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Kevin Harvick, No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet Impala SS Preview - Talladega
Posted On 10/27/2009 5:04:55 PM
- This Week’s No. 29 Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet Impala SS at Talladega Superspeedway … Kevin Harvick will pilot chassis No. 237 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. This Chevy has raced in all three 2009 restrictor-plate races this year at Daytona International Speedway and Talladega. This racer had finishes of second in the Daytona 500, 38th at Talladega in April and 26th in the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona in July.
- Stat Facts for the Track … In 17 NSCS starts at the 2.66-mile, high-banked trioval, Harvick has earned three top-five and seven top-10 finishes, won the pole in May 2005 and led 10 races for a total of 78 laps. He has completed 3,127 of 3,210 (97.4 percent) laps contested, posting an average start of 23.3 and a 16th-place average finish. To his credit, the Bakersfield, Calif. native has a best finish of second at Talladega, which he achieved in both the April 2003 and October 2004 races.
- 2009 in Rear View Mirror … In 32 NSCS starts this season, Harvick has an average starting position of 20.9 and an average finish of 20.8 while completing 9,135 of the 9,388 laps contested (97.2 percent), posting three top-five and seven top-10 finishes.
- Making Points … As a result of their seventh top-10 finish last week at Martinsville Speedway, Harvick & Co. are within 49 points of 20th place with four races remaining in the 2009 season.
- Kevin’s Krew Call … Once again, Harvick and Shell-Pennzoil will host at-risk children from the local area at this Sunday’s event. In addition to meeting Harvick, the children will take part in various activities to enhance their knowledge of motorsports.
- RCR Sits TALL at Talladega … Richard Childress made his first NSCS start as a driver in Talladega’s inaugural race in 1969 and used his winnings from that race weekend to help start RCR. Now, 40 years later, the company returns to where it all began with impressive statistics. RCR boasts nine victories at the storied Alabama race track; all of them with seven-time NSCS champion and inaugural NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Dale Earnhardt behind the wheel. Additionally, in 116 starts at the ultra-fast 2.66-mile superspeedway, the Welcome, N.C.,-based team boasts four poles (three by Earnhardt and one by Kevin Harvick), 29 top-five, 48 top-10 finishes and almost $8.3 million in earnings
- The Collective RCR … In 32 races this season, RCR’s four NASCAR Sprint Cup Series entries have notched nine top-five and 31 top-10 finishes. The No. 29 team kicked off the 2009 season with a win in the Budweiser Shootout at Daytona. RCR-prepared cars have also completed 36,693 laps with four different drivers including Jeff Burton, Clint Bowyer, Kevin Harvick and Casey Mears. RCR teams have led 192 laps and all four teams have earned just shy of $18.5 million combined purse money in 2009.
- Forsyth Tech Names Motorsports School in RC’s Honor … The motorsports technology program at Forsyth Technical Community College has been renamed Richard Childress Race Car Technology at Forsyth Tech. Richard Childress Racing has a long-standing relationship with Forsyth Tech and employs a number of its graduates. Forsyth Tech has been named a Center of Excellence for Motorsports by the North Carolina Motorsports Consortium. Childress was on-hand for the October 27 announcement held on the campus in Winston-Salem, N.C.
- Got Gas? … Vote online for the winners of the Shell V-Power “Fuel My Passion” Contest and be entered to win a $50 Shell Gift Card. From now until November 3, 2009, four lucky voters will be chosen at random each day to receive a $50 Shell Gift Card after voting online for their favorite contest finalists. For your chance to win, log on to http://www.shell.us/fuelmypassion
- Online With the Times … To keep up with the latest news and information about Richard Childress Racing and to view exclusive online content, visit the team’s official website at www.RCRRacing.com. For qualifying and finishing results, check us out at www.twitter.com/RCRRacing. To receive live updates about the No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil team during NSCS races, follow us at www.twitter.com/RCR29KHarvick.
- Up to Speed … Live coverage of the AMP Energy 500 from Talladega Superspeedway will take the green flag Sunday, November 1 at 1 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. The race will be televised live on ABC and broadcast worldwide on the Motor Racing Network and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Ch. 128. Qualifying will be televised live on SPEED Saturday, October 31 at 12 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. MRN and Sirius XM Satellite Radio will provide the radio coverage.
KEVIN HARVICK QUOTES:
When you race at Talladega, do you get a sense of when trouble is brewing on the race track?
“You can kind of see when things are starting to happen and they are probably a little bit questionable. Sometimes you can see it coming, and sometimes it just happens and it’s all over with before you even realized what happened. It all happens really, really fast regardless of whether you see it coming, or not.”
NASCAR has mandated a slightly smaller restrictor plate for the superspeedways this year. Will it make much of a difference in the racing action on the track?
“I think the smaller plate is just one of those things where NASCAR looks at the speed and the small change won’t be very noticeable. About the only places there might be a noticeable change will be in the miles-per-hour in qualifying.”
After what you saw during the last lap when we were here earlier this year, what do you think caused that wreck?
“To be honest with you, I think blocking caused that wreck at the end of the last race at Talladega. Brad (Keselowski – race winner) was up underneath Carl (Edwards) and they were coming to the checkered flag. Obviously, as the race leader, you’re not going to let out of the gas. So, blocking usually causes a majority of the wrecks that happen on superspeedways. The cars don’t cause the wrecks.”
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