Pre Race Report: Friedman 400

• Notes
• Kevin Harvick Quotes

Notes

This Week's Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet at Richmond International Raceway … Kevin Harvick will pilot Chassis No. 212 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable in this weekend's Crown Royal 400 at Richmond International Raceway.

This is the same car Harvick's RCR teammate, Casey Mears, raced to a 20th-place finish two races ago at Phoenix International Raceway and a 21st-place finish at Martinsville Speedway in March. Clint Bowyer piloted this chassis to Victory Lane at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in September 2007, and won again with it in this race one year ago at Richmond International Raceway.

Harvick in the Loop

• Richmond Stats … In 15 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Richmond International Raceway, Harvick has earned one win, one pole, four top-five and 10 top-10 finishes.  The Bakersfield, Calif., native has earned an 18.5 starting average, 11.5 finishing average and has led 726 laps of competition.  Additionally, Harvick has eight consecutive top-10 finishes at the Richmond race track.
• Frontrunner … According to NASCAR's loop data statistics, Harvick has led the most laps (679) of any driver in the last eight races at the .75-mile Richmond oval and has the highest average finish (6.0) in those eight events.
• How This All Stacks Up … The Bakersfield, Calif., native currently sits atop NASCAR's Driver Rating (118.8) category at RIR. 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.

Talladega Recap … After being collected in the lap seven multi-car accident at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, Harvick was credited with a 38th-place finish. The disappointing result dropped him four spots, to 20th, in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers' point standings after nine events.

RCR at RIR … Richard Childress is tied for fourth with Bud Moore for car owner victories at Richmond with seven - five with Dale Earnhardt, one with Harvick and RCR's most recent checkered flag at "The Action Track" when Bowyer won last May.

Additionally, in 107 starts at RIR, RCR boasts 29 top-five and 50 top-10 finishes with nine different drivers including Earnhardt, Bowyer, Jeff Burton, Jeff Green, Robby Gordon, Harvick, Ricky Rudd and Mike Skinner. Childress, a former driver on NASCAR's senior circuit, contributed three of those top 10s from 1976-1978.

Carry Me Back to Old Virginia … Three members of RCR's No. 29 team hail from the Old Dominion State. Transporter driver Mark Williams was born and raised in Stuart and currently lives in Martinsville. Barry Sheppard, who also drives the Shell-Pennzoil transporter, is also from Stuart where he still resides. Interior mechanic Tommy Wallace calls Richmond his hometown.

New Crew Review … Gil Martin and his team move over to the Shell-Pennzoil team with driver Kevin Harvick beginning this weekend at Richmond, while Todd Berrier and his crew take over the No. 07 Jack Daniel's Racing team with driver Casey Mears. In addition to the crew chiefs, the transition includes car chiefs, engineers, shock specialists, engine tuners, tire specialists, mechanics, transporter drivers and over-the-wall pit crews.

With the exception of the drivers and spotters, both teams will have a completely new look heading into "The Action Track." Since joining RCR in 2000, Martin has four Sprint Cup Series victories with three RCR drivers, including Bowyer, Harvick and Robby Gordon. Martin was the crew chief of the No. 29 team in 2002 and went on to guide Harvick to victory in that season's race at Chicagoland Speedway.

He moved to the program's team manager position in March 2003, where he remained until midway through the 2004 season. He was named crew chief of the No. 07 entry in December 2005.

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 Crown Royal 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.

Double Down … In addition to his driving duties with the No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet, Harvick, a 33-time race winner in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, will drive the No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet in the May 1 Lipton Tea 250 at RIR.  The race will be televised on ESPN2 beginning at 7 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.  The event will also be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and Sirius XM Satellite Radio.  Qualifying for the 11th race of the 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series will be televised on SPEED the same day beginning at 4 p.m. EDT.  

"Shotgun!" … One lucky fan will get a chance to ride "shotgun" with Harvick in the Pennzoil Victory Challenge, being held prior to the Sprint All-Star race on Saturday, May 16, at Lowe's Motor Speedway. The Pennzoil Victory Challenge is NASCAR's version of a "slam dunk contest". However, this contest features the sport's top talent showing off their abilities in post-race-win celebrations in classic NASCAR smoking donut style.

One fan will be randomly selected to ride "shotgun" during the Pennzoil Victory Challenge with Harvick. The Pennzoil Victory Challenge "Ride Shotgun Sweepstakes" online promotion runs from April 1st through May 1st at (www.pennzoilvictorychallenge.com). Fans can log on to register and get complete contest rules. No purchase necessary.

Up to Speed … Live coverage of the Crown Royal Presents the Russ Friedman 400 at RIR will take the green flag Saturday, May 2 beginning at 7 p.m. EDT on FOX.  The event will also be broadcast live on MRN and Sirius XM Satellite Radio.  Qualifying for the 10th of 36 points-paying NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races will air live on SPEED, Friday, May 1 at 5:30 p.m. EDT.  MRN and Sirius XM Satellite Radio will provide qualifying updates.

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Kevin Harvick Quotes

Why do you think you do so well at Richmond?

"All the flat tracks have been our strong point through the years. As we go to the flatter race tracks during this point in the season, it's always something we look forward to. I grew up (racing) at Phoenix on the flat tracks. Most everything we raced out there was pretty flat and kind of worn out, so that's the kind of technique I grew up racing with. That's just something we've put a lot of effort into and we've always been kind of good at it."

Last year's race had a bit of a controversy at the finish with Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. What did you think of the way that went down?

"It looked on TV like he just got loose getting into the corner. I think he was trying to win the race and things happen. That's just the way it goes."

Did you think Kyle Busch was going to need an armed guard to get out of the track?

"Anytime you run into certain guys, you're going to need an armed guard."

Your teammate, Clint Bowyer, was running third when Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr. collided, and he ended up winning the race. Have you ever been in a similar situation and won like that?

"I don't know if that's happened in Cup and Nationwide, but in Late Models and things like that, you always find your way in the right situations sometimes as you go through your career. So, yeah, I've been in a few situations like that."

When you find yourself in that scenario and you're suddenly in the lead, what are you thinking?

"Sometimes you'd rather be lucky than good. When you put yourself in the right circumstances, running third or fourth, and you can take advantage of those situations, those are the type of days where you can look back and say, 'I was in the right spot and made the best of the situation at the time.'"

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