Harvick dominates Nationwide race at Atlanta
HAMPTON, Ga. — Kevin Harvick passed polesitter Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the next-to-last lap and pulled away to win Saturday night’s Degree V12 300 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Kyle Busch, who also passed Earnhardt on Lap 194 of 195, ran second and padded his Nationwide Series points lead from 192 to 221 over second-place Carl Edwards, who completed the race despite fracturing two bones in his right foot playing Frisbee on Wednesday. Edwards finished seventh, one lap down.
After pitting for the last time on Lap 125, Earnhardt saved enough fuel to make it to the end of the race but couldn’t stay ahead of Busch and Harvick, who came to the pits for four tires and gas on Lap 181 and 182, respectively.
Brad Keselowski came home fourth, followed by Jeff Burton and Joey Logano.
“Kyle was a little better on the short runs there, but after about eight or 10 laps, this thing was just flat-out awesome,” Harvick said of his No. 33 Chevrolet. “We cut it a little bit closer than I would have liked to there at the end. …
“It was nice to race the 18 (Busch) head-to-head like that and have fun with him. I really thought everybody had to pit. Just a great night for the fans who came out to watch the race — Dale Jr. on strategy, Kyle good on short runs and us good after about 10 laps — so you had all kinds of that good Atlanta racing tonight.”
Earnhardt credited his crew, which included former crew chief Tony Eury Jr. in a consulting role, with a good call in the pits.
“We saved enough gas, and we finished closer to them two guys than we were on the racetrack,” Earnhardt said. “So I guess it was the right call. We just didn’t have enough at the end to hold them off. I tried to get going when they were coming. … Hopefully we put on a good show for the fans out there.”
Harvick held a lead of more than six seconds when NASCAR called the third caution of the race on Lap 124 because of debris in Turn 2, ending a green-flag run of 79 laps. At that point, there were five cars on the lead lap.
Busch, however, won the race off pit road after the lead-lap cars pitted for tires and fuel under yellow. After a restart on Lap 129, he and Harvick battled side-by-side for five laps, before Busch edged ahead and stayed out front until Lap 147.
Harvick’s car, however, was stronger on long runs, and the driver of the No. 33 Chevrolet passed Busch for the lead with 48 laps left and began to pull away. His lead had reached more than seven seconds when he pulled into the pits on Lap 182.
Chart of the week: Winning percentage
Kyle Busch’s victory in last Saturday’s Sprint Cup race at Bristol was his 16th in 174 Cup starts, which moved him ahead of Carl Edwards in winning percentage. As the chart shows, Jimmie Johnson has the best Cup winning percentage among active drivers (eighth overall), followed closely by Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon. The chart is comprised only of drivers with at least 100 Cup starts.
| Rk. | Overall Rank | Drivers | Wins | Races | Win. pct. |
| 1. | 8 | Jimmie Johnson | 43 | 279 | 15.41 |
| 2. | 10 | Jeff Gordon | 82 | 569 | 14.41 |
| 3. | 24 | Tony Stewart | 36 | 380 | 9.47 |
| 4. | 26 | Kyle Busch | 16 | 174 | 9.20 |
| 5. | 27 | Carl Edwards | 16 | 181 | 8.84 |
| 6. | 36 | Kurt Busch | 19 | 316 | 6.01 |
| 7. | 38 | Greg Biffle | 14 | 246 | 5.69 |
| 8. | 40 | Bill Elliott | 44 | 804 | 5.47 |
| 9. | 42 | Mark Martin | 39 | 746 | 5.23 |
| 10. | 43 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 18 | 351 | 5.13 |
| 11. | 44 | Matt Kenseth | 18 | 352 | 5.11 |
| 12. | 47 | Kasey Kahne | 10 | 204 | 4.90 |
| 13. | 50 | Ryan Newman | 13 | 284 | 4.58 |
| 14. | 53 | Jeff Burton | 21 | 535 | 3.93 |
| 15. | 56 | Bobby Labonte | 21 | 570 | 3.68 |
| 16. | 57 | Denny Hamlin | 5 | 139 | 3.60 |
| 17. | 58 | Kevin Harvick | 11 | 310 | 3.55 |
| 18. | 62 | Terry Labonte | 22 | 864 | 2.55 |
| 19. | 68 | Clint Bowyer | 2 | 133 | 1.50 |
| 20. | 75 | Brian Vickers | 2 | 196 | 1.02 |
| 21. | 79 | Robby Gordon | 3 | 330 | 0.91 |
| 22. | 81 | Jamie McMurray | 2 | 246 | 0.81 |
| 23. | 83 | Elliott Sadler | 3 | 381 | 0.79 |
| 24. | 82 | Joe Nemechek | 4 | 509 | 0.79 |
| 25. | 86 | Martin Truex Jr. | 1 | 141 | 0.71 |
| 26. | 94 | Michael Waltrip | 4 | 747 | 0.54 |
| 27. | 95 | John Andretti | 2 | 380 | 0.53 |
| 28. | 100 | Casey Mears | 1 | 240 | 0.42 |
Kevin Harvick returns to Bristol shooting for season sweep
By Tim Tuttle and Bill Marx
Kevin Harvick’s victory in the Nationwide Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway in March was an extraordinarily proud occasion, his first win in the series driving for the KHI team he and wife DeLana built from the ground up.
Harvick returns for Friday’s Food City 250 going for a season sweep at Bristol, one of his best tracks in the series. He is the all-time Nationwide leader with five wins and has 11 top fives in 18 starts.
“Bristol is one of my favorite race tracks,” Harvick said. “I enjoy the short track stuff, and we’ve always been fortunate to run really well there. We go there with high expectations, but you never know what’s going to happen. You can get caught up in a wreck in a hurry and have your day ended. You have to go to Bristol and enjoy it, but know that the outcome could be the opposite of what you want it to be.”
Harvick’s win at Bristol has been one of the highlights of a very strong season for Kevin Harvick Inc., which also fields multiple entries in the Camping World Truck Series. KHI’s Ron Hornaday Jr. carried a five-race winning streak, longest in a NASCAR national series in 38 years, into Wednesday night’s O’Reilly 200 at Bristol.
KHI had won races with Tony Stewart and Bobby Labonte in the series, but Harvick driving into victory lane brought special satisfaction.
“Finally, we got this out of the way,” Harvick said in March. “DeLana and I built this company from basically dirt. It started as a hobby. There’s been a tremendous amount of pressure that I’ve put on myself and probably more pressure than any of the guys want to see at the shop over the last year, but it’s been well worth the reward.
“I guess it’s kind of fitting that it comes on what’s been my most successful track in the Nationwide Series. I’m just glad it all finally came together.”
Harvick, the 2001 and 2006 series champion, is second on the all-time Nationwide win list with 33. But only one has come in KHI equipment, and he’s undoubtedly hungry to get a second win. (The other 32 wins came with Richard Childress Racing.)
“I grew up on a half-mile, high-banked racetrack,” he said, referring to Mesa Marin Raceway in his hometown of Bakersfield, Calif. “I know Bristol is a lot more banked, but it’s kind of the same mindset for me driving around the track. It’s short-track beating and banging, and it’s a lot of fun.
“I seem to have a lot of success every time I go, so I’m always excited to go back.”
Three to watch
Ryan Newman, No. 5: One of Newman’s seven Nationwide wins has come at Bristol. In six starts, he has five top 10s. He didn’t lead any laps in his first two starts as a rookie in 2001, be he has led laps in each of the four races since (300 laps total).
Kyle Busch, No. 18: Can Busch bounce back from his worst Nationwide finish since May? After 10 consecutive finishes of first or second, Busch could do no better than a third last week at Michigan. What’s wrong with Kyle? All kidding aside, Busch stretched his points lead to 339 over second-place Carl Edwards. At Bristol, Busch has one win and eight top 10s in 10 starts. The only times he failed to finish in the top 10 were because of crashes.
Brad Keselowski, No. 88: Keselowski was the surprise winner last week when he scooted past Busch and Brian Vickers as they tangled on the last lap. Vickers isn’t in Friday’s race, so Keselowski will be forced to employ another piece of strategy if he is gong to get his second win at the track. In five starts, Keselowski has three top 10s, including his win last August.
Track chatter
Eric McClure: “We had an okay run in March (26th), certainly weren’t bad at the end of the race, so hopefully we can build on that. After the troubles we had during June, we’re finally locked in solidly in the top 30 in owner points, so we’re going to go try and have a good day in front of the home crowd and try to keep climbing the ladder a bit. Bristol owes us something good for once.”
Doug Randolph, crew chief for Clint Bowyer: “The biggest thing for the race will be getting the car to enter and exit the corners consistently. Although this is a short track, the cars carry a lot of speed in and off the high-banked turns. The progressive banking in the corners allows for several different lines to choose from, so we’ll adjust our Chevy to whichever line works best for Clint. Another key aspect at Bristol is qualifying toward the front and staying out of trouble. If we can do that, we should be in contention for another top-three finish and an overall strong points day.”
Fast facts
What: Food City 250
Where: Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway
When: Friday, 8 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN2, 7:30 p.m. ET
Radio: PRN/Sirius Satellite Ch. 128
Track layout: .533-mile oval
Race distance: 250 laps/133.25 miles
Qualifying: Friday, 4:10 p.m. ET
2008 winner: Brad Keselowski
2008 polesitter: Cale Gale
Points leaders: 1. Kyle Busch, 3,816; 2. Carl Edwards, 3,477; 3. Brad Keselowski, 3,427; 4. Jason Leffler, 3,203; 5. Justin Allgaier, 2,756; 6. Steve Wallace, 2,673; 7. Jason Keller, 2,612; 8. Mike Bliss, 2,595; 9. Brendan Gaughan, 2,538; 10. Michael McDowell, 2,474.
Jimmie Johnson, others to be honored Wednesday at White House
Jimmie Johnson, the 2008 Chase field and many other notable NASCAR stars will pay a visit to Pennsylvania Ave. on Wednesday to be honored by President Barack Obama.
Drivers scheduled to join Johnson included Greg Biffle, Clint Bowyer, Jeff Burton, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Carl Edwards, Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart, Dale Jarrett, Bobby Labonte, Terry Labonte, Juan Pablo Montoya, Richard Petty, Rusty Wallace and Darrell Waltrip.
Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth will not be attending due to scheduling conflicts.
“NASCAR is once again honored to have its drivers recognized by the President of the United States,” Brian France, NASCAR Chairman and CEO, said. “NASCAR is rooted deep in America’s fabric and represents the best of sports and side-by-side competition.”
This visit was rescheduled after the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 was postponed August 2nd, with the race being rescheduled for the following day in which the White House visit was originally scheduled to take place.
The first time NASCAR visited the White House was in 1978. The sport has visited the White House each year since 2000.
RCR plans to keep Harvick, Shell
If team owner Richard Childress has his way, Kevin Harvick won’t be walking.
Rather, he’ll be driving the No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet for RCR at least through the 2010 season, according to a statement Wednesday from Richard Childress Racing.
Childress issued the statement in response to reports that Harvick had asked for his release from RCR to pursue opportunities with other teams.
“Richard Childress Racing has a multiyear contract with Shell-Pennzoil that includes the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season,” Childress said. “Shell-Pennzoil remains a great partner for RCR and Kevin Harvick as well as our sport overall.
“RCR also has a multiyear contract with Kevin Harvick that includes the 2010 season. That said, Shell will be the sponsor and Kevin will be the driver of RCR’s No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet Impala SS in 2010.”
Harvick’s relationship with Childress has deteriorated this season, and so has the driver’s performance on the track. For the past three years, Harvick has qualified for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, finishing fourth in the final standings in 2006 and 2008 and 10th in 2007. Currently 25th in points with no realistic shot of making the Chase, Harvick hasn’t won a Cup points race since the 2007 Daytona 500.
Harvick also has his own headaches on the ownership side. His family team, Kevin Harvick Inc., was particularly hard-hit by General Motors’ decision to withdraw support from NASCAR’s Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series. Harvick fields teams in both touring divisions and won the truck series championship in 2007 with driver Ron Hornaday Jr.
In an attempt to jump-start the Cup teams of Harvick and Casey Mears, Childress flip-flopped their crew chiefs and pit crews before the May 2 race at Richmond. To date, the switch hasn’t had the desired effect. Mears is 22nd in the standings.
Since then, the relationship between Harvick and Childress has been at times acrimonious. A story on SI.com reported RCR’s contract with Shell-Pennzoil expires at the end of the 2009 season and Harvick was attempting to strike a deal with Stewart-Haas Racing and move the sponsorship with him.
According to RCR and Shell, the contract with the sponsor runs through 2010. According to a source close to Stewart-Haas, Harvick has not made a formal approach to that organization, though he and owner/driver Tony Stewart are friends. Though RCR employees reportedly overheard a heated conversation between Harvick and Childress in which the taking of sponsorships was discussed, the primary sponsorship contract is between Shell and RCR, not between Shell and Harvick.
Though Harvick is actively involved in the company’s education programs and “green” initiatives, he does not have a personal services agreement with Shell. Harvick’s personal appearances and other obligations to the sponsor are covered by the master agreement with RCR.
“Shell and Pennzoil have enjoyed much success on and off the track as a result of our alliance with Richard Childress Racing and Kevin Harvick,” said Heidi Massey-Bong, senior business adviser for NASCAR sponsorship at Shell Oil Co. U.S.
“We are pleased to be sponsoring the No. 29 car in 2010 and look forward to watching the Shell and Pennzoil colors each week as part of the RCR team and to continued success next season. Beyond that, we do not have any further news or information regarding the rumors.”
Richard Childress Racing drivers trying to fight their way into chase picture
This weekend’s LifeLock.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway marks the third race of ten in the Race to the Chase. After Chicago, only seven races will remain in the Chase, a ten-race prelude to the final ten-race stretch to decide the Sprint Cup Series champion, for teams, like Richard Childress Racing, to be in championship contention for the Chase to the Sprint Cup, NASCAR’s “playoffs,” that begin in New Hampshire and end in Miami.
In all, seven different teams are represented in the top-12, the most at this point in the season since the Chase expanded from ten to 12 teams in 2007.
The teams, for the most part, are the same as last year’s contenders. However, one team is noticeably absent from this year’s chase picture.
That team finds it’s drivers mired back in 15th, 16th, 22nd and 26th in the Sprint Cup Series driver points heading into the Chicagoland Speedway event. This is a very big change from last year’s Chase picture, which saw all three of RCR’s teams in the top-12.
Jeff Burton, who is making his 350th Sprint Cup Series start this weekend, is the highest RCR driver in the driver point standings after the team made the move to the NASCAR-maximum four teams at the beginning of this season.
The driver of the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet has recorded top-tens in the last two of three Sprint Cup Series events held at Chicago, but has an average finish of 19.25 there in his eight career starts at the 1.5-mile track.
After 18 races in the season, Burton said despite winning being a high priority the team has made the shift to points-racing in an attempt to get into the top-12.
“We’re not going to approach this weekend’s race or the next race any different than how we’ve been approaching them all year,” Burton said. “Our approach is to come in every week with intentions of giving ourselves a shot to win the race. At the same time, you have to measure your risk. If I have a chance to win the race, I’m going to go for the chance to win a race. Ten points could be the difference, so we need to get all the points we can and the way to get all the points that we can is to win the race. We’re not going to try to change our strategy because our strategy has been effective. I’ve said all along that if we can’t win, then we’ll try to finish second and if we can’t finish second, then we’ll try to finish third. Obviously, we need to have good points races from this point on, but winning races is still a priority.”
Next in line at the RCR camp, as far as points go, is Clint Bowyer. The driver of the No. 33 Cheerios Chevrolet finds himself in a horrible slump after beginning the season as the strongest of the camp.
For the first ten weeks of the season, Bowyer found himself as high as second and as low as eighth. However, the Emporia, Kan. native dropped from eighth to 13th after finishing 18th at Richmond, a week after he finished 39th at Talladega.
In the past 12 weeks, Bowyer has finished in the top-ten only once, his tenth-place finish at Michigan in June. Besides the top-ten, his highest finish is eleventh, coming at Dover in May, and his lowest is the disappointing 39th at Talladega.
However, some light can be shed on Bowyer’s chances at Chicagoland. For one, he is certainly due for a good finish after the rough stretch he has hit as of late. Bowyer also has finished inside the top-ten in the series’s last two of three to Joliet, I.L. The 30-year-old also has completed each of the 304 laps that has been run in races he has started.
However, Bowyer isn’t satisfied with his finishes of ninth, tenth and 22nd in the last three years, respectively.
Instead, he and his team will be aiming for more this time around at Chicago.
“You know, they say that Chicago is supposed to be just like Kansas,” Bowyer said. “But, I’ve always run a lot better at Kansas than I have at Chicago. We always use the race at Chicago as a learning spot or a test session for Kansas because that race is always a big deal to me since I’m from there. We’ve got to put more of an emphasis on Chicago this time around. We have to run better there.”
Even though only positions 42nd and back are mathematically eliminated at this point, Kevin Harvick and Casey Mears may very well be realistically out of contention. Mears is currently in 22nd, 358-points from the elusive 12th-place cutoff. Harvick is 26th and is 483-points from the cutoff position.
Weekend Notes:
- Matt Kenseth and his wife, Katie, welcomed Kaylin Nicola Kenseth into the world on Monday, July 6 in North Carolina. This is their first child together. Matt has a son, Ross, from a previous relationship. The baby and the mother are doing well.
- Ryan Newman will have AA3, a teen-rated video game created by the U.S. Army, on his hood for this weekend’s LifeLock.com 400. AA3 is the third edition of the free PC game that can be downloaded at http://www.americasarmy.com/racing.
- Three drivers are making some milestone starts this weekend. John Andretti and Tony Stewart are each making their 375th start at Chicago this weekend. Robby Gordon is making his 325th.
- Sprint Cup Series drivers will enjoy their third off-weekend of the season before they head to Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 26 after the checkered flag waves on Saturday. The final off-weekend of the season will be before the September 6 night race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Weekend Quotes:
- Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry: “Chicago has been a bit of a struggle for us – we had some electrical issues last season and a loose wheel a few years ago – but I am really excited about heading there this weekend. We had a really strong car at Michigan, a place where we have struggled in the past and we were really excited about hitting on something at a track where we needed to make a big step forward. After talking to Mike (Ford) and the engineers on the #11 team I think we are close to making that step at Chicago also and I am excited about having a really competitive package going to that mile and half track this weekend. It’s a track I like to race and to have a strong car only increases that.”
- Marcos Ambrose, driver of the No. 47 Kingsford Charcoal Toyota: “I don’t know yet about Chicagoland, but we will find out. I haven’t got many memories of it to be honest. I know the back straight is a bit funny it seems to have a curve all the way around. I’m just thrilled about how we are running. We haven’t raced at a 1.5-mile track for a while. We’re looking forward to being competitive because we feel like we missed our chance at Charlotte to show what we really have. I feel confident we have learned a lot and we may surprise some people. The guys back at the shop have done a great job in preparing the cars and giving the feedback we need to have a better program on the 1.5-mile tracks.”
- Chad Knaus, crew chief of the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet: “I always enjoy going to Chicagoland and back to Illinois for races. I don’t get there very often with the busy schedule I have, but it’s where I got my start in racing so I have a lot of good memories from the area. We still haven’t gotten the win in Chicago, so we’ll be going after it this weekend. We always run well there – I think we’ve only finished outside the top five or so twice. But for some reason things haven’t worked out for us yet to get to Victory Lane. We’re taking a good car – the one we had in Michigan when we ran out of gas. So maybe this is our year we can finally get a win near my hometown.”
- Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 M&M’s Toyota: “Winning both races at Chicago last year, it was just a great weekend. It was special, but there have been several special wins the last couple of years. Winning at Atlanta, Daytona and Infineon last year, and winning at home in Vegas, and on my birthday in Richmond, were also great races this year. But winning Chicago last year and beating Jimmie (Johnson) was definitely neat. Ultimately, I have a lot of respect for him, Jeff Gordon, and anybody in this sport since it’s so competitive. To go out and beat guys like that, it’s something that’s pretty special, and I really cherished that, for sure, and I know M&M’s did, too.”
Weekend at a Glance:
What: LifeLock.com 400
When: Saturday, July 11 at 8 p.m. ET
Where: Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, I.L.
The Distance: 267 laps, 400 miles
TV: TNT, 6:30 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN/SIRIUS-XM NASCAR Radio 128
2008 Polesitter: None (Qualifying PPD due to weather;lineup set by rulebook)
2008 Winner: Kyle Busch
Special thanks to Mike Forde, Manager of Statistical Writing for NASCAR, for crunching the numbers to find out who is mathematically eliminated from making the chase.
Notebook: Earnhardt sides with NASCAR on privacy issue
CONCORD, N.C. — Though a consensus among NASCAR drivers favors disclosure of substances that produce positive drug tests and subsequent suspensions, Dale Earnhardt Jr. differs from the majority of competitors who have expressed opinions on the subject.
It is NASCAR’s policy not to identify specific substances after a failed drug test.
“The truth will be known by the people who need to know it,” Earnhardt said, referencing the recent suspension of driver Jeremy Mayfield. “We don’t need to know it. It’s none of our business. That’s the problem with everybody is they’ve got to know everything.
“Everybody wants to know what the hell Jeremy did. That’s his business and NASCAR’s business, and they’ll handle it. Don’t take drugs. It’s stupid to do anyways. Regardless if you drive racecars or not, it’s a dumb idea. Don’t be ignorant.”
NASCAR doesn’t publish a finite list of banned substances, taking the position that any drug has the potential to be abused. The absence of a list is fine with Earnhardt.
“Just don’t take drugs,” he said. “Don’t do anything stupid, and you won’t get caught. That’s ridiculous. I just think that nobody deserves anything, no lists, nothing. Don’t do drugs, don’t do stupid stuff. The policy is a rule and don’t violate it, and that’s that.”
SO WHAT ELSE IS NEW?
For a fleeting moment on Friday afternoon, Carl Edwards thought he’d have an excellent starting spot for Saturday night’s Sprint All-Star Race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. That was before NASCAR officials found three loose lug nuts on Edwards’ No. 99 Ford — with each offense incurring a five-second penalty.
The mistakes were also a microcosm of Edwards’ season, during which problems in the pits have cost him opportunities to win races.
“It’s frustrating, but that’s kind of how our season has been,” Edwards said. “We’ve just had little bitty things that keep us from reaching our potential, and now (All-Star Race weekend) is a better time than any to work them out. We’ve got a real important race next weekend that we’ve got to get geared up for.”
HARVICK WINS BURNOUT COMPETITION
Kevin Harvick won Saturday’s Pennzoil Victory Challenge burnout competition, held before the Sprint All-Star Race. Harvick drives the No. 29 Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing.
Kasey Kahne of Richard Petty Motorsports finished second. Joe Gibbs Racing driver Kyle Busch earned high marks from several judges but was disqualified for hitting the frontstretch wall during his burnout.
“I figured I’d go ahead and get it out of the way,” Busch said, who has failed to finish all three All-Star Races in which he has competed.
NASCAR Number: 20
20th: Kevin Harvick’s ranking in the Sprint Cup Series points standings. The last time Harvick ranked 20th or worse in the standings was in March 2006, when he dropped to 23rd in the points standings after finishing 39th in the fourth race of the season at Atlanta. The next week he finished second at Bristol to jump to 13th and begin a run of 112 races in which his lowest spot in the standings was 16th.
Crew Chief Changes For The No. 07 and 29 Teams
Richard Childress Racing announced today that the No. 07 and No. 29 Sprint Cup Series teams will swap crew chiefs starting with this weekend’s race at Talladega.
Gil Martin, who currently works as the No. 07 crew chief, will switch over to Kevin Harvick and the No. 29 team as Harvick’s crew chief Todd Berrier will move over the No. 07 and Casey Mears.
“The decision to interchange the 29 and 07 teams was made to make both programs stronger and more successful,” said Richard Childress, president and CEO of Richard Childress Racing. “Our main objective has always been to have all four of RCR’s teams qualify for the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Neither team has had the success this season that we know they’re capable of, so we decided it was time to make a change to improve the two teams and the overall strength of RCR. We feel this change positions us to achieve that goal.
“Todd and Gil are proven winners who have strong and successful teams behind them. Chemistry is an important part of any successful organization and I felt it was time to change the makeup of these two teams. We’ve done this before with positive results.”
Harvick goes out of his way for charity
The saying “charity begins at home” doesn’t apply to NASCAR racing.
More apt, in a sport that’s constantly on the move, charity begins on the road.
You might think the ban on testing at NASCAR tracks would give Sprint Cup drivers an extra portion of free time. You’d be wrong. Take Kevin Harvick: In the days leading up to the Samsung 500 earlier this month at Texas Motor Speedway, you would not have found a hole in his schedule.
Harvick drives the No. 29 Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. Coincidentally, race week at Fort Worth coincided with the Shell Houston Open PGA Tour stop, four hours away. Harvick managed to participate in both, though he never hit a golf shot.
On pro-am day at Redstone Golf Club, the host course for the tournament, while four of his over-the-wall pit crew members were halfway through the front nine, Harvick was miles away, at Fall Creek Elementary School, for a ribbon cutting.
Shell volunteers had planted trees there and unveiled plans for a new playground and park through the community’s SPARK School Park Program. This particular project represented a cooperative effort among Shell Oil Company, the Houston Golf Association, Fall Creek parents and students, and the Humble Independent School District.
“Texas doesn’t fund any of the playgrounds in the public communities, so basically SPARK comes in, and Shell was a big contributor to this particular playground,” Harvick said. “They donated around $100,000 just for this particular playground, and that doesn’t even scratch the surface. Through the golf tournament over the years, they’ve raised around $45 million for the local community.
“Whether it’s a Boys & Girls Club or a golf tournament or just being responsible on the Pennzoil side and learning how to teach people to recycle their oil correctly, it’s something Shell is a big part of. They get a lot of grief sometimes about being a big oil company, but sometimes they don’t get enough credit for the small things they do throughout the communities and the time that they spend making sure that they’re welcome within those communities.”
After the school visit, Harvick appeared in the media center at Redstone and fielded questions from reporters in a milieu markedly different from his usual field of play.
“I’m not a huge golfer, but, obviously, everybody there was very receptive to having us there,” he said. “In the end, it’s still a sporting event and still a lot of competitors that want to win or lose that are interested in your world. You know you’re a little bit curious about their world. Definitely something that was different for me, but it’s always different to see how other sports do things.”
Asked why he didn’t join his crewmen in the pro-am, Harvick gave a frank assessment of his golf game.
“It’s not pretty—it’s ugly,” he said.
Harvick overcomes Busch to win truck race
By Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
MARTINSVILLE, Va.—Kevin Harvick powered by Kyle Busch for the lead with 10 laps to go Monday and held on to win the Kroger 250 Camping World Truck Series race at Martinsville Speedway.
Driving his No. 2 Kevin Harvick Inc. Chevrolet, Harvick collected his fourth career truck win in his 97th start in an event that had been postponed because of rain on Saturday.
“I was able to get to his bumper there and just kind of get him up about half a groove and got up under him,” said Harvick, who ran the final 185 laps, including one extra lap because of a green-white-checkered-flag finish, on one tank of fuel.
“I got him up there once before, and he was able to get back by me on the outside,” Harvick said. “I didn’t want to wreck him, but I knew it was time to start applying the pressure pretty heavily if I was going to get by in case a caution or something would come out. It just takes a while to complete a pass over another fast vehicle.”
Busch was subsequently penalized for a commitment line violation when he intentionally ran against the inside backstretch wall under caution in an attempt to straighten out a fender that was bashed in. Busch led a race-high 139 laps and finished 17th.
KHI’s Ron Hornaday finished second, and Mike Skinner, Johnny Benson and polesitter Rick Crawford rounded out the top five.
Busch wasn’t the only driver to find trouble in the race, which featured 13 cautions, the first on Lap 1.
After the fifth caution, Busch needed less than three laps to dispose of Jason White and take the lead on Lap 102. Busch held the spot until Harvick moved underneath him in the final laps.
Busch remained the series points leader over Todd Bodine, who finished 18th after being involved in two separate accidents, including one with two laps to go that forced the race to finish under caution.
Busch, who is running a partial schedule, won’t compete in the series’ next race, April 25 at Kansas Speedway.
Notes: Mike Bliss finished 15th in his 200th truck start. … Ken Schrader finished 10th for his first top-10 since a fourth-place finish last year at Martinsville. … James Buescher, who turned 19 last week, finished 11th, the highest finish among the six rookies in the race.
Top 12 Preview: The Goody’s Fast Relief 500
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads into Martinsville this weekend, for the second short-track race in a row. Below is a breakdown of how the current top-12 drivers in Sprint Cup Series driver points have fared so far this season, and their past history and success at Martinsville, the smallest short-track on the Sprint Cup Series circuit.
1. Jeff Gordon, driver of the No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet, 794 points: Gordon has had a great season after suffering his first win less season since his rookie year in 2008. Despite still being win less, Gordon comes into Martinsville Speedway as a strong contender, and rightfully so. Gordon has made 32 starts, posting seven wins, 20 top fives, 26 top 10s, and seven poles. Gordon, who has led at least one lap in 24 of 32 races for 2,613 total laps, finished 4th during last October’s race at Martinsville.
2. Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge, 718 points: Busch has come out strong so far this season, winning one race and finishing in the top ten all but one race. He holds an average finish of 22nd at Martinsville, posting one win, two top fives, four top 10s, and owns one pole in 17 starts at Martinsville. He finished 36th in October and has led six of 17 races for 358 total laps.
3. Clint Bowyer, driver of the No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet, 715 points: Bowyer has had a decent history at Martinsville, which includes three top 10s in 6 career starts at the track. He came home ninth last October at Martinsville, tied for his best finish at the track.
4. Kyle Busch, driver of the No.18 M&M’s Toyota, 709 points: Martinsville is one of tracks that he hasn’t visited victory lane in on the Sprint Cup Series circuit. However, he is coming off of a win at Bristol and may just get rid of the statistic this weekend. In his 8 starts at the track, he has posted three top fives and four top 10s for an average finish of 18.3. Busch is coming off of a 29th place finish last October at Martinsville.
5. Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Aflac Ford, 665 points: Edwards has started nine races at Martinsville Speedway, with an average finish of 17.3, which includes one top five and two top 10s. Edwards scored his best finish at Martinsville last October, after finishing third. Edwards has also never led a single lap at the shortest short-track in the Sprint Cup Series.
6. Kasey Kahne, driver of the No. 9 Budweiser Dodge, 639 points: Kahne has an average finish of 18.5 at Martinsville, including one top five and two top 10s. Kahne, who has improved his finish each weekend over the previous’, hopes to continue his up rise in the 2009 season. Kahne’s best finish at Martinsville in 2005, finish second in the race. He finished 33rd last October.
7. Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet, 633 points: Stewart hopes to return to victory lane, and win for the first time at his new team, Stewart-Haas Racing. Stewart has posted two wins, seven top fives, 11 top 10s, and three poles in 20 starts at Martinsville. Stewart has led in Led 10 of his 20 starts for a total of 1,193 laps. Stewart finished 26th last October at Martinsville.
8. Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Toyota, 631 points: Hamlin currently holds an average finish of 8.9, posting one win, four top fives, and six top 10s in 7 starts. Hamlin finished fifth in October, and has led in three of seven races for 235 total laps. Hamlin is also the defending Goody’s Fast Relief 500 race winner from last spring.
9. Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, 627 points: Johnson has slowly improved his season over the last few weeks, as he begins his trek for his fourth straight Sprint Cup Series championship. Johnson currently stands as one of the best, if not the best, active driver at Martinsville. In 14 starts, Johnson has posted five wins, 10 top fives, 13 top 10s, and one pole for an average finish of 5.6. Johnson, who hopes to repeat his win last October at Martinsville, has led eight of 14 races for 1,345 laps.
10. Matt Kenseth, driver of the No. 17 DEWALT Ford, 610 points: Kenseth has made 18 starts at Martinsville, posting two top fives and six top 10s for an average finish of 16th. Last October, he finished 8th and has led in seven of 18 races for a total of 68 laps.
11. David Reutimann, driver of the No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota, 607 points: Reutimann is a pleasant surprise so far in the Top 12. This team has come out of the box strong this season, and they hope to continue their vast improvement over last October at Martinsville, where the came home to a 24th place finish. Reutimann, who has four career starts at Martinsville, has led in one race for a total of three laps.
12. Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 29 Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet, 584 points: Harvick would surely like to do better at Martinsville. He has finish in the top ten just six times in 15 career races, and holds a career-best finish of seventh, which has achieved three times in his career including last October. Harvick has led in four of 15 races for a total of 147 laps.
Harvick wins at Bristol in his own car
BRISTOL, Tenn. — At age 33, Kevin Harvick won his 33rd Nationwide Series race in the No. 33 Kevin Harvick Inc. Chevrolet — but the number that really mattered to Harvick at Bristol Motor Speedway was “one.”
A former series champion, Harvick won for the first time in a Nationwide car he owns when he took the checkered flag in Saturday’s Scott’s Turf Builder 300 at the .533-mile high-banked short track, beating Carl Edwards to the finish line by .798 seconds.
“Finally, we got this out of the way,” Harvick said. “The alternator went out today — it was kind of hot in there — but everybody did a great job…
“There’s been a tremendous amount of pressure that I’ve put on myself — probably more pressure than any of the guys want to see at the shop over the last year, but it’s been well worth the reward today. And I guess it’s kind of fitting that it comes on what’s been my most successful track in the Nationwide Series here at Bristol, and I’m just glad it all finally came together.”
Harvick got the break he needed when disaster struck Kyle Busch, who led a race-high 156 laps, on the on the final pit stop for the lead cars on Lap 254. A tire taken off the right rear wheel of the No. 18 Toyota bounced off the inside wall and rolled back out onto pit road. Busch left his pit box before his crew could retrieve the tire and drew a penalty that dropped him from first to 16th for a restart on Lap 259.
With a frenzied charge through the field, Busch moved up to sixth by the end of the race but ran out of time.
Harvick also made the right move on his final stop, when his crew filled the fuel cell of the No. 33 Chevy only with enough gas to finish the race comfortably, thereby making the car lighter for the final restart.
“The most important thing was leaving the fuel out of the car,” Harvick said. “That really let us keep going on the restart.”
With his runner-up finish, 2007 series champion Edwards stayed at the top of the Nationwide standings, 114 points ahead of second-place Harvick (who will not run the full schedule) and 124 ahead of third-place Busch.
Clint Bowyer ran third on Saturday, followed by Matt Kenseth (subbing for sore-ribbed Greg Biffle) and rookie Justin Allgaier.
Notes: Harvick is the all-time leader for Nationwide wins at Bristol with five… The race featured a record 16 lead changes, breaking the mark of 10 set in 2005… Hoping to make his first Nationwide Series start, Pennsylvania driver Benny Gordon qualified 26th for Saturday’s race, but NASCAR found irregularities in the composition of the fuel in his No. 72 Ford and disallowed the time. That promoted Dennis Setzer, who thought he had missed the race, into the starting field. Setzer was fastest among the original group of seven non-qualifiers. Setzer finished 38th.
Hamlin, Harvick, Labonte and Sadler To Participate in Goodyear Tire Test
Kyle Ocker, FanZone Sports
Goodyear, the official tire company of NASCAR, will hold a tire test at Darlington Raceway during the first of four off-weeks in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, beginning on Tuesday, March 10th.
Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Toyota of Joe Gibbs Racing, Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 29 Shell/Penzoil Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing, Bobby Labonte, driver of the No. 96 Ask.com Chevrolet, and Elliott Sadler, driver of the No. 19 Best Buy Dodge for Richard Petty Motorsports, are the drivers that are schedule to participate.
Goodyear makes its best attempt to allow one driver per manufacturer at their tire tests. The test session is closed to the public.
