This Week’s Jimmy John’s Chevrolet at Dover International Speedway ... Kevin Harvick will pilot Chassis No. 383 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. Built new for competition during the 2012 season, Harvick raced this chassis at Phoenix International Raceway where he earned a second place finish in March.
Battling the “Monster Mile” ... Harvick has made 22 Sprint Cup Series starts at the one-mile track throughout the past 11 seasons, collecting two top-five and nine top-10 finishes. Harvick holds a 21.2 average starting position and a 16.6 average finishing position at the Monster Mile with a best starting and finishing position of third in the fall of 2003 and in the spring of 2006, respectively. Harvick has led 144 of the 8,804 laps he has completed.
Getting Loopy in 2012 ... According to NASCAR’s 2012 Season-to-Date Loop Data Statistics, Harvick has completed 12 Sprint Cup Series point-paying events so far this season while gathering solid stats among his fellow competitors in categories including: third in Green Flag Speed (8.273 average running position), fifth in Fastest Driver on Restart (12.5 average running position), seventh in Average Running Position (11.517), Fastest Driver Early in a Run (9.364 average running position), Fastest Driver Late in a Run (9.364 average running position) Percent of Laps Run on the Lead Lap (86.99 percent) and Fastest in Traffic (12.083 average running position). Harvick ranks eighth in Laps in the Top 15 (2,849).
Find a Jimmy John’s Near You ... Jimmy John’s, known for fresh, quality products and freaky fast service have 1,200 stores nationwide. Visit www.jimmyjohns.com to view the Jimmy John’s Freaky Good menu and find your nearest location. You can order online or download the Jimmy John’s mobile application for Freaky Fast delivery.
Drive for the Cover ... The Drive for the Cover campaign is underway, and Harvick has the chance to be featured on the cover of NASCAR The Game: Inside Line. The campaign positions 32 drivers against each other in a five-round bracket-style tournament. Voting for the first round is going on now through June 9, fans can vote for Harvick once daily by visiting: http://www.driveforthecover.com/kharvick.
Practice Makes Perfect ... Harvick and the No. 29 Richard Childress Racing team will brush up on their road course skills in a test session on May 29 and 30 at Virginia International Raceway. The team is utilizing chassis No. 278 from the RCR stable, previously used while testing at VIR in 2009 and 2010.
Good Tickets Cheap! ... Ollie’s Bargain Outlet, Dover International Speedway and the Kevin Harvick Foundation (KHF) have partnered together for a special promotion. From now until June 2, Ollie’s customers can purchase “bargain” priced race tickets at any Ollie’s Bargain Outlet store location for the FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks on Sunday, June 3. Ollie’s ticket holders will receive a free yellow KHF/Ollie’s Racing t-shirt at the race and will participate in the Ollie’s “yellow-out” section for the chance to win valuable prizes during Sunday’s Sprint Cup race. While in-store, customers can also learn more about the KHF and make a donation by purchasing and placing their name on a special No. 29 helmet badge that will be displayed at Ollie’s.
Grow One, Save A Million. ... Harvick, the No. 29 team, several media members and more than 60 additional members of the Sprint Cup Series garage are taking part in Budweiser’s “Grow One. Save a Million.” pledge to help save a million gallons of water for World Environment Day (June 5) by not shaving. On average, men use three to 10 gallons of water each time they shave. Budweiser is asking men to take the pledge on Budweiser’s Facebook page. Additionally, those who can’t grow a beard can pledge to turn off the tap while brushing their teeth for two weeks or shorten their showers by 20 minutes total over the span of two weeks. All together, participating members of the NASCAR community have pledged to save more than 15,000 gallons of water.
Sunday Cruise for a Cause ... Following driver introductions for the Sprint Cup Series event on Sunday, Harvick will participate in the NASCAR Dreams Parade lap, where one lucky fan will have the opportunity to ride in the parade vehicle with the Jimmy John’s Racing driver. The proceeds generated from the auction will benefit the NASCAR Foundation along with the Kevin Harvick Foundation. Harvick will also participate in the NASCAR Dreams Parade Lap program at Michigan International Speedway in June and August, along with Daytona International Speedway in July for the Sprint Cup events. Fans can bid on this once in a lifetime experience, while supporting two great organizations by visiting http://nascar.com/auction.
Double Duty ... In addition to competing in the FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks on Sunday afternoon, Harvick will also climb behind the wheel of Richard Childress Racing’s No. 2 Kroger/Tide Chevrolet for the Lucas Oil 200 Friday evening. The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race will air live on SPEED and will be broadcast live on MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio beginning at 4:30 p.m. ET.
Looking Back ...Harvick and the No. 29 RCR team scored a 10th-place finish in the FedEx 400 last year at Dover International Speedway after competing in the top five during the majority of the race. As weather conditions changed, so did the handling of Harvick’s Chevrolet as it became loose. Harvick continued to run within the top 10, but a final four-tire pit stop dropped the No. 29 Chevrolet team in the 15th position for the final restart of the race. Harvick continued to work his way toward the front of the pack, but time ran short leaving the team to settle for a 10th-place finish at the “Monster Mile”.
In the Rearview Mirror: Coca-Cola 600 ... Harvick and the No. 29 Budweiser Folds of Honor team captured aeighth-place finish last Sunday night during the Coca-Cola 600 after battling a tight-handling condition throughout the event at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
KEVIN HARVICK QUOTES:
What are your thoughts heading into the Sprint Cup Race at Dover International Speedway?
“We’ll have to have our Jimmy John’s Chevrolet handling well because the track is so fast and there are so many things happening so quickly at Dover (International Speedway) that the driver has to be comfortable in the car. It seems like at Dover (International Speedway) they always have one of those runs where you have green-flag pit stops and halfway through that run the caution comes out, so you have to be a little bit lucky to not end up on the wrong side of that.”