GIVE ME FIVE, OR TEN: When Kevin Harvick climbs into the No. 33 Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) Jimmy John’s Chevrolet this weekend, he will be making his eighth career Nationwide Series start at Kansas Speedway. If Harvick finishes 10th or better, he will score his fifth top-10 finish and a fifth-place finish or better will mark his fifth top five at the 1.5-mile track.
In seven previous starts at the Kansas Speedway, Harvick has scored one win, one pole, four top-five and four top-10 finishes. He has an average starting position of 10.3 and an average finishing position of 10.7. With 1400 possible laps, Harvick has completed 1276 of those laps for 91.1 percent and has led 118 total laps.
On the Cup side, Harvick has recorded nine starts with three top-10 finishes. Harvick will make his 10th-career Cup start at the track for round three of the Chase for the Sprint Cup Series championship.
BEFORE THE RACE: QUOTES WITH DRIVER KEVIN HARVICK:
Talk about racing on one-and-a-half mile tracks. “I think for us as a team at KHI, the 1.5-mile tracks like Texas (Motor Speedway) and Atlanta (Motor Speedway) have been really good for us. At both tracks, we were able to run up front, lead laps and were in position to contend for the win, but just came up a little short. Hopefully this weekend we can put all the pieces together and have luck on our side to win our fourth race of the year.”
What are your expectations heading into this weekend’s race at Kansas Speedway?
“Every weekend I go to the race track expecting to run up front and contend for a win. In the past few races, we’ve had really good, fast cars and the pit crew has stepped it up on the stops to put us in the places we need to be. If we can have all of those things work together this weekend, I think we will be where we need to be at the end and that’s all I can ask for each week, is the opportunity to have a shot at the win.
CHASSIS HISTORY: This weekend the No. 33 Jimmy John’s team will unload chassis No. 053 for 2006 Kansas Speedway Nationwide Series winner Harvick. This chassis was most recently on track at Kentucky Speedway in June with Mike Bliss. Bliss started the race sixth and led 13 laps before a late-race spin relegated the team to a 24th-place finish. Prior to Kentucky, this chassis was on track at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway where KHI co-owner Harvick piloted the car to an eighth-place finish. In addition, this chassis has two other starts this season including Las Vegas Motor Speedway where two-time Nationwide Series champion Harvick won his first Nationwide Series race for sponsor Rheem, and Auto Club Speedway where a failed engine ended the team’s strong run with a 38th-place finish.
PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: Following an off-weekend after the Friday night race at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway, where the No. 33 found victory lane for the third time this season, the Nationwide Series returned to action at Dover (Del.) International Speedway. Taking on the famous ‘Monster Mile,’ Harvick started the Dover 200 from the ninth position. Running most of the first 120 laps in the top six, Harvick encountered an electrical fire on lap 133 that quickly went out on its own. Catching a caution at the same time, the team was able to bring Harvick down pit road for a routine stop and to look the car over. Mired back mid-pack in the field, Harvick patiently worked his way back to the front, crossing the finish line fifth at the conclusion of the 200-lap event.
ARE YOU A FOLLOWER? Twitter users can now keep up-to-date with Kevin Harvick Inc.’s NASCAR Nationwide Series by following @KHI_NNS. In addition, you can follow KHI’s Truck Series teams @KHI_TruckSeries. Want more from KHI? Follow KHI’s co-owners Kevin and DeLana Harvick @KevinHarvick and @DeLanaHarvick.
ONLINE MEDIA KITS: Media members can now access KHI media kits online at KevinHarvickInc.com. Included on the site are driver bios, driver and team images, KHI history and statistics, team profiles and schedules. Please contact Alicia Deal (adeal@kevinharvickinc.com) at KHI for access to the new site.
Kevin Harvick
Nationwide Stats at Kansas
Year No. Team Start Finish
2009 33 KHI 14 4
2008 33 KHI 1 13
2007 77 KHI 16 13
2006 21 RCR 7 1
2005 21 RCR 19 4
2003 29 RCR 13 2
2001 2 RCR 2 38
*KHI: Kevin Harvick Inc.
*RCR: Richard Childress Racing
About Jimmy John’s:
Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches was founded in 1983 by 19-year-old Jimmy John Liautaud in a converted garage in Charleston, IL. Since its inception, the company has grown to over 1,000 corporate and franchised locations in more than 37 states throughout the U.S. The company is known for its obsession with fresh, quality products and high-speed execution. For more information, visit www.jimmyjohns.com.
About Kevin Harvick Inc.:
Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI), established in 2001 by Kevin and DeLana Harvick, is an 80,000 sq. ft. facility located in Kernersville, N.C. Home of the 2009 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship team, KHI enters 2010 in its seventh full year of competition with two full-time Truck Series teams and one full-time Nationwide Series team. Four-time Truck Series champion Ron Hornaday returns to the helm of the No. 33 Truck team looking for his fifth title and third championship for KHI (2009 and 2007), while Sprint Cup series stars Kevin Harvick and Elliott Sadler guide the No. 2 Truck team. Two-time NASCAR Nationwide Series champion Harvick will again shine as the lead driver of the No. 33 Nationwide Series team as he continues to make his mark in motorsports and establish KHI as one of the top teams in NASCAR competition. For more information about KHI and its teams, please visit www.KevinHarvickInc.com.
