This Week’s Budweiser Chevrolet at Talladega Superspeedway ... Kevin Harvick will pilot Chassis No.387 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable in this weekend’s Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500. Built new for competition in 2012, Harvick raced this Chevrolet to a seventh-place finish in the season’s kickoff event, the Daytona 500, after starting from the 13th-position.
Just the Stats ... This weekend’s event at Dover International Speedway marks Harvick’s 424th career start in the Sprint Cup Series and 24th at the 2.66-mile superspeedway. Since 2001, the 36-year-old driver has collected one win (April 2010), one pole award (May 2005), six top-five and 10 top-10 finishes. The Bakersfield, Calif., native maintains a 22nd-place average starting position, coupled with an average finishing position of 15.6, has completed 97.7 percent (4,257 of 4,359) of laps contested and is credited with 143 laps led.
Going for a Loop at the Superspeedway ... Since the inception of NASCAR’s Loop Data Statistics in 2006, Harvick has made 15 Sprint Cup Series starts at the Talladega, Ala. -based facility. The RCR driver has completed 69 of the Fastest Laps Run, ranking him third amongst all competitors. Harvick is tied for fifth in the Closers category after gaining an average of 2.5 positions in the final 10 percent of laps run, has completed the sixth-most Green Flag Passes (4,788) and is credited with 107 Laps Led, positioning him eighth in the Loop Data category.
The Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup ... With three Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup events complete, Harvick sits ninth in the “Chase” standings, 46 markers behind leader Brad Keselowski.
Meet the Press ... Harvick will field questions from members of the media at Talladega Superspeedway’s infield Media Center on Friday, Oct. 5 at 12:45 p.m. Central Time (1:45 p.m. Eastern Time).
You’re Invited to Happy’s Birthday Bash ... Harvick will celebrate his 37th birthday when Budweiser presents Happy’s Birthday Bash at The Fox Theater in his hometown of Bakersfield, Calif., on Saturday, Dec. 1. Country music star Craig Morgan will headline the charity event benefiting the Kevin Harvick Foundation with a special guest appearance by Bridgette Tatum. Tickets to the event are on sale now and can be purchased at www.vallitix.com, by phone at 1-888-825-5484, The Bakersfield Fox Theater Box office or any Vallitix outlet.
Win Happy’s Chevy ... One lucky winner will help children in need and take home Harvick’s 2012 Chevrolet Camaro 2SS Coupe. The vehicle includes gray leather interior, 21-inch black painted wheels, six-speed manual transmission, V8 engine, rear parking assist and much more. Proceeds will be used to further the mission of the Kevin Harvick Foundation through programs such as Kevin’s Krew, Chase Your Dreams Scholarships and the Kevin Harvick Athletic Scholarship Fund. For more information or to purchase a ticket for only $29, visit http://www.winhappyschevy.com/.
The Last Time By ... Harvick and the No. 29 team’s plan for the 2011 Good Sam Club 500 at Talladega Superspeedway unraveled at lap 104 when Harvick was caught up in another driver’s accident. After making several trips to pit road and eventually going to the garage for repairs, Harvick finished the race in 32nd position.
In the Rearview Mirror: Dover International Speedway ... Harvick and the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet team salvaged a 13th-place finish in Sunday’s AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway after a caution in the midst of the first round of green-flag pit stops caught most of the field two laps down to the leader.
KEVIN HARVICK QUOTES:
What is your approach to racing at Talladega Superspeedway?
“I go to Talladega with the approach that you have a 50-50 chance when you get there. You’re either going to have a great day because you finished or you’re going to have a torn up race car. I’ve gone in with that mentality since my first race at Talladega (Superspeedway). It’s just one of those race tracks where you really don’t have any expectations and you just go out and run as hard as you can because there are so many things out of your control.”
What do you enjoy most about restrictor-plate racing?
“I love this style of racing. I love the strategy and the pushing and the shoving and all of the things that come with it (restrictor-plate racing). With that comes a lot of risk as far as getting torn up. Kind of like the rest of our year, we haven’t gotten the finishes that we’ve been accustomed to in the past at the superspeedways. Hopefully, we’ve been saving all of that luck up and can get through this weekend and put ourselves up front when it counts. It’ll be fun to see how it all shakes out.”