‘NASCAR’ Articles
Written by One Bakersfield on 06 July 2010
(AUGUSTA, GA) – E-Z-GO®, a Textron (NYSE:TXT) Company, announces that it will sponsor the No. 33 Chevrolet Silverado driven by veteran NASCAR driver Ron Hornaday and owned by Kevin Harvick Inc., in seven NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races through the remainder of the 2010 season.
The Silverado will promote E-Z-GO’s first street-legal vehicle, the E-Z-GO 2Five™, now available at select dealerships across the country. The 2Five has a top speed of up to 25 mph and can be titled and operated by licensed drivers on most public roads with posted speed limits of 35 mph or less.
“We are excited to grow our partnership with Kevin Harvick Inc. and Ron Hornaday, and take advantage of this unique opportunity to promote the 2Five,” said Kevin Holleran, president of E-Z-GO. “The KHI trucks have been very successful on the track with E-Z-GO, and I know that Ron Hornaday will continue that success and take the No. 33 E-Z-GO 2Five Chevrolet Silverado to Victory Lane.”
Hornaday is a Truck Series veteran and the only four-time series champion. To date, Hornaday has collected 45 Truck Series victories, more than any other driver in the series. He has a total of 25 poles, 127 top-five and 184 top-10 finishes.
“I’m really excited to have E-Z-GO join the No. 33 Truck Series team,” Hornaday said. “E-Z-GO’s schedule of races hit several good tracks for me. Phoenix is one of my favorite places on the current Truck Series schedule. It is the closest track to my hometown of Palmdale, California. I have always had good success there and I’m looking forward to taking KHI and E-Z-GO back to Victory Lane.”
Team co-owner Kevin Harvick echoed Hornaday’s sentiments.
“We’re very happy to team E-Z-GO and Ron Hornaday for seven races throughout this season,” Harvick said. “Atlanta Motor Speedway was an awesome experience for me, winning my first Truck Series event there with E-Z-GO as the sponsor of our No. 2 truck and the race. I know that Ron will do a great job. I’m very happy with the E-Z-GO vehicle that I won during that race and I believe that the added exposure E-Z-GO will get from their association with the No. 33 Truck Series team will only lead to more fans riding their E-Z-GO vehicles around the camp grounds.”
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Written by One Bakersfield on 05 July 2010
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (July 4, 2010) – Kicking off the week with the Kevin Harvick Foundation ‘Bringing NASCAR Back to the Beach’ event on Thursday by hosting local Boys and Girls club members for a volleyball game and again on Friday night for the first Nationwide Series new car race, Harvick made his 250th career NASCAR Nationwide Series start Friday night at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway and earned a solid top-five finish.
“This was a great debut for the new Nationwide Series car,” said Harvick following the race. “I’m proud of my guys. They’ve worked hard on this new car and it was a great day for our Rheem Swimming Pool Heaters Chevrolet. I had a chance at the end, but spun the tires on the final restart and then had contact from behind. All in all, it was a good night and a lot of fun with the new car.”
Starting the Subway Jalapeno 250 Powered by Coca-Cola from the ninth position, Harvick never fell any further back in the field and ran the entire 102-lap event in the top nine.
Moving into the top five by lap two, Harvick was leading the race by lap 12. Racing side-by-side and shuffling in the top five, Harvick slipped back to sixth on lap 28 before returning to the second position on lap 32 when the caution flag waved for the second time. Pitting on lap 34, the No. 33 team changed four tires and added fuel, making no adjustments to the car. Harvick restarted the race second on lap 26 behind Kyle Busch.
Continuing to run in the top five, Harvick radioed crew chief Ernie Cope on lap 44 that he was loose all the way through the center of the corner and off the corner.
At the scheduled halfway mark, lap 50, Harvick ran seventh. Maintaining his position among the top eight, Harvick opted to pit on lap 70 from the sixth position for four tires, fuel and an air-pressure and track-bar adjustment to help with the loose-handling condition of the No. 33 Chevrolet. After examining the tires from the car, the team discovered that Harvick had run over debris on the track puncturing the right-front tire which could have been a factor in the loose-handling condition. With a great stop by the team, Harvick was able to gain several positions on pit road and restarted the race third on lap 74.
With 25 scheduled laps remaining in the race, Harvick ran second behind eventual race winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. Staying in line behind Earnhardt Jr., Harvick continued running in the second position when the final caution waved on lap 96 forcing NASCAR into overtime for a green-white-checkered finish.
Opting to stay out during the caution with the leader while others pitted, Harvick restarted the race in the second position and after spinning the tires on the restart and having contact from behind by another competitor, finished the Subway Jalapeno 250 Powered by Coca-Cola in the fifth position. The finish marked Harvick’s 13th top-eight finish this season in 14 starts.
Earnhardt Jr. won the race followed by Joey Logano, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Brad Keselowski and Harvick.
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Written by One Bakersfield on 01 July 2010
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (July 1, 2010) – The Kevin Harvick Foundation along with sponsor partners Rheem and WileyX brought ‘NASCAR back to the beach’ on Thursday, July 1 as Kevin Harvick drove the first NASCAR Nationwide Series new body style car on the beaches of Daytona Beach, Florida and hosted the local Boys and Girls Clubs of Volusia and Flagler Counties for a day of fun in the sun.
Kicking off the event, Harvick approached the beachside volleyball area of the famous Ocean Deck Restaurant behind the wheel of the No. 33 Rheem Swimming Pool Heaters Chevrolet to the cheers of fans and beachgoers. Climbing from the new Nationwide Series body style car, emcee Kenny Wallace introduced Harvick and brought him center court to welcome fans and thank them for supporting another successful event on behalf of the Kevin Harvick Foundation.
Before kicking off a fun game of volleyball, Harvick accepted a $50,000 donation from Kevin Harvick Inc. sponsors Rheem and WielyX to the newly formed Kevin Harvick Foundation which is dedicated to the support of programs that positively enrich the lives of children throughout the United States. With this donation, the Foundation is able to host events like the “Bringing NASCAR Back to the Beach” event to positively enrich children and inspire them to go after their dreams.
With business complete, it was on to the fun. Joining Harvick at center court to kick of the volleyball game was Allen Bestwick of ESPN, Matt Yocum of TNT and SPEED, Adam Alexander of TNT and SPEED and DeLana Harvick, along with 10 children from the local Boys and Girls clubs of Volusia and Flagler counties. Wallace called the plays and two members of the Boys and Girls clubs tallied the points, and in the end, it was Kevin Harvick’s team that prevailed and won the volleyball game.
“This was a lot of fun,” said Harvick following the game. “I’m glad we were able to bring the kids from the Boys and Girls clubs out and show them a good time at the beach. It was pretty neat to drive the car on the beach and climb out to all the fans and kids. It was a great game and a fun time at the beach before heading back to the track to focus on practice and kick off the race weekend.”
Following the event, the Kevin Harvick Foundation and sponsors Rheem and WileyX continued to host the Boys and Girls clubs by providing lunch at the Ocean Deck before wrapping up the day. The Foundation will host 100 members from the Boys and Girls Clubs Friday night to cheer on Harvick and the No. 33 Rheem Swimming Pool Heaters Chevrolet under the lights at Daytona International Speedway.
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Written by One Bakersfield on 28 June 2010
LOUDON, N.H. (June 28, 2010) – Kevin Harvick and the No. 33 Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) team came to L8udon, New Hampshire with high hopes. Entering the weekend with a successful stat list at the one-mile New England track, Harvick ran the fastest lap of the field during the final practice session and with a fast car, qualified in the third position for the New England 200. Competitively running in the top five for most of the race, including leading laps, Harvick fought changing car conditions and lapped traffic to finish the race in the seventh position.
At the start of the race, weather conditions were unfavorable with rain showers surrounding the track. Despite the scattered showers, the race started on time with cool track conditions, which were different from the previous hot and sunny conditions experienced during practice and qualifying sessions. Starting from the third position, Harvick actively started working towards the front. By the completion of lap one, he was in second place but started realizing the effects of the cooler weather and changed car conditions as he fought competitors in the top-five spots. Harvick’s main feedback on the car the first quarter of the race was that the handling was “loose.”
Feeling more comfortable with the car on lap 44, Harvick took the lead and fought off attacks from Kyle Busch in the No. 18 car to retain the lead. “He (Busch) rolls through (turns) 3 and 4 better while you’re good in 1 and 2,” explained crew chief Ernie Cope. With this information, Harvick began relaying more feedback on the handling of the car, notably that it was not “taking off” the way he would like.
Continuing to run up front, Harvick began voicing frustration on lap 65 when encountering lap traffic and unable to make passes while racing the tight turns of the 1.058-mile oval. On lap 77, the team entered the pits for four fresh tires and fuel with Harvick telling Cope he can’t be any tighter, but needs to take off better. With green-flag stops cycling through the field, Harvick ran second behind leader Busch on lap 88.
The second caution of the race waved on lap 94 and with the car not handling to Harvick’s liking in traffic, the team again pitted for four tires and fuel. Harvick restarted sixth on lap 99.
With a fast car, but stuck in traffic, Harvick moved into fifth by lap 113. Able to get to the bumper of fourth place Carl Edwards, the No. 33 car remained too tight to pass underneath the No. 60 car. Continuing to run fifth with some of the fastest lap times on the track, the caution again waved on lap 147. The team again pitted for four tires and fuel. Running third on lap 153, Harvick continued to struggle on the restart as Cope informed him that rain was in the area.
Battling to remain in the top five, Harvick was fifth when the final caution waved on lap 178. Explaining to Cope that he was too loose at the beginning of the run, Harvick restarted the race on lap 184. Slipping a few position, Harvick crossed the finish line seventh.
Busch won the race followed by Brad Keselowski, Edwards, Joey Logano and Trevor Bayne.
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Written by One Bakersfield on 28 June 2010
As the NASCAR Nationwide Series moves in on Daytona Beach, Fla. for the inagural race with the series’ new car, The Kevin Harvick Foundation, along with partners Rheem and WileyX, will ‘Bring NASCAR Back to the Beach’ where NASCAR started over 60 years ago. On Thursday, July 1st, from 10:00 a.m. until noon at The Ocean Deck in Daytona Beach, the group will host a group of 50 children from the Boys and Girls Clubs of Volusia and Flagler Counties for a fun day in the sun and a game of volleyball with Kevin Harvick, DeLana Harvick, along with TV and radio personalities, Adam Alexander and Matt Yocum.
The newly founded Kevin Harvick Foundation is dedicatied to the support of programs that positively enrich the lives of children throughout the United States, has teamed with longtime Kevin Harvick Inc. partners Rheem and WileyX, in hopes to give the children from the local Boys and Girls clubs an experience they will not soon forget. A group of 50 boys and girls will enjoy a day on the beach, which in addition to the volleyball game, includes photos with the Nationwide Series new car No. 33 Rheem Swimming Pool Heaters Chevrolet, giveaways, a photo with the Harvick’s as they receive a donation from Rheem and WileyX for the Foundation and lunch at Ocean Deck.
Following the beach event, the Foundation along with Rheem and WileyX will also host 100 members from the local clubs for the Friday night race to cheer on Harvick and the No. 33 Rheem Swimming Pool Heaters Chevrolet.
“I’m excited to be able to host local kids from the communities around Daytona this week at both the beach on Thursday and at the track on Friday night,” said Harvick. “DeLana and I started the Kevin Harvick Foundation to be able to positively influence kids from across the U.S. and provide opportunities for them to follow their dreams and live up to their potential. I hope that we are able to do that this week as we kick off the race weekend and summer. I look forward to having the group from the Boys and Girls clubs in the stands Friday night along with our Rheem guests and hopefully I can give them something to cheer about.”
FROM THE COCKPIT: The No. 33 Rheem Swimming Pool Heaters Chevrolet will carry an in-car camera this week for the ESPN broadcast of the Subway Jalapeno 250 Powered by Coca-Cola. In addition to being able to get an inside look at the car, tune in for an inside voice as Harvick serves as the ESPN in-race reporter for the 100-lap event.
TRACKSIDE LIVE! Harvick will appear on the Friday, July 2, edition of SPEED’s Trackside Live! The taping for the show will take place on Friday morning beginning at 11:30 a.m. outside the turn four tunnel of Daytona International Speedway. Stop by and watch Harvick, as representatives from Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) will be on hand with free giveaways from KHI sponsors Rheem and WileyX.
LOOKING FOR NO. 12: Harvick will be looking for his 12th top-five finish this week at the famous 2.5-mile track where he will make his 17th-career Nationwide Series start at Daytona International Speedway. Harvick also looks to add his first superspeedway win in a KHI-owned car to the list.
In 16 previous Nationwide Series starts at the track, Harvick has one win, 11 top-five and 13 top-10 finishes. His average starting position is 9.6 with an average finishing position of 5.9. In addition to his stellar stats, Harvick has completed 100 percent of laps attempted (1816 of 1816 laps) and led 212 laps. Harvick’s most recent Nationwide Series start at the track came earlier this season when he started the season-opening race from the fourth position and finished third as teammate Tony Stewart won the first race of the 2010 season.
Harvick’s 2007 Nationwide Series victory at the track marked his first superspeedway win across all three series. In addition to the win, he swept the weekend by winning his first career Daytona 500 the following day. At the beginning of this season, Harvick added another Budweiser Shootout win to his list of successes at Daytona, adding to his 2009 Budweiser Shootout win.
BEFORE THE RACE: QUOTES WITH DRIVER KEVIN HARVICK:
What do you expect for the first Nationwide Series new car race this week at Daytona International Speedway? “I think they’re going to be very similar to what you see with the Cup cars. They’re going to move around a lot. At the test they moved around a tremendous amount. I think with everybody going home and working on their cars, you’re going to see a lot of people instead of worrying about how fast their cars are going, they’re going to worry about handling and I think it’s going to be a great race. The cars look great. I’m excited about getting in them.”
Talk about the repaving of Daytona following this weekend’s race events. “I know it’s time and I know there are a lot of issues underneath that made them decide to repave it. So, we’re going to miss the handling issues you have at Daytona and all the things that you always fight and it will be a lot like Talladega with a much narrower surface than what we have at Talladega. But hopefully, it will eventually get back to having some bumps and it usually does. Talladega has been the one race track that really hasn’t changed a whole lot. It’s all about speed and that’s going to be what it’s going to be like at Daytona. You bring your fastest car and not worry about handling; just play the chess match and see what happens.”
CHASSIS HISTORY: For the inaugural NASCAR Nationwide Series new car race, the No. 33 team will unload a brand new chassis, No. 057, for the two-time Nationwide Series champion.
PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: KHI team co-owner Harvick returned the seat of the No. 33 Chevrolet at New Hampshire Motor Speedway following a three-week hiatus. Harvick started the New England 200 from the third position and after 200 laps, finished the race seventh. The finish marked his 12th top-eight finish in 13 starts this season and ninth top-eight finish in 10 starts at the New England track.
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 Series Stats at Daytona
Year No. Team Start Finish
2010 33 KHI 4 3
2009 33 KHI 3 10
2009 33 KHI 1 11
2008 33 KHI 7 12
2008 33 KHI 9 21
2007 21 RCR 4 2
2007 21 RCR 31 1
2006 21 RCR 42 3
2006 29 RCR 17 5
2005 21 RCR 1 2
2005 21 RCR 7 2
2004 21 RCR 2 8
2004 21 RCR 3 4
2003 21 RCR 3 3
2001 2 RCR 12 2
2000 2 RCR 7 5
*KHI: Kevin Harvick Inc.
*RCR: Richard Childress Racing
About Rheem:
Rheem Manufacturing Company (www.rheem.com) is a privately held company with headquarters in Atlanta, Ga. In its 81st year of operation, the company distributes throughout North America and world markets an award-winning line of eco-friendly, technologically advanced residential and commercial heating, cooling, water heating, whole-home standby generators, controls, pool and spa heaters, indoor air purification products and commercial boilers. The nation’s leading consumer products review magazine recently reported that Rheem products have been rated most reliable among all leading brands by tens of thousands of consumers. The premium brands of Rheem Manufacturing Company include Ruud, Raypak and Rheem. Rheem Manufacturing Company is the primary sponsor of Kevin Harvick Inc.’s No. 33 Chevrolet Nationwide® Series car and is an associate sponsor of KHI’s No 33 truck in the Camping World Truck Series.
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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.
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Written by One Bakersfield on 02 April 2010
MARTINSVILLE, Va. (March 28, 2010) — Kevin Harvick pulled off the perfect weekend in the Kroger/Tide Chevrolet Silverado, scoring his second consecutive win in 2010 and fourth consecutive win after leading both practices and starting first in the Kroger 250 at Martinsville Speedway. After leading the weekend’s two practice sessions by laying down fastest lap times of 19.998 seconds (94.690 MPH) and 19.978 seconds (94.784 MPH) respectively, Kevin Harvick was granted the number one starting position when rain cancelled qualifying and the field was set by 2009 Owner’s points. Upon taking the green flag, Harvick immediately pulled ahead of the pack, gaining a 2.1 second lead and encroaching on the back of the field within the first 10 laps. Harvick went on to lead the first 80 laps of the 250-lap race in dominant fashion as competitors battled fiercely behind him.
With a nearly perfect-handling truck, the No. 2 Kroger/Tide team, led by returning veteran crew chief Butch Hylton, made only minor adjustments when the team entered the pits for the first time during the race’s third caution, removing a round of wedge and making an air-pressure adjustment. Following the restart, Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) teammate, Ron Hornaday took over the lead on lap 81, leading nine laps before surrendering the lead back to his team co-owner. When the team pitted for four tires and fuel under the sixth caution of the day on lap 135, the No. 2 was the first truck out of the pits, but six trucks employing pit strategy chose to stay out, resulting in a seventh-place restart for Harvick and marking the first time the race was not led by a KHI entry.
Restarting on lap 139, it took only one lap for Harvick to advance to sixth, and by lap 145 the Kroger/Tide Chevrolet was in the fourth position. Methodically picking off his competitors, Harvick regained the lead on lap 190 and maintained it until the checkered flag. After working closely together on the final restart, Ron Hornaday’s No. 33 Longhorn Moist Snuff Chevrolet finished second, giving KHI its fourth one-two finish in the Truck Series.
“I’m really proud of our Kroger/Tide team, our truck was very good on the racetrack,” said co-owner/driver Kevin Harvick. “Our guys worked really well together and we were great all day. The guys built this truck in only 15 days from start to finish, and we really didn’t have to do anything to it throughout the entire race. Our two teams communicated well on that final restart and I’m glad we were able to pull off a one-two finish. Overall, it was a very good day for our team and our company.”
Harvick’s Kroger 250 win was his second of 2010, and his fourth consecutive victory in races entered. Harvick will attempt to match Ron Hornaday’s 2009 feat of five consecutive victories when the Truck Series competes at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway on Friday, April 2.
STATS RECAP
Race Info
March 27, 2010
Martinsville (Va.) Speedway
Race: 3 of 25
Driver: Kevin Harvick
Started: 1st
Finished: 1st
Laps Led: 187
Race length: 250 Laps/131.5 Miles
Track layout: 0.526-mile
Shape: Oval
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