NASCAR Cup

Bristol: Kevin Harvick preview

* This Week's Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet at Bristol Motor Speedway ... Kevin Harvick will pilot Chassis No. 281 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. This Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet became a workhorse for the team during ...

Edited: Mar 17, 2010, 2:42 AM

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* This Week's Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet at Bristol Motor Speedway ... Kevin Harvick will pilot Chassis No. 281 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. This Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet became a workhorse for the team during the second half of the 2009 season. This particular chassis was used six times last year, including a runner-up finish in the fall Atlanta race and a sixth-place finish in the Brickyard 400.

* Career Bristol Stats ... The Food City 500 marks Harvick's 327th career start in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. In 18 Sprint Cup Series starts at the 0.533-mile oval, Harvick has claimed one victory (Apr. 3, 2005), nine top-five and 11 top-10 finishes. In addition, the Shell-Pennzoil driver has completed 97.5 percent (8,792 of 9,013) total laps, and he has led at least one lap in nine Bristol starts for a total of 390 laps.

* RCR Trifecta ... Harvick and RCR teammates Jeff Burton and Clint Bowyer dominated the 2008 Food City 500. Burton claimed the victory, while Harvick and Bowyer crossed the finish line in second and third, respectively.

* Fifty-Fifty ... Viewed as one of his favorite race tracks, Harvick has scored top-five finishes at a 50 percent clip at Bristol (nine of 18 starts). His nine top-five finishes at Bristol are the most of any other track on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series circuit.

* Passing Grade ... Two weeks ago in Atlanta, the No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil team's performance was awarded the O'Reilly Auto Parts Position Improvement Award. Harvick started the race 35th and improved his finish by 26 positions, finishing ninth.

* Survey Says ... As part of Food City Family Race night, Harvick and his wife DeLana, will participate in a game of Family Feud. The 2005 Food City 500 winner, along with fellow RCR stablemate Jeff Burton, will face off against Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman and his wife Krissie, on Friday, March 19 at approximately 7:20 p.m. The event is free to the public and will take place at the Food City Stage in Bristol Motor Speedway's hospitality village, located outside turn four.

* Winner, Winner ... In addition to his Sprint Cup Series victory at Bristol Motor Speedway, Harvick has also secured five Nationwide Series victories at BMS (four with RCR), including last spring's Scotts Turf Builders 300. In total, he owns 12 top-five and 15 top-10 finishes in 19 Nationwide Series starts. Harvick has led an astounding 1,075 of a possible 4,839 laps in Nationwide Series competition.

* Double Duty in Bristol ... In addition to his driving duties with the No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet, Harvick will drive Kevin Harvick Incorporated's No. 33 Chevrolet Impala in the March 20th Scotts Turf Builders 300 Nationwide Series event.

KEVIN HARVICK:

You had two really strong races at Bristol in 2008, but then last year, you struggled by finishing 30th and 38th. How tough was that to take, considering it has been one of your best tracks?

"The first race, we didn't practice much at all. We kind of went with the trick of the week, and tricked ourselves. And then, the second race we crashed, and that was just kind of the story of the year. So, it was definitely not a typical Bristol for us to say the least. It has generally been a money track for us, and I look for that to continue this weekend."

The way RCR ran the last part of the season a year ago, you guys were really strong. Did you think that was a good indication that you would start off the year so strongly?

"I believe so. For me, it's all about consistency. It's not to be consistently 30th, but it's taking a 30th-place car and finishing 10th to 15th with it. You have to capitalize on every opportunity and just be solid. You don't have to win every race, but you just have to be consistent week in and week out, and we are doing that."

What was the biggest emphasis with the team during the offseason?

"They worked on a lot of structural changes, and a lot of small, little detailed changes that they already had in motion from the end of last year. Then, Scott (Miller) was just getting his feet underneath him, as far as what his role was going to consist of, and then making it work on a daily basis. That has been a real positive move. And now, our cars are close enough to where we can really go to work on the details, and that's when things start going in the right direction."

Tell us what your thoughts are regarding the change to the spoiler? Will that be a good thing?

"Yes, I think the spoiler is going to be a good thing. It's something that we all thought should have been on there from the start, or at least a lot of us thought that. The spoiler is what it's all about, compared to the wing, because that's what NASCAR racing is all about."

-source: rcr

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