This Week’s Rheem Chevrolet at Sonoma ... Kevin Harvick will pilot Chassis No. 395 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. The No. 29 Chevrolet was built new for competition in 2012 and will be put through its first competitive laps this weekend at Sonoma.
Racing Outside of the Circle ... Throughout the course of his Sprint Cup Series career, Harvick has made 11 starts at the California-based facility collecting three top-five and four top-10 finishes. The 36-year-old driver holds an average starting position of 15.8 and a 16.1 average finishing position at the at the 1.99-mile road course, collecting a best starting of third in 2006 and best finishing position of second in 2007. Harvick has completed 99.9 percent (1,216 or 1,217) of the contested laps, with 10 laps led.
Getting Loopy at the Road Course ... According to NASCAR’s Loop Data Statistics, Harvick has completed seven Sprint Cup Series events at Sonoma since its inception in 2006. In those seven races, the Bakersfield, Calif., native ranks within the top-10 of following categories: sixth in Laps in the Top 15 (460 laps/ 59.4 percent), seventh in Green Flag Passes (401) and eighth in Average Running Position (14.984). Harvick also ranks 10th in Fastest Driver Early in a Run (89.755 MPH) and Fastest on Restarts (86.478 MPH).
Points Racing ... With 15 points-paying events in the books, Harvick and the No. 29 team remain sixth in the Sprint Cup Series driver championship point standings, 61 markers behind the leader. The team has collected three top-five and eight top-10 finishes thus far this season, completing 99.74 percent (4,636 of 4,648) laps contested.
Now a Word From Our Sponsor ... Rheem will adorn the No. 29 Chevrolet for the fifth of 10 scheduled races during the 2012 season this weekend at Sonoma. 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.
Welcome Watts Water Technologies ... Watts Water Technologies will serve as Rheem’s partner on the RCR entry for Sunday’s race. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. is a world leader in the manufacture of innovative products to control the efficiency, safety and quality of water within residential, commercial and institutional applications. The company’s expertise in a wide variety of water technologies enables it to be a comprehensive supplier to the water industry. Watts Water’s various brand products center around four key application areas, referred to as our strategic business platforms: Commercial & Residential Flow, Water Reuse & Drainage, HVAC & Gas, and Water Quality.
Practice Makes Perfect ... Harvick and the No. 29 RCR team will brush up on their road course skills in a test session on June 19 and 20 at High Plains Raceway in Colorado. The team will utilize chassis No. 278 from the RCR stable, previously used during a test at Virginia International Raceway earlier this year and during the 2009 and 2010 seasons.
Training with Champions ... While out in Colorado for the road-course test, and on behalf of RCR partner Budweiser, the No. 29 team is scheduled to visit the U.S. Olympic Complex in Colorado Springs. The facility serves as the flagship training center for the U.S. Olympic Committee and the Olympic Training Center programs. The team will have the opportunity to tour the complex, interact with Olympic athletes, visit the sports science center and get a lesson in fencing.
Meet the Driver ... Harvick will participate in an at-track Q&A session in Club 7 at Sonoma on Sunday morning from 8:55-9:10 a.m. Tickets for the event at Club 7 can be purchased by visiting the following website: www.racesonoma.com/club7/. Only those who purchase the additional ticket may attend the Q&A session.
Kevin’s Krew ... Kevin’s Krew is an at-track outreach program for youth supported by the Kevin Harvick Foundation intended to expose kids to the fast world of racing. These children see by example that hard work, following your dreams and leading a drug-free lifestyle can be very rewarding. Harvick will host a group of children from the Boys and Girls Club of Sonoma for the fourth of seven scheduled Kevin’s Krew at-track events Sunday morning at Sonoma. The kids in attendance will get a behind the scenes look at different professions in motorsports, ranging from pit crew jobs to merchandising careers. By attending a Kevin’s Krew event, the students are given hope that helps them to stay focused and work hard, despite any social and/or economical misfortunes.
Meet the Press ... Harvick will be available to members of the media on Friday, June 22 at 1:15 p.m. ET (10:15 a.m. PT) in the Sonoma infield media center.
The Last Time Around ...Harvick and the No. 29 Rheem Tankless Chevrolet team salvaged a ninth-place finish in last year’s event at Sonoma after battling a loose-handing race car and sustaining damage in a mid-race incident.
In the Rearview Mirror: Michigan 400 ... Harvick and the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet team took home a 10th-place finish in last Sunday’s rain-delayed event at Michigan International Speedway after overcoming a loose handling condition.
KEVIN HARVICK QUOTES:
Heading into the race at Sonoma how much do you enjoy the road racing?
“I love road racing. Sonoma is obviously very close to my hometown in Bakersfield, Calif., so you get a lot of family and friends that come out, but just the change of pace is something that I enjoy. I grew up racing go-karts on road courses so going to Sonoma and getting to race one of the two road courses we have on the schedule during the year should be fun.”
You have a couple of runner-up and top-10 finishes at Sonoma; do you think it’s just a matter of time before you get a win there?
“Yeah, I think we can win there. We’ve just got to put it all together. We’ve run well enough to win there a few times, but we just haven’t been able to break through and make it happen. We were able to get a win at Auto Club Speedway a couple of years ago, so I know that it’s fun to win in your home state. It would be good if we could get a Sonoma win behind us.”
Does it take a while to get a feel for the road-course races and figure out what’s going on when you first pull onto the track?
“It’s definitely different. Especially on Friday when you have a brief practice and go right into qualifying. You’re kind of getting used to things, but you’re kind of feeling the car out as to what it needs and hopefully you don’t have any problems in practice, because that can really throw everything for a curve ball. It definitely takes a while to get back in the swing of things.”
Have you been doing any testing in preparation for the race at Sonoma?
“We tested at Virginia International Raceway. We did some brake testing there and just tried to run through some things. Really a lot of it is to get the driver back into a rhythm, so when you get to Sonoma you don’t have those huge learning curves right off the bat, because you really don’t have time for it. We will also test in Colorado this week on the way to Sonoma just to make sure that I’m ready to go.”