Kevin Harvick's History at Daytona

This Week's Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet at Daytona International Speedway

Kevin Harvick will pilot Chassis. No. 238 in the Daytona 500. This car was driven in a number of races last year, including the Feb. race at Auto Club Speedway in California, the March Atlanta Motor Speedway event, the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway, as well as the June race at Michigan International Speedway and the night race at Bristol Motor Speedway. In those five races, Harvick qualified in the top-10 four times and posted three top-10 finishes, his best result being a fourth-place run at Bristol in August.

Stat Facts

In 15 Sprint Cup Series starts at Daytona International Speedway, Harvick has posted one win (2007 Daytona 500), one pole, three top-five and five top-10 finishes.  Additionally, Harvick has led 88 laps of competition and completed 97.3 % of all laps attempted. 

Coming From The Back

Many drivers say it doesn't matter where you qualify at Daytona International Speedway. If anyone lends credence to that theory, it's Kevin Harvick. The Bakersfield, Calif. native won the 2007 Daytona 500 from the 34th starting spot, the lowest starting spot of any Daytona 500 winner in history. Harvick won last Saturday's Budweiser Shootout from the 27th starting spot, the lowest starting spot of any Budweiser Shootout winner in history.

The Fast Way Around

Harvick captured his only Daytona pole at the 2002 Coke Zero 400, with a lap of 48.638 seconds (185.041 mph).

Media Opportunity

Harvick will be available for interviews on Wednesday, February 11 from 1p.m. - 1:15 p.m. in the DIS media center.

Breaking the Drought

Harvick's 2009 Budweiser Shootout victory was RCR's sixth win in the non-points annual season opener, ending a 13-year drought for the Welcome, N.C.-based organization. RCR's last Budweiser Shootout Winner Circle visit was in 1995 with the late Dale Earnhardt.

Joining the Club

Harvick hopes to add his name to the list of drivers who have won the Budweiser Shootout and the Daytona 500 in the same year. Drivers who have accomplished that feat include: Bobby Allison (1982), Bill Elliott (1987) Dale Jarrett (1996 and 2000) and Jeff Gordon (1997).

RCR Rocks Daytona

Dating back to 1986, RCR has won seven poles and owns 24 total victories at DIS including Kevin Harvick's dramatic win in the 2007 season-opening Daytona 500, and his 2009 Bud Shootout victory.

Additionally, RCR won 10 straight (1990-1999) qualifying races with Dale Earnhardt.  All totaled, RCR has won six Bud Shootouts, 13 qualifying races, two Coke Zero 400s and two Daytona 500s. 

Dale Earnhardt Jr. also won the February 2002 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Daytona driving a car fielded by RCR and Dale Earnhardt Inc., and Harvick won the 2007 Nationwide Series opener at DIS in RCR's No. 21 Chevrolet.  

On Stage

Fans can see Harvick live, Fri., Feb. 13 at 5:45 p.m. on the Chevy Stage, located in the merchandise area outside Turn 4.  Harvick will be part of a question and answer session hosted by Chevrolet.  Harvick will also appear at the Coca-Cola FanZone on Sun., Feb. 15 at 10:30 a.m., where he'll take part in a question and answer session.

Restrictor Plate Success

Harvick has competed in 31 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points races on restrictor plate tracks (Daytona and Talladega), completing 98 percent of the laps.  He has also collected one win (2007 Daytona 500), two poles, six top-five and 12 top-10 finishes.  Additionally, "Happy" has led 166 laps and has only recorded one did not finish (DNF).

Mr. Consistency

Harvick has not recorded a DNF in 80 consecutive races, a modern-era record (1972-present). Harvick's RCR teammate, Clint Bowyer, currently has the second-longest active streak at 73.

Double Dippin'

In addition to his driving duties with the No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet at Daytona, Harvick, a 32-time race winner in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, will drive the No. 33 Jimmy John's Chevrolet for Kevin Harvick Incorporated on Sat., Feb. 14 in the Camping World 300. 

The race will be televised live on ESPN 2 and will also broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and Sirius-XM Satellite Radio beginning at 1 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

Time for a Clean Change 

RCR and Pennzoil are working together in 2009 to raise awareness of the need to recycle used oil through the Pennzoil Clean Change Campaign. The nationwide campaign encourages do-it-yourself oil changers to recycle their used oil and help maintain a clean environment.

Clean Change efforts will be ongoing throughout the year to help raise awareness of the importance of recycling used motor oil.

Through the Pennzoil Clean Change Campaign, Pennzoil asks do-it-yourself oil changers to pledge to properly recycle used motor oil.

Consumers can visit the campaign web site www.cleanchange.org to make the pledge, test their environmental prowess with a challenging quiz, and easily locate a certified used oil recycling facility nearest them. RCR and Pennzoil hope to gather more than 100,000 online pledges this season.

Catch the Action …

The Daytona 500 will be televised live Sunday, Feb. 15 beginning at 3:30 pm. EST on FOX and broadcast live on MRN and Sirius Satellite Radio.  The Gatorade Duel at Daytona, 150-mile qualifying races, will take the green flag Thurs., Feb. 12 at 2 p.m. EST and will be broadcast live on SPEED, MRN and Sirius.  Qualifying for the Daytona 500 will air live on FOX, MRN and Sirius-XM on Sun., Feb. 8 beginning at 1:15 p.m. EST.

KEVIN HARVICK QUOTES:

You're kind of known as a guy who doesn't look in the rearview mirror after a win. You want to focus on the goals ahead of you. Do the fans still bring up your Daytona 500 win, and does that cause you to look back on it?

"That's one I can't put in the rearview mirror. Everything else has kind of been put in the rearview mirror, but no matter where you go or what you do, everyone's seen the Daytona 500 and they all know that I raced Mark (Martin) there at the end.

"It's pretty cool to understand the importance of the Daytona 500 to our sport, and to understand the magnitude and the outreach that it has to not only race fans, but even to the general public. Everyone remembers that race, so that's one I don't think I'll ever get away from."

Was winning the Daytona 500 one of the most rewarding wins in your career?

"I think winning the Daytona 500 was the biggest moment in my career so far.  Just to win the Daytona 500 was something I don't think I realized the magnitude of.  We've been fortunate to win a few of the big races - I always thought winning the Brickyard was bigger.  I was wrong … ust experiencing everything from the 500 and being a part of the weeks after it.  Everywhere you go, that's all anybody wants to talk about - winning the Daytona 500.  This one race can carry you for a long time."

With there being no testing, do you think the Daytona 500 is a bit more wide open in terms of the number of drivers who have a shot to win it?

"I think the good thing about it is, we were able to race the newer-style cars here last February and last July. We've got a little bit more experience with the car, and I think the race will probably be better than it was last year, just because there will be more people searching for things. There will be some guys who hit (the setup) really well and some that don't, but I think everybody has a lot better handle on the car than they did last year."

Speaking of the new car, is it a big change for the driver in terms of how you draft and how you pass at Daytona from the newer car to the older style car?

"It's different. The side draft is a little bit less and how fast they pull up and the vision out of the car. Pretty much everything you see out of the car is a lot different than what it used to be. The car handles a little different, but Daytona has kind of become that handling kind of a race track. It's almost like a 'normal' race track. You don't seem to have the big packs anymore. If you run 20 laps, things seem to get spread out and the cars get tight."

Since there was no testing, do the Gatorade Duel races take on more significance, just for the track time?

"I think all the races take on more of a role leading up the 500 and all of the practice sessions are going to be more important. You know, in the past, guys might sit out some of those sessions. I think the guys in the Shootout have a little bit of an advantage, just because they got to do some racing first, while everyone else had to do single-car runs until we get into drafting later in the week.

"You'll get a week to decipher everything from the Shootout, and then you've got the practices, so you can get things going a little bit earlier and you can get a step ahead heading into the Gatorade Duels."

Is your confidence built for the Daytona 500 based on how you do in the Gatorade Duel?

"I think it is. I think, usually you know on Thursday whether or not you have to go into panic mode. We're fortunate to have some experience to be on both sides of this fence.  If you don't run well Thursday, you go into that panic mode and you really start searching for everything that you can in the couple of practice sessions you have leading up to the 500. If you do well on Thursday, you don't go into that mode, but you still want to have some things you can work on in those final practice sessions."