Pre-Race Notes - Chicagoland

• Notes
• Kevin Harvick Quotes

Notes

This Week's No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevy at Chicagoland Speedway … Kevin Harvick will pilot Chassis No. 281 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable.  This is a brand new No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil racer that will hit the track for the first time this weekend.

Back in Yellow and Red … After showcasing the Pennzoil Platinum paint scheme last weekend during the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona, the No. 29 Chevy returns to its traditional bright yellow and red Shell-Pennzoil colors this weekend for the LifeLock.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway.

The Collective RCR … In 18 races this season, RCR-prepared Sprint Cup Series entries have notched seven top-five and 16 top-10 finishes. The No. 29 team kicked off the 2009 season with a win in the Budweiser Shootout at Daytona. RCR-prepared cars have also completed 20,097 laps with four different drivers including Jeff Burton, Clint Bowyer, Harvick and Casey Mears. Meanwhile, RCR teams have been atop the leaderboard for 97 laps and all four teams have earned close to $11 million in combined purse money in 2009.

Harvick in the Loop at Chicago …

Former Winner, Chicago Stats … In eight NSCS races at Chicagoland Speedway, Harvick has earned five top-five and six top-10 finishes, including victories in his first two starts at the 1.5-mile track.  The 11-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series winner has logged a 13.2 starting average coupled with a 7.4 finishing average.  Meanwhile, Harvick has completed all but one lap of competition dating back to his rookie season and led five races for a total of 282 laps.  

2009 in Review … Over the season's first 18 races, Harvick has earned two top-five and two top-10 finishes.  He currently holds a 21.4 starting average coupled with a 23.7 finishing average and has completed 5031 of 5194 total laps (96.9 percent).

Other Chicago Loop Stats …

• Harvick has the best average finish (7.5) of any driver over the past four NSCS events at Chicagoland Speedway.
• No driver has spent more laps in the top 15 during the past four NSCS events at Chicagoland than Harvick, who has been in the top 15 for 96.3 percent of the laps contested during that time.
• Harvick has the highest Average Running Position (5.6) of any driver over the past four NSCS races at Chicagoland Speedway (average running position is calculated by taking the sum of the driver's position on each lap and dividing it by the number of laps run in the race).
• Harvick is third among drivers in the NSCS Driver Rating category (114.9) in the past four years at Chicagoland Speedway.  The Driver Rating is a formula that combines the following categories:  wins, finishes, top-15 finishes, average running position while on the lead lap, average speed under green, fastest lap, most laps led and lead-lap finishes. The maximum points a driver can earn in each race is 150 points. The Driver Rating number is used pre-race as a prediction tool and post-race as a performance evaluator.

RCR at Chicago … Richard Childress is second for most car owner victories at Chicagoland Speedway with two. Harvick scored back-to-back wins for RCR in the 2001-2002 Tropicana 400. In 24 starts at the 1.5-mile suburban Chicago tri-oval, Childress also boasts six top-five and 12 top-10 finishes with eight different drivers including Dave Blaney,  Bowyer, Burton, Robby Gordon, Jeff Green, Harvick, Steve Park and Mike Skinner.

Don't Miss a Beat … This weekend, Harvick's Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet will be one of four cars featured on DIRECTV's HotPass Coverage. With a channel dedicated solely to the Shell-Pennzoil Racing team during the LifeLock.com 400, fans will be able to see the network broadcast and the view from Harvick's in-car camera on one screen, and listen to the broadcast network audio and team radio communications. The service, combined with race day telecasts and NASCAR.com coverage, gives fans the most comprehensive and powerful NASCAR experience possible. NASCAR HotPass is free to all DIRECTV subscribers, and can be seen on Channels 795-798.

Chi-Town Native … Matt Swiderski, engineer for the No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil team, calls Chicago, Ill. his hometown. The 28 year-old now resides in High Point, N.C.

Friday Night Lights … In addition to his driving duties with the No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet at Chicagoland, Harvick, a 33-time race winner in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, will drive the No. 33 Jimmy John's Chevrolet for Kevin Harvick Incorporated on Friday, July 11 in the Dollar General 300 powered by Coca Cola.  The race will be televised live on ESPN and broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and Sirius XM Satellite Radio beginning at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.

Catch all the Action … The LifeLock.com 400 from Chicagoland Speedway will take the green flag Saturday, July 11 at 8 p.m. EDT. Race coverage will be televised live on TNT beginning at 6:30 p.m. EDT and broadcast worldwide on the MRN and Sirius XM Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the 19th race on the 2009 NSCS schedule will be televised live on SPEED Thursday, July 9 at 8:30 p.m. EDT.

Sweet Treat … Harvick will make a personal appearance Wednesday, July 8, from 2-4 p.m. CDT at the Hershey'®s Chicago location. Harvick will sign autographs, pose for pictures and interact with fans, including helping visitors operate Hershey's Magnificent Chocolate Works Machine to create a customized mix of Hershey's products and decorate cupcakes with Hershey's toppings at the Bake Shoppe. Hershey'®s Chicago is located at 822 North Michigan Avenue (at the corner of North Michigan and Pearson across from Water Tower Park). Hershey'®s has been a sponsor of RCR teams since 2001.

Mark Your Calendars … In honor of its 40th anniversary, RCR will host a Fan Day at the Welcome, N.C. complex on Thurs., Oct. 22 from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. ET.  Activities include driver and pit crew autograph sessions, self-guided tours of RCR's Sprint Cup and Nationwide shops as well as ECR's engine shop, radio remotes, musical entertainment, pit crew competition, viewing of the DALE movie, question-and-answer session with team owner Richard Childress and much more. General admission to RCR's Fan Day is just $5, which will benefit the Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma.

Online With the Times … To keep up with the latest news and information about Richard Childress Racing and to view exclusive online content, visit the team's official website at www.RCRRacing.com.  For qualifying and finishing results, check out  www.twitter.com/RCRRacing.
   

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Kevin Harvick Quotes

You've had some pretty impressive runs at Chicagoland, including two wins.

"For whatever reason, from the first day we put our cars on the race track they've been really fast. Every time we go back there it seems like it just fits our program and my driving style and everything that we do. It's fun to go to a race track knowing that in the different kinds of cars that we've been a part of, everything's been competitive so, hopefully, it's the same way this year."

Why do you think you do so well at this track?

"We've done some tire testing there and just the first time we went there the cars were fast and we figured out some things before the very first race there. Actually, back when Jeff Green was testing there way back when, we just figured out certain things the track liked. From the driver's perspective, just the way you let off and things like that. It's just been a track that's fit since day one."

Is your confidence level higher going into Chicagoland than at some other race tracks?

"I don't think so. I think as we go to Chicago we know we've had a lot of success there. It's a lot like going to Phoenix and Loudon and Watkins Glen and Sears Point. Those are just places that you go to and you expect nothing less than a top-five finish and you know that you better be competitive at those race tracks or you need to look at what you're doing from a program standpoint because they've just been good race tracks to us. When you go to Chicago, you have that same feeling of being competitive and if you're not, you've got to make it better."

Every track has something unusual about it. What quirk does Chicagoland have that makes it unique?

"The little quirk that it has is the crooked back straightaway. The back straightaway is round. You're used to going down the back straightaway and just kind of hanging against the wall and if you do that there, usually you're going to hit it right after you get about three-quarters of the way down the straightaway because it's going to curve back in. That's probably the biggest difference it has compared to every other race track."

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