HARVICK GOING FOR A REPEAT: Kevin Harvick and the No. 33 Rheem team head to Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend as the defending race winners. After starting from the outside pole position last February Harvick led 82 laps around the 1.5-mile track on his way to taking the No. 33 Chevrolet Impala to victory lane.
In 10 starts, the California native has two wins, six top-five and seven top-10 finishes. He’s led a total of 356 laps at Las Vegas.
RHEEM AND LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY TEAM UP: Long-time KHI sponsor Rheem has been named Las Vegas Motor Speedway’s official heating, cooling and water heating partner for the 2011 racing season. “Rheem sees Las Vegas Motor Speedway as one of the premier tracks on the NASCAR circuit and has enjoyed an increasingly successful relationship with them,” said Ed Raniszeski, Corporate Director, Marketing for Rheem Manufacturing Company. “We will again come to Las Vegas to race in the Nationwide Series as well as to take full advantage of the hospitality and unique amenities offered by the track. The Nevada, Arizona, California and Utah region is an important market area for Rheem. Our relationship with LVMS helps us strengthen our brand presence in the region as well as giving us another opportunity to express our dedication to serving the millions of businesses and homeowners in the area with highly reliable, efficient and innovative heating, cooling and water heating comfort solutions.”
LUCKY NUMBER 300: This weekend’s race at Las Vegas will mark KHI’s 300th start in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Since entering the series in 2004, KHI has collected 10 wins, 12 poles, 69 top-five and 129 top-10 finishes. Along with this Nationwide Series milestone, KHI is also celebrating its 10th anniversary. Throughout the 2011 season, all KHI vehicles will carry a commemorative decal as the company celebrates their accomplishments over the last 10 years.
PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: Last weekend at Phoenix International Raceway Kevin Harvick and the No. 33 KHI team scored a third-place finish in the Nationwide Series’ second event of the 2011 season. Harvick started from the ninth position and shot up to the front of the field in the opening stages of the race. The No. 33 team worked to find the momentum to pass the two cars in front of them for the lead but ended the day in the third position. With their solid third-place finish, the No. 33 team is only one point out of first in the Nationwide Series Owner’s Point standings.
CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 33 Rheem team has prepared chassis No. 069 for this weekend’s event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. This is a new chassis built by the KHI team for competition this season.
HARVICK’S THOUGHTS ON LAS VEGAS:
What are your thoughts heading into the weekend at Las Vegas?
“While we came out of Phoenix with a third-place finish, that wasn’t the result we were hoping for. I think as a team we learned a lot about what we need to do to improve our downforce program, so I’m looking forward to getting back in the car at Las Vegas and to getting better results. The team has worked really hard but we still have work to do.
“I like racing at Las Vegas. It’s a fun 1.5-mile track and we’ve had success there. We won this race last season with Rheem on board and it was cool to take them to victory lane. They’re back on this No. 33 Chevrolet this weekend and I hope we can take them back to victory lane and get KHI back in victory lane.”