BACK FOR BRISTOL: Elliott Sadler will return to Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) this weekend for the first time since his first-career Truck Series win at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway in July. Although Sadler has never made a Truck Series start at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, he has 24 Cup Series starts and seven Nationwide Series starts at the track. With one win in each series at the 0.533-mile oval (Spring 2001 in the Cup Series, Spring of 1998 in the Nationwide Series), Sadler hopes to complete the trifecta by taking the checkered flag in the No. 2 Grand Touring Vodka Chevrolet Silverado.
BREAKING A LOSING STREAK: When Sadler drove the No. 2 Chevrolet Silverado to victory lane at Pocono Raceway on July 31, he not only became the 21st driver to win in all three of NASCAR’s top three series (Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Truck), but he also broke the longest losing-streak of his career. There were 2,154 days between Sadler’s victory at Pocono and his previous NASCAR victory in the Cup Series at Fontana on Sept. 5, 2004.
BACK ABOARD: Grand Touring Vodka will return as sponsor of the No. 2 Chevrolet Silverado at Bristol Motor Speedway. Grand Touring Vodka made its Truck Series debut at Pocono Raceway where Elliott Sadler scored KHI’s fifth Truck Series race of the 2010 season.
THOUGHTS FROM THE DRIVER: Elliott Sadler
How do you feel after earning your first-career Truck Series win with KHI at Pocono?
“Everyone at Kevin Harvick Inc. worked extremely hard to give me my first win in the Truck Series a few weeks ago at Pocono. I’m looking forward to my first race back in the truck since that win, and I know we’ll be fast and have a lot of fun. I’ve had a lot of fun in the Truck Series and I’m enjoying working with Butch, Kevin [Harvick] and everyone at KHI.”
What are your thoughts on Bristol Motor Speedway?
“Bristol is one of my favorite tracks on the schedule. It’s fast, high banked and has the atmosphere of an enormous college football stadium. I’ve won at Bristol in the Nationwide Series and the Sprint Cup Series. I’ve never raced the Truck Series there. But, my goal is, on Wednesday night, to add a Truck Series win at Bristol to my résumé.”
PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: Ken Schrader overcame a brush with the wall, a battery failure and a ill-handling truck to score his fifth straight top-10 finish in KHI equipment. The No. 2 team showed patience and persistence, battling adversity and adjusting the Stubb’s Legendary Bar-B-Q machine throughout the Too Tough To Tame 200, earning a 10th-place finish at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.
CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 2 team will utilize chassis No. 045 this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway. Chassis No. 045 made its debut at Michigan International Speedway in June, and has served as backup truck at several races since: Iowa Speedway, O’Reilly (Ind.) Raceway Park, Pocono (Pa.) Raceway, and Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway.
ARE YOU A FOLLOWER? Twitter users can now keep up-to-date with Kevin Harvick Inc.’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Teams by following at http://twitter.com/KHI_TruckSeries. In addition, you can follow KHI’s Nationwide Series team at http://twitter.com /KHI_NNS. Want more from KHI? Follow KHI’s co-owners Kevin and DeLana Harvick at http://twitter.com/kevinharvick and http://twitter.com/delanaharvick.
MEDIA ACCESS: Members of the media can now log on to www.kevinharvickinc.com to gain access to press kit information online. For more information, please email Jessica Trippy at KHI: jtrippy@kevinharvickinc.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.
QUICK NOTES
Race Info:
August 18, 2010
Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway
O’Reilly 200
200 Laps/106.6 Miles
Track Layout:
0.533-Mile Oval
Turns: 36-degree banking
Straightaways: 16-degree banking
Truck Specs:
Chassis: 045
Engine: Earnhardt-Childress Racing (ECR)
WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Wednesday:
Practice: 10:00 a.m. – 10:50 a.m. EST
Final Practice: 12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. EST
Qualifying: 4:35 p.m. EST
Race: 8:00 p.m. EST
TV: SPEED will broadcast live at 7:30 p.m. EST
Radio: The Motor Racing Network (MRN) will broadcast live at 7:45 p.m. EST
Elliott Sadler
Sprint Cup Statistics at
Bristol Motor Speedway:
Starts: 24
Wins: 1 (Spring 2001)
Poles: 1 (Spring 2005)
Top 5: 3
Top 10: 4
Laps Led: 113
Average Start: 18.7
Average Finish: 22.8
Elliott Sadler
Nationwide Series Statistics at
Bristol Motor Speedway:
Starts: 7
Wins: 1 (Spring 1998)
Poles: 0
Top 5: 1
Top 10: 1
Laps Led: 99
Average Start: 20.6
Average Finish: 20.9