This Week's Jimmy John's Chevrolet SS at Charlotte Motor Speedway ... Kevin Harvick will pilot chassis No. 431 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable in the Charlotte 500. Harvick most recently drove this Chevrolet to Victory Lane at Kansas Speedway last weekend.
Freaky Good, Freaky Fast ... Jimmy John's joins Harvick and the No. 29 team for their seventh of eight races during the 2013 Sprint Cup Series season. Since the 2001 season, Harvick has made 25 Sprint Cup Series starts at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Throughout the years, the California native has collected two wins (2011 and 2013 Coca-Cola 600), three top-five and eight top-10 finishes. He has an average starting position of 18.8, an average finishing position of 17.3, has completed 97.4 percent (8,686 of 8,918) of the laps contested and has 34 laps led to his credit.
Find a Jimmy John's Near You ... Jimmy John's, known for fresh, quality products and freaky fast service, has 17 locations in the Charlotte, N.C. area, including one less than two miles from Charlotte Motor Speedway at 8532 Pit Stop Ct. Visit www.jimmyjohns.com to view the Jimmy John's menu, find your nearest location, order online or download the Jimmy John's mobile application.
Meet the Press ... Harvick will be available to members of the media at 1:30 p.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, Oct. 10 in the Charlotte Motor Speedway infield media center.
Crew Member for a Day ... The No. 29 Jimmy John's team will have additional race day support when the team is joined by ESPN News Editor Ken Fratus. Part of an ESPN Immersion program, Fratus will help the RCR team prepare for race day, attend the driver meeting with Harvick and crew chief Gil Martin, take part in the team meeting and join the team on pit road for pre-race ceremonies.
Double Duty ... In addition to driving the No. 29 Jimmy John's Chevrolet SS in Sunday's race, Harvick will pilot the No. 33 Fast Fixin' Chevrolet Camaro in the NASCAR Nationwide Series event on Friday, Oct. 11. This race is scheduled to air live on ESPN2 at 7:30 p.m. ET, along with the Performance Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Race Rewind ... After starting from the 11th position, Harvick and the No. 29 Jimmy John's team collected a 16th-place finish under the lights of Charlotte Motor Speedway during the 2012 edition of this event, after battling handling issues during the late stages of the 500-mile event.
KEVIN HARVICK QUOTES:
You won the race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May. What did the No. 29 team learn then that you can apply to this weekend?
"Good pit strategy, that's what we hit on last time we were at Charlotte Motor Speedway. We had a decent car in May, but Gil (Martin, crew chief) made the right call at the end to put us in position to have a good restart. Once we were in the right spot, we were able to hold the lead once we got there and were able to pick up the win."
Compare the difference of racing at Charlotte Motor Speedway in fall to the spring.
"The main difference is the temperature change. Once night falls during the October race, Charlotte (Motor Speedway) becomes completely different than what we practice on during the day. You can bet on the fact that the track will be really fast as the temperature drops and we'll gain a lot of grip."