Pre-Race Notes: Infineon Raceway – Sonoma, Calif.

• Notes
• Kevin Harvick Quotes

Notes

This Week's Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet at Infineon Raceway … Kevin Harvick will pilot Chassis No. 241 from the Richard Childress Racing stable. Built new in 2008, this car was driven by Clint Bowyer (as a No. 07 Jack Daniel's entry) at Pocono Raceway and in both NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events at Michigan International Speedway last season. Its best 2008 finish was a 20th-place result in August at MIS.

Stat Facts … In eight NSCS starts at Infineon Raceway, Harvick has earned two top-five finishes and has led one race (in 2006) for five laps.  Additionally, the 11-time NSCS winner has earned a 17th-place starting average coupled with a 16th-place finishing average and has completed all but one lap at the 12-turn road course. 

Twists and Turns … In 16 NSCS road course starts (Infineon Raceway and Watkins Glen International), the Bakersfield, Calif., native has one win (Watkins Glen 2006), four top-five and seven top-10 finishes.  The 2009 Budweiser Shootout winner has led 34 laps combined at both tracks and earned a 12.75 starting average and a 14.1 finishing average. 

Loop Data 

• Harvick is tied with Matt Kenseth for fifth in the most green-flag passes category. Over the past four NSCS races at Infineon Raceway, both drivers have made 187 passes.
• In the past four years, no driver has completed more passes in Turn 1 at Infineon Raceway in NSCS competition than Harvick. He's made 54 passes (28.88 percent of his total) at that part of the track, 12 more than Robby Gordon, who is second on the list.
• Harvick has completed 32.62 percent (61 passes) of the 187 passes he's made over the past four races in Turns 11 and 12 of the Sonoma course.

Point Check … Harvick picked up three positions, to 23rd, in the NSCS point standings with his 18th-place finish last weekend at Michigan International Speedway. 

After 15 … In the season's first 15 races, Harvick has notched two top-five and two top-10 finishes.  The 33-year-old driver has logged a 21.1 starting average and a 22.5 finishing average.  He has completed 4,527 of 4,648 total laps (97.4 percent) run this season. 

RCR at Infineon … Richard Childress is third on the Infineon Raceway all-time NSCS car owner win list.  Dale Earnhardt won the 1995 Save Mart Supermarkets 300 and Robby Gordon won the Dodge/Save Mart 350 in 2003.  Additionally, in 40 starts at the 12-turn stadium course, RCR owns one pole, 11 top-five and 18 top-10 finishes.

Meanwhile, the Welcome. N.C.-based team has led 130 laps at Infineon, completed 4,016 of the 4,062 laps run over those 40 starts and recorded just one DNF (Did Not Finish) over that stretch. Harvick, Jeff Burton and Bowyer finished second, third and fourth, respectively, in the 2007 Toyota/Save Mart 350. 

The Collective RCR … In 15 races this season, RCR-prepared Sprint Cup Series entries have notched seven top-five and 15 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 17,994 laps with four different drivers including Burton, Bowyer, Harvick and Casey Mears. Meanwhile, RCR teams have been atop the leaderboard for 95 laps and all four teams have earned just over $9.5 million combined purse money in 2009.

Testing … Harvick and the No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Racing team tested at Virginia International Raceway June 2 in preparation for this weekend's NSCS event at Infineon Raceway. 

"Kevin's Krew" at Sonoma … Before heading to driver introductions for this weekend's NSCS race, Harvick will meet with members of "Kevin's Krew" -  a group of students from the Oakland, Calif. area. Shell Oil Company just expanded the "Kevin's Krew" initiative, an outreach program used to support at risk and disadvantaged students in Southern California.

Started by Colton, Calif., Police Officer Todd Smith two years ago, the program is designed to reach these students and expose them to the racing industry. The students, who normally wouldn't have the opportunity to go to a NASCAR event, are treated to a unique experience while attending a Sprint Cup Series race.

In its first year, Smith and his department hosted five students at California Speedway. In September, 2008, the group swelled to over 300 followed by another large group this past February in Fontana, Calif., as the program continues to gain momentum.

The new markets scheduled for the "Kevin's Krew" tour include: Infineon Raceway on June 21, Michigan International Speedway on August 16th, Atlanta Motor Speedway on September 6, California Speedway on October 11, Lowe's Motor Speedway on October 17, Texas Motor Speedway on November 8 and Phoenix International Raceway on November 17. 

Just Stopping By … Before competing at Infineon Raceway, Harvick will stop in nearby Martinez, Calif., on Thursday, June 18 to tour the Martinez Boys & Girls Club and speak to the children there.  Harvick then heads to the Shell Martinez Refinery for a facility tour and to meet with employees later that afternoon.

California Kids … Two members of the No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil team hail from the Golden State. Harvick is from Bakerfield, while mechanic and gas man Mike Morrison's hometown is Redding, located about 200 miles north of Sonoma.

Catch all the Action … The Toyota/Save Mart 350 from Infineon Raceway will take the green flag Sunday, June 21 at 5 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. Race coverage will be televised live on TNT beginning at 3:30 p.m. EDT and broadcast worldwide on the Performance Racing Network and Sirius XM Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the 16th race on the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule will be televised live on SPEED Friday, June 19 at 7 p.m. EDT. PRN and Sirius XM Satellite Radio will provide qualifying updates.

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Kevin Harvick Quotes

You were runner up at Sonoma in 2007, so were you surprised to find yourself finishing 30th there last year?

"Well, I crashed the car last year. I think we were running third or fourth and I got a wheel hop going into Turn 7, which I guess they call Turn 5. I call it Turn 7 back there. I got all over the curb and smashed into the side of (Tony) Stewart and wound up having a bad day.  Our cars are always competitive on the road courses, so we look forward to going to those places.

"I just got in there too far and got the wheels bouncing in the back and, basically, just couldn't stop it at the point. Once it starts hopping, you know you've got to go up the race track at some point and, unfortunately, those guys were right in front of me. I just tried to get a little too much and ended up wrecking."

How do you feel about the debate regarding either adding more road races to the schedule or taking them away completely?

"I like road racing, so I'm a road race fan. I think there are some good venues that could put on quality races. I think Montreal has proven they have the crowd support and people like NASCAR racing up there. The facility's great to race on. It's a little bit narrow. I think Laguna Seca would put on a great race and the area out there is fun. If you're going to keep expanding and go to different parts of the world, road racing is the way you're going to have to go."

As far as the elevation change at Sonoma, where do you notice it the most?

"I think the place you notice it the most is probably coming off of 3B, which is that down hill going into the sharp right hander. You come off the top of that hill and all of a sudden the bottom falls out and you can't see the exit of that corner. You know you have to be wide open coming up off of the corner, so that's the place you notice it the most."