to the poor weather on Friday rearranging the weekend schedule. He found himself relegated to the mid-twenties for the first caution, which flew on lap 24. The 17 team brought him down pit road for only two tires; fuel tank not permitted to be topped off until after the competition caution at lap 45. Buescher remained P24 until the competition caution where he gained eight positions on pit road. After a hard fought 44 laps, the caution flag flew once again with Buescher P25. Scott Graves and the ITSavvy team elected to bring their Ford Mustang down pit road for fuel and tires, sending Buescher back three positions to P28 four laps before the conclusion of stage one. The field raced hard for stage points, wrecking before the completion of stage one. Under caution, Chris finished stage one P25.

Since the 17 car pitted under caution right before the stage break, Buescher found himself starting stage two on slightly used tires in P11. The caution flag would fly for the sixth time at lap 145 following a big wreck out of turn four. Chris was not involved, pitted for four tires and fuel, and restarted in the same position as the last caution. Losing and gaining back several positions through two additional cautions, Buescher finished stage two P11, just outside of stage points.

The ITSavvy Ford dove down pit road during the stage break for four tires and fuel. This strategy call put Buescher back several positions to start the final stage of the race in P15 with 96 laps to go. The final stage would only see three cautions, none of which involved the No. 17 on track. Buescher was able to keep his ride out of danger, while clawing up to fifth. During the final lap of the race the No. 17 was in position to grab at Top-5 finish, but ended up collected in the carnage that ensued off turn four. Buescher spun as just before the finish, sending him backwards across the line for a 7th place finish.

The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Circuit Of The Americas next Sunday, March 27th for the sixth race of the season, set for 2 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Harrison Burton and the No. 21 DEX Imaging team were among the numerous teams and drivers collected in crashes in the first Cup Series race on the reconfigured Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Burton was set to start Sunday’s Folds of Honor/QuikTrip 500 from 31st but had to move to the rear due to issues in pre-race inspection.

He battled a brake issue in the early going of the first Cup race since a remake of AMS, which now races more like Daytona or Talladega than the other intermediate-length tracks on the circuit.

His fortunes seemed to be improving until he was swept up in a multi-car melee on Lap 145 that left his DEX Imaging Mustang with significant suspension damage on the right front and right rear of the car.

From that point on, the team’s goal was to make it to the checkered flag. That was accomplished as Burton came home 25th in the 325-lap race.

Eddie Wood said Burton, crew chief Brian Wilson and the entire DEX team deserve credit for hanging tough on a challenging afternoon.

“Considering the amount of damage to the car we were lucky to finish the race,” Wood said.

“Harrison did his part, and the crew did a good job getting the car back out there.

“They worked on it every pit stop, but you can only do so much in that situation.”

Next up for Burton and the No. 21 team is a trip to the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, for the Echopark Texas Grand Prix.

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About DEX Imaging
DEX Imaging is the digital document imaging division of Staples, the world’s largest business solutions provider. DEX sells and services the broadest selection of copiers, printers and data management solutions, such as HP, Konica Minolta, Canon, Kyocera and numerous others.

COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES:
Reducing Operating Costs
Reducing Paper Consumption
Increasing Productivity

DEX Imaging has been the recipient of virtually every industry award since the company’s inception, including the JD Power & Associates Award for Best Customer Experience, the prestigious ProTech Service award by Konica Minolta, the Diamond Premier Dealer Award by Kyocera, and the Elite DEALER Award by ‘ENX’ magazine. Other accolades include being named ‘Best Place to Work’ by numerous business journals in the markets DEX serves.

Wood Brothers Racing
Wood Brothers Racing was formed in 1950 in Stuart, Va., by Hall of Famer Glenn Wood. Wood Brothers Racing is the oldest active team and one of the winningest teams in NASCAR history. Since its founding, the team won 99 races (including at least one race in every decade for the last seven decades) and 120 poles in NASCAR’s top-tier series. Fielding only Ford products for its entire history, the Wood Brothers own the longest association of any motorsports team with a single manufacturer. Glenn’s brother, Leonard, is known for inventing the modern pit stop. The team currently runs the Ford Mustang driven by Harrison Burton in the famous No. 21 racer.