Pre Race Report: Sprint All-Star

• Notes
• Kevin Harvick Quotes

Notes

This Week's Pennzoil Chevrolet at Lowe's Motor Speedway … Kevin Harvick will pilot Chassis No. 269 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. Built new this season, this car appeared in two NSCS events as a No. 07 Jack Daniel's Chevrolet Impala SS driven by Casey Mears. Mears finished 16th with this car at Atlanta Motor Speedway in March and 21st at Texas Motor Speedway in April.

Stat Facts … Since he began his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career in 2001, Harvick has appeared in every Sprint All-Star event. In eight starts, Harvick has one win, two top-five and four top-10 finishes.  Additionally, the Bakersfield, Calif., native has earned a 7.8 starting average and an 11.2 finishing average.

Change of Scenery … Harvick's No. 29 Chevrolet Impala SS will sport a different look for the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Lowe's Motor Speedway.  The 2007 All-Star race winner will transform his bright yellow and red Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet into a special yellow Pennzoil Chevrolet.

Pennzoil has been a sponsor in virtually every form of motorsports since the brand appeared as a sponsor of Russell Snowberger's Indianapolis 500 race entry in the 1930's. For more information on Pennzoil, visit www. Pennzoil.com. Try Pennzoil motor oil with active cleansing agents and Feel The Clean. Not just oil, Pennzoil.

Winner! … The 11-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series winner won his first non-points race in the 2007 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race.  Harvick was able to jump to the lead when the final 20-lap segment began and held off Jimmie Johnson over the final 16 circuits, crossing the finish line 0.141 seconds ahead of Johnson.

Criteria to Participate … The NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race is comprised of Sprint Cup Series race winners from 2008 and 2009, NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race winners of the past 10 years and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champions of the past 10 years who are active drivers and have competed in at least one Series event during the 2008 or 2009 season. 

The top-two finishers in the Sprint Showdown qualifying race will transfer into the feature along with the driver who wins the Sprint All-Star Fan Vote provided that driver finishes on the lead lap of the Sprint Showdown.

How it Works … The NASCAR Sprint All-Star race consists of four segments. The first segment will feature a 50-lap race with a mandatory green flag, four-tire pit stop taking place at the mid-point of the segment. The second and third segments will be 20 laps each, a return to the 2007 event format. 

Following the end of the third segment, a 10-minute break will take place, allowing for adjustments on pit road. The final segment will consist of 10 green flag laps to determine the race winner. 

Pennzoil Victory Challenge … Harvick, along with his RCR teammate Clint Bowyer, Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch, Greg Biffle, Kasey Kahne and Darrell Waltrip will participate in the Pennzoil Victory Challenge prior to the start of the All-Star event at LMS. The Pennzoil Victory Challenge is a competition that pits some of NASCAR's top drivers against one another to see who can deliver the best tire-smoking donut, allowing the drivers a chance to showcase some of their best celebratory skills.

The seven drivers will take turns driving similarly-prepared stock cars from the Jeff Gordon Racing School. Each contestant will have 30 seconds to perform a "freestyle" burnout, which will be judged by a celebrity panel of judges, including former driver and SPEED personality Jimmy Spencer, NFL star Randy Moss, pro-wrestling legend Ric Flair and country music duo Montgomery Gentry. The driver with the best score will be awarded $10,000 to their designated charity.

Sweepstakes Winner Riding Shotgun … When Harvick takes his turn behind the wheel in the Pennzoil Victory Challenge on Saturday at Lowe's Motor Speedway, he'll be joined by Jeanine Matthews of Illinois. Matthews will ride "shotgun" in the passenger seat of Harvick's car as he completes a tire-smoking celebration during the special competition that precedes the Sprint All-Star race at LMS.

Matthews' entry was chosen from among the thousands who entered online at www.pennzoilvictorychallenge.com. In addition to getting the chance to ride along with Harvick during the PVC, Matthews also won an expense-paid trip to the Sprint All-Star race, as well as tickets to watch the event, for herself and a guest.

NASCAR Pit Crew Challenge … The Shell-Pennzoil Pit Crew will participate in the NASCAR Pit Crew Challenge Thursday, May 14 at 7 p.m. at the Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, N.C. All qualified teams for the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race are eligible to compete, which includes NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race winners from 2008 and 2009, NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race winners of the past 10 years, and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champions of the past 10 years who are active drivers and have competed in at least one Series event during the 2008 or 2009 season.

Also eligible is the 2008 Pit Crew Challenge winner.  The remaining unfilled positions will be available to the car owners ranked highest in the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship owner points standing as of May 13, 2009, who are not otherwise eligible for the event.  Seven members of each team are allowed to compete.

The Shell-Pennzoil Pit Crew will be represented by Ryan Pepe (Front Tire Changer), Dail Long (Front Tire Carrier), Jake Lind (Rear Tire Changer), Dustin Stanley (Rear Tire Carrier), Carey Wimbish (Jackman), Mike Morrison (Gasman) and Clint Almquist (Catch Can). For ticket information, visit www.pitcrewchallenge.com or call 1-800-495-2295. SPEED will air the event later that evening at 9 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.

Four All-Star Wins for RCR … RCR has won four NASCAR Sprint All-Star Races (formerly The Winston), the most recent coming in 2007 with Harvick. Dale Earnhardt won the event in 1987, which included the legendary "Pass in the Grass." Earnhardt also went on to claim the checkered flag in 1990 and 1993.

Up to Speed … Live coverage of the Pennzoil Victory Challenge, NASCAR Sprint Showdown and the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race begins Saturday, May 16 at 6 p.m. EDT on SPEED. The race will be covered live on the Motor Racing Network and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying is scheduled for Friday, May 15 at 5 p.m. EDT and will be aired live on SPEED.

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Kevin Harvick Quotes

What is it about night racing that drivers like?

"Obviously, for the driver it is cooler, but the lights, the way the racing always goes, the track has more grip - things just seem to be a little bit faster than they normally are. Night racing is where we all grew up. We all grew up racing at a Saturday night or Friday night short track, whatever the case may be. I guess it just brings out the best in all of us. It is a lot of fun and exciting to watch."

How big of a fan are you of these All-Star events?

"I think these races are very important.  It's our All-Star event.  You have to win a race throughout the year to get in and it's the best of the best competing against each other.  That makes it a lot of fun for us and the fans."

What are your thoughts on racing at Lowe's Motor Speedway?

"Besides the All-Star win in 2007, Lowe's Motor Speedway seems to be a track where I just haven't had the finishes I would like.  We have always run pretty well there, but just haven't been able to put everything together.  We have to find a way to keep everything together.  If we can do that, I think we can leave Charlotte with a top-five finish."

A lot of people credit you with making burnouts popular in NASCAR.  Do you think that is fair to say?

"I don't know.  I think Ron Hornaday probably started it back in about 1998.  The first one I remember was probably in Memphis and then Dale Earnhardt banned him from doing it because it was tearing everything up.  He probably started it.  I don't think I deserve the credit." 

"It's becoming a pretty common thing as far as when you win.  However, I think the Pennzoil Victory Challenge is going to be fun.  There are a lot of good drivers taking part in this year's event and, hopefully, we will put on a good show for the fans."

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