Event Preview Fact Sheet
Kevin Harvick
No. 29 Rheem Chevrolet
Event/Date:
Pocono 400
June 10, 2012
Venue:
Pocono Raceway
Race Notes and Quotes:
This Week’s Rheem Chevrolet at Pocono Raceway ... Kevin Harvick will pilot Chassis No. 374 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. Built new for competition during the 2012 season, Harvick utilized this chassis at Auto Club Speedway in March and Darlington Raceway in May finishing fourth and 16th, respectively.
Tackling the “Tricky Triangle” ... Harvick has made 22 starts at the 2.5-mile track over the course of his Sprint Cup Series career, collecting five top-five and eight top-10 finishes. The Bakersfield, Calif., native holds a 19.7 average starting position and a 14th-place average finishing position at the “Tricky Triangle”, with his best starting and finishing position of third coming in the fall of 2003 and in the spring of 2006, respectively. Harvick has completed 4,110 of 4,289 (95.8 percent) of the contested laps.
Going for a Loop in Pocono ... According to NASCAR’s Loop Data Season-to-Date Statistics, Harvick has completed 14 Sprint Cup Series events at Pocono Raceway since its inception in 2006. The RCR driver ranks within the top 10 in several categories including: first in Green Flag Passes (1,234), third in the Closer category (gaining an average of three spots within the last 10 percent of laps in a race) and fifth in Quality Passes (599). The 36-year-old driver also ranks seventh in Speed in Traffic (157.652 mph), eighth in Average Running Position (13.863), ninth in Laps in the Top 15 (1,724) and Driver Rating (91.4) and tenth in Green Flag Speed (158.631 mph).
Points Racing ... With 13 points-paying events complete, Harvick and the No. 29 team sit seventh in the Sprint Cup Series driver championship point standings, 46 markers behind the leader. The team has collected three top-five and seven top-10 finishes thus far this season, completing 4,276 of 4,288 laps (99.7 percent) contested.
Gotta Have a Rheem ... Rheem returns for their fifth appearance of the 2012 season as primary sponsor of the No. 29 team this weekend at Pocono Raceway. Rheem is privately held with headquarters in Atlanta and U.S. operations in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Indiana, Minnesota and North Carolina. In its 86th year of operation, the company manufactures a full-line of eco-friendly, technologically advanced residential and commercial heating and cooling systems; tank, tankless, solar and hybrid heat pump water heaters; whole-home standby generators, controls, swimming pool and spa heaters; indoor air-purification products; and commercial boilers throughout North America and world markets. The company’s premium brands, including Rheem, Raypak, Ruud and Richmond have been recognized with countless industry and consumer awards for reliability, innovative design and high quality. Rheem is the official heating, cooling and water heating supplier to Richard Childress Racing.
About MacLean-Fogg ... Founded in 1925, MacLean-Fogg is a component solutions company and leading supplier of Fasteners, Engineered Components and Linkage & Suspension products serving many diverse industries. Rheem has partnered with MacLean-Fogg for the Sprint Cup race in Pocono where the company’s name will be displayed on TV panel of the No. 29 Chevrolet. The mission of MacLean-Fogg is to become the premier, worldwide supplier of value added, engineered and customer focused solutions that leverage material forming expertise in these three product fields. The keys to their success are the engagement of dynamic and adaptive employees, along with the MacLean-Fogg entrepreneurial culture. MacLean-Fogg’s goals are supported by a robust performance management process, and commitment to operational excellence.
Testing at the Triangle ... Prior to the race this weekend at Pocono Raceway, Sprint Cup Series competitors will be on track for an open test on June 6 and 7. The team will utilize chassis No. 374 during the test, the same chassis they plan to race during the 160-lap event on Sunday.
The Last Time By ... Harvick and the No. 29 team raced to a fifth-place finish in last year’s 500 mile event at Pocono Raceway while battling handling issues and overcoming a 32nd-place starting position.
In the Rearview Mirror: FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks ... Harvick and the No. 29 Jimmy John’s team brought home a second-place finish at the “Monster Mile” last Sunday afternoon after overcoming a pit road mishap and battling a loose-handling Chevrolet during the 400-lap affair.
KEVIN HARVICK QUOTES:
How do you think the repave will change things at Pocono Raceway?
“I haven’t been there since they repaved it, but obviously it’s going to be really fast and I think they have put a lot of effort into making the race track safer with the barriers all around the track. Just to see that type of effort from the race track and the commitment they have for the sport is pretty cool. There is going to be a lot to learn over the first couple of days of testing, and as we go into the third day of practice hopefully we will have it figured out on the Rheem Chevrolet.”
How do you think the shortened distance of the race will change things?
“I think the shortened distance of the race will probably not change a whole lot, to tell you the truth. There are really short pit windows at Pocono (Raceway) anyway, and that’s what I focus on. So for me it won’t change a whole lot.”