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Keep on Bloomin’

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. (Oct. 28, 2015) – Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Outback Steakhouse Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), knows the name of the game this time of year is to survive and advance to the next and final round of NASCAR’s Chase for the Sprint Cup. The three races on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule that make up the Eliminator Round, starting with Sunday’s Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, are aligned in a way that might have Harvick “bloomin’” at the right time. 

The defending series champion raced his way from the Challenger Round through to the Contender Round with a dominant performance in a “must-win” situation at Dover (Del.) International Speedway. He fought off elimination by dominating the race at Dover, where he led 355 of 400 laps to score his first Chase win of the season. In the Contender Round, Harvick finished second at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway, 16th at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City and 15th last Sunday at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway to advance to the Eliminator Round.

The next three tracks he’ll visit for the Eliminator Round – Martinsville, Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth and Phoenix International Raceway – line up well for Harvick and the No. 4 team.

Harvick has been victorious at two of the next three racetracks, including an April 2011 win at Martinsville, where he led six laps and battled Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the closing laps to score the win by .727 seconds. Harvick has yet to score a Sprint Cup victory at Texas but has back-to-back second place finishes and has led 98 laps is his last two starts at the 1.5-mile oval. He has scored seven Sprint Cup wins at Phoenix, including five of his last six starts at the mile oval. 

Thirty-two races into this season, Harvick has been a model of consistency as he has 20 top-five finishes, and he’s also led a series-high 2,056 laps with an average finish of 9.3.

Harvick is the first driver to lead 2,000 laps in consecutive seasons since Jeff Gordon in 1995 and 1996. The last three drivers to lead more than 2,000 laps in a single season have all gone on to win the Sprint Cup championship. Jeff Gordon led 2,320 laps in 2001, Jimmie Johnson led 2,238 laps in 2009, and Harvick led 2,137 laps in 2014.

The reigning Sprint Cup champion leads several other statistical categories: 118.1 driver rating, 44 bonus points, 1,241 fastest laps run, 32.3 percent of fastest laps run, 22.6 percent of laps led, 2,503.12 miles led, 8,224 laps in the top-15 and average running position of 7.549.

Outback Steakhouse has celebrated Harvick’s 24 top-10 finishes thus far in 2015 by giving its customers a free Bloomin’ Onion® on the Monday immediately following the race. And while he’d like to continue those celebrations this weekend by scoring another top-10, he’d prefer to do it in a bigger way – by winning his fourth Sprint Cup race of the 2015 season and automatically advancing to the winner-take-all Championship Round at Homestead-Miami Speedway. 

KEVIN HARVICK, Driver of the No. 4 Outback Steakhouse Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing:

What are your thoughts on the next three races that make up the Eliminator Round of the Chase?

“These next three races line up really well for us. We’ve been fortunate to have won at Martinsville before and we ran really well there the first race (this season). The 1.5-mile tracks have been our bread and butter and Phoenix has been really good pretty much every single time we’ve been there. First, it was just trying to get to Martinsville and we accomplished that. Now, we have to focus on getting the best finish we can out of each racetrack. I guess, if I’d have to pick one that we’ve been most successful at, it would be Phoenix hands down. But our 1.5-mile stuff has been exceptional this year as we’ve gone through the season, so that should be good. And, Martinsville has been good to us in the past.”

Where do you need to be and when to position yourself best for a win at these next three tracks? 

“I think the best position to be in at any racetrack is in the lead. You want to be in control of the race and try to get yourself in a position to where you can have a good clean restart and have as much clear track, especially at Martinsville, just for the fact that there is so much pushing and shoving on the restarts to get to the bottom lane that you want to try to be as far forward as possible.”

Chassis Information: Chassis No. 4-864: Chassis Information: Chassis No. 4-864: Kevin Harvick will pilot the No. 4 Outback Steakhouse Chevrolet SS built on Chassis No. 4-864 in the Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Sunday at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. Built in 2014, Chassis No. 4-864 made its debut at Martinsville last March, when it started 18th and led one lap and finished seventh. It made its second appearance at Martinsville in October, when it started 33rd and finished 33rd after being collected in an accident with Matt Kenseth. It’s only appearance in 2015 also came at Martinsville, where it started 17th, led 154 laps and finished eighth after getting shuffled back on several late race restarts. 

Martinsville Speedway Notes of Interest:

• 2014 Sprint Cup Champion: Harvick, the defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion, is teamed with crew chief Rodney Childers in his second season at Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR). In their first season together, the duo combined to produce five victories, eight poles, 14 top-five finishes and 20 top-10s, and led 2,137 laps on their way to winning the Sprint Cup title.
• Regular-Season Point Total: The defending Sprint Cup champion closed out the regular season with 978 points prior to the Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship standings reset following the 26th and final regular-season race of 2015 at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway. Harvick’s total through the first 26 races was the most under the current points system introduced in 2011, surpassing the 914 regular-season points scored by Greg Biffle in 2012 and Jeff Gordon in 2014. 
• Harvick in 2015: Harvick has wins at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Phoenix International Raceway and Dover (Del.) International Speedway through the first 32 events. At Dover, Harvick started 15th as Sprint Cup qualifying was cancelled due to rain, but went on to lead 355 of 400 laps en route to his third Sprint Cup win of the season. He started from the pole and led 224 laps en route to his Phoenix win and his third perfect 150.0 driver rating at the mile oval. He scored his first Sprint Cup win of the season the previous week in the Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas. Harvick has finished in the top-five in 20 of 32 Sprint Cup starts and has scored 24 top-10s in 2015. He has led a series-high 2,056 laps. 
• Harvick in the Chase: Harvick’s win in the AAA 400 Sprint Cup race at Dover clinched his spot in the Contender Round of the Chase. He has led more than 34 percent (606 of 1,766 laps) of the total laps run through the first six races. He kicked off the Chase with a 42nd- place finish at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois before dominating the race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon by leading 216 laps, but finished 21st after running short on fuel. He fought off elimination by dominating the race at Dover, where he led 355 of 400 laps to score his first Chase win of the season. In the Contender Round, Harvick finished second at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway, finished 16th at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, and 15th at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway to advance to the Eliminator Round. 
• Chevrolet Scores 750th Sprint Cup Win: Harvick’s Oct. 4 victory at Dover marked the 750th for Chevrolet in the Sprint Cup Series, more than any other manufacturer. It was the 48th win for the Chevrolet SS since its debut in 2013. Fonty Flock, driving a 1955 Chevy, scored the manufacturer’s first victory in the series March 26, 1955 at Columbia (S.C.) Speedway. 
• 2,000 Laps Led and Counting: Harvick led his 2,000th lap of the season at Dover in October. He has led 2,056 laps led through the first 32 races of 2015. It marks the second time in Harvick’s 15-year career that he has led 2,000 laps in a single Sprint Cup season. He first accomplished the feat by leading 2,137 laps in 2014. He is the first driver to lead more than 2,000 laps in back-to-back seasons since Jeff Gordon in 1995 and 1996. The last three drivers to lead 2,000 laps in a single season all went on to win the Sprint Cup championship – Gordon led 2,320 laps in 2001, Jimmie Johnson led 2,238 laps in 2009 and Harvick led 2,137 laps in 2014. 
• Freaky Fast: Harvick leads the Sprint Cup Series in the number of fastest laps with 1,241. The next-closest competitor is Matt Kenseth with 548. Harvick’s 2,056 laps led and 2,503.12 miles led are also tops in the series. The next-closest competitor in both categories is Joey Logano with 1,152 laps led and 1,523.69 miles led. 
• Eleven Runner-Up Finishes: Harvick became the 10th Sprint Cup driver to score double-digit runner-up finishes in a single season, and the first since Bobby Allison in 1972 when he finished second at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway in August. Harvick scored his 11th runner-up finish of 2015 at Charlotte in October. Combined with their three Sprint Cup wins, the No. 4 team has recorded 14 top-two finishes through the first 32 races of 2015. 
• Top-Five Finishes: Harvick’s 20 top-five finishes through the first 32 races of 2015 establishes his new single-season best. His 18 top- five finishes through the 26-race regular season races is also the most by any driver since the inception of the Chase in 2004. Harvick’s previous single-season best was 16 top-five finishes, which he set in 2010. Harvick surpassed his total of 14 top-five finishes in his 2014 Sprint Cup Series championship season when he finished third at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International. 
• Inside the 2015 Loop Data: Harvick leads the Sprint Cup Series in second-place finishes (11), top-five finishes (20), driver rating (118.1), average running position (7.549), number of fastest laps run (1,241), percentage of fastest laps (32.3), laps led (2,056), percentage of laps led (22.6), miles led (2,503.12), laps in the top-15 (8,224), percentage of laps in top-15 (90.3) and bonus points (44). 
• Bonus Points: Harvick has scored at least one bonus point in 25 of 32 races this season. He led at least one lap in 14 consecutive Sprint Cup points races, including the most in 10 races – Atlanta Motor Speedway, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, Bristol, Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Watkins Glen, New Hampshire and Dover. He also scored an additional three bonus points for each of his wins at Las Vegas, Phoenix and Dover. Joey Logano is second with 42.
• The Kevin Harvick Foundation Event: The Kevin Harvick Foundation, in partnership with the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation, will host a ribbon cutting on the new Kevin Harvick Foundation Park at the Boys & Girls Club in Greensboro, North Carolina Nov. 4 at 2 p.m. EST. The park is a 92,000-square-foot, synthetic-turf, multi-purpose athletic field designed to host youth baseball, girls’ softball, youth soccer and other outdoor recreational and educational activities for at-risk children at the Salvation Army Boys & Girls Clubs in Greensboro. The goal of the park is to provide at-risk children with access to a safe, clean, positive environment to participate in wholesome, out-of-school activities and mentoring programs while positively transforming not only their young lives, but the neighborhood in which they live. The park is complete with a scoreboard, dugouts, soccer goals, bleachers and fencing. 
  Harvick in the Sprint Cup Series at Martinsville: The Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 will mark Harvick’s 29th career Sprint Cup start at Martinsville. Harvick has one win, three top-five finishes and 13 top-10s at the half-mile oval. The 39-year-old driver has led 518 laps, has an average starting position of 14.5, an average finish of 16.1, and has completed 97.6 percent (13,693 of 14,034) of the laps he’s contested there. 
• Harvick in the Camping World Truck Series at Martinsville: Harvick has made 17 starts in the Camping World Truck Series at Martinsville. Harvick has two poles, seven top-five finishes and nine top-10s. He has led 595 laps, has an average starting position of 8.1, an average finish of 11.6, and has completed 97.1 percent (3,846 of 3,960) of the laps he’s contested there.
• Career Totals: Harvick has 31 wins, 134 top-five finishes, 254 top-10s and 15 poles in 534 career Sprint Cup starts heading into Sunday’s Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 at Martinsville. 

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