BACK TO BACK: Shelby Howard will be behind the wheel of the No. 2 Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) entry for the second week in a row, making his third and final start of 2010 in the Foretravel Motorcoach Chevrolet Silverado. In his two previous starts, Howard earned an 11th-place finish at O’Reilly (Ind.) Raceway Park at Indianapolis, and a 31st-place finish after engine failure at Chicagoland Speedway.
CARBON COPY: Howard hopes for vindication at Kentucky Speedway after his strong start but disappointing finish at Chicagoland. Howard can expect a very similar racetrack at Kentucky Speedway to what he experienced at Chicagoland Speedway last weekend, because the two intermediate-track races have very similar characteristics. Both tracks are 1.5-mile speedways, and both races will run 225 scheduled miles. Kentucky is a slightly flatter track, with 14-degree turns and eight to 14-degree straightaways, as opposed to Chicagoland’s 18-degree turns and five to 11-degree straights. Howard will also return with the same truck he raced last weekend at the Joliet, Illinois track.
LOOKING FOR 28: Throughout the Truck Series’ 16-year history, the No. 2 has visited victory lane 27 times, seven of which were KHI. wins. Howard hopes to earn win number 28 this weekend at Kentucky Speedway. Ten different Truck Series drivers have driven the No. 2 to victory, with three different drivers piloting the number to the win at KHI. Co-owner Kevin Harvick has the most KHI wins in the No. 2 with five, and Elliott Sadler and Ryan Newman each have one win.
HOLLYWOOD BOUND: Hollywood Casino and its newly-formed night club, Boogie Nights, will serve as associate sponsors on the No. 2 and No. 33 KHI Chevrolet Silverados at Kentucky Speedway, becoming the Official Hotel of Kevin Harvick. Inc. this weekend. The world-class hotel offers comfort, style, convenience and entertainment, while the casino offers live 24/7 poker, slots, video multi-games and a wide variety of table games such as craps, roulette, mini-baccarat and Caribbean stud. Boogie Nights, which is located inside Hollywood Casino, is a ‘70s and ‘80s dance club open Thursday Friday and Saturday nights. The club cover charge is $10 and many special packages are available offering VIP treatment, bottle service, private booths, drink packages and more. For more information, visit the Hollywood Casino website, www.hollywoodindiana.com, or http://twitter.com/HollywoodIND.
THOUGHTS FROM THE DRIVER: Shelby Howard
What are your thoughts going into the race at Kentucky Speedway?
“I’m really looking forward to getting back on track at Kentucky Speedway, since we had such a disappointing race at Chicagoland Speedway. That was probably the best truck I’ve ever had on a mile-and-a-half track, and I know we would have had a top-10 if we hadn’t blown up. We’re bringing the same truck to Kentucky, so hopefully we can get the finish we should have had in Chicago.”
PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: After qualifying in the sixth position for the EnjoyIllinois.com 225, Shelby Howard and the No. 2 team were relegated to a 31st-place finish last weekend at Chicagoland Speedway as a result of a catastrophic engine failure 28 laps into the 150-lap race. Howard was running fifth when the engine expired.
CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 2 team will once again utilize chassis No. 044 this weekend at Kentucky Speedway. The No. 044 chassis was driven by Howard last weekend at Chicagoland Speedway to a 31st-place finish following an engine failure.
ARE YOU A FOLLOWER? Twitter users can now keep up-to-date with Kevin Harvick Inc.’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Teams by following at http://twitter.com/KHI_TruckSeries. In addition, you can follow KHI’s Nationwide Series team at http://twitter.com /KHI_NNS. Want more from KHI? Follow KHI’s co-owners Kevin and DeLana Harvick at http://twitter.com/kevinharvick and http://twitter.com/delanaharvick.
MEDIA ACCESS: Members of the media can now log on to www.kevinharvickinc.com to gain access to press kit information online. For more information, please email Jessica Trippy at KHI: jtrippy@kevinharvickinc.com.
Race Info:
September 3, 2010
Kentucky Speedway
Built Ford Tough 225
150 Laps/225 Miles
Track Layout:
1.5-Mile D-Shaped Oval
Turns: 14-degree banking
Frontstretch: 8-degree banking
Backstretch: 4-degree banking
Truck Specs:
Chassis: No. 044
Engine: Earnhardt-Childress Racing (ECR)
WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Thursday:
Practice: 4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. ET
Final Practice: 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. EST
Friday:
Qualifying: 4:05 p.m. EST
Race: 8:00 p.m. EST
TV: SPEED will broadcast live at 8:30 p.m. EST
Radio: The Motor Racing Network (MRN) will broadcast live at 7:45 p.m. EST
Shelby Howard
Nationwide Series Statistics at
Kentucky Speedway:
Starts: 3
Wins: 0
Poles: 0
Top 5: 0
Top 10: 0
Laps Led: 0
Average Start: 22.0
Average Finish: 23.3
Shelby Howard
Truck Series Statistics at
Kentucky Speedway:
Starts: 1
Wins: 0
Poles: 0
Top 5: 0
Top 10: 0
Laps Led: 0
Average Start: 29.0
Average Finish: 36.0