Ned Jarrett

Racers Preparing to Double Up in ACT-PASS Hickory Showdowns

by Lou Modestino
Racers Preparing to Double Up in ACT-PASS Hickory Showdowns

Waterbury, VT — The American-Canadian Tour (ACT) is just days away from its first-ever trip to North Carolina’s Hickory Motor Speedway. The Hickory 125 on Friday, April 2 and the Easter Bunny 125 on Saturday, April 3 are already a historic prelude to the 30th ACT Late Model Tour season. Known as the “Birthplace of the NASCAR Stars”, Hickory is one of the most revered race tracks in North America, with a history of winners that ranges from Lee Petty to defending NASCAR Cup Series Champion Chase Elliott. (more…)

Views: 73

Many ACT Tour Regulars Starting Season Early at Hickory

by Lou Modestino
Many ACT Tour Regulars Starting Season Early at Hickory

Waterbury, VT — The American-Canadian Tour (ACT) is closing in on its first-ever visit to North Carolina’s Hickory Motor Speedway on Friday, April 2 and Saturday, April 3. Although the Hickory 125 and Easter Bunny 125 do not count for points, many drivers planning an ACT championship run in 2021 have decided to start their season early at the 0.363-mile oval. (more…)

Views: 50

NASCAR Cup Series News & Notes – Homestead-Miami Speedway

by Mike
NASCAR Cup Series News & Notes – Homestead-Miami Speedway

The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season has started in historic fashion becoming just the third season in series history to with two first-time winners to win the first two races of the year; joining the series’ inaugural season 1949 and 1950. Now the 2021 season, has the opportunity to join the inaugural 1949 season as just the second season in series history to start the year with three consecutive first-time winners to win the first three races of the year. (more…)

Views: 52

Hunt Brothers Pizza Racing: Kevin Harvick Food City presents the Supermarket Heroes 500 Advance and Team Report

by Mike
Hunt Brothers Pizza Racing: Kevin Harvick Food City presents the Supermarket Heroes 500 Advance and Team Report
KANNAPOLIS, North Carolina (May 29, 2020) – Kevin Harvick will compete in his fifth race in 15 days on Sunday, May 31 in the Food City presents the Supermarket Heroes 500 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. That’s a lot of races in 15 days, but not for someone like Harvick.

 

The driver of the No. 4 Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) drove in four races in eight days back in 2007.

 

It was the year of the great rainout at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn. Harvick drove in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Michigan on Saturday, Aug. 18 and finished third. The Cup Series race ended up running on Tuesday, Aug. 21 after it was rained out Sunday and Monday.

 

Harvick then headed south to Bristol for the Xfinity Series race on Friday, Aug. 24 and finished 16th. Finally, on Saturday, Aug. 25, he finished 16th in the Bristol Cup Series race.

 

He raced a total of 1,055.7 miles during that 2007 stretch. By the end of this past Thursday night’s 500-kilometer race at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway, he will have driven have driven 1,595.588 miles since the Cup Series resumed its suspended season April 17 with the first of two races at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway. And he has another 250 miles coming up Sunday at Bristol.

 

So while the schedule has been odd, because of Harvick’s experience, he’s sort of been through this before. And he has been successful at Bristol before, as well.

 

Harvick has two wins, one pole, 12 top-five finishes, 19 top-10s and has led a total of 912 laps in his 38 career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Bristol. His average start is 16.7, his average finish is 13.8 and he has a lap-completion rate of 96.7 percent – 18,401 of the 19,027 laps available.

 

He has competed in 29 NASCAR Xfinity Series races there with five wins, 15 top-fives and 24 top-10 finishes with two pole positions. He has driven in five NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series events at Bristol and has one win and four top-10s.

 

Harvick will also have the support of longtime partner Hunt Brothers Pizza at Bristol Sunday.

 

With more than 7,800 locations in 30 states, Hunt Brothers Pizza is the nation’s largest brand of made-to-order pizza in the convenience store industry. Hunt Brothers Pizza offers original and thin crust pizzas available as a grab-and-go Hunk perfect for today’s on-the-go lifestyle, or as a customizable whole pizza that is an exceptional value with All Toppings No Extra Charge®. Headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, Hunt Brothers Pizza is family owned and operated with more than 25 years of experience serving great pizza to convenience store shoppers through its store partners. To find a Hunt Brothers Pizza location, download the Hunt Brothers Pizza app by visiting www.huntbrotherspizza.com/app/

 

Hunt Brothers Pizza has partnered with Harvick for 11 years and last visited victory lane with him when he won the 2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. In 2019, Hunt Brothers moved up to the Cup Series as a primary sponsor for three races and, in 2020, will be on Harvick’s car five times.

 

Harvick has also won two Truck Series races with Hunt Brothers as a sponsor at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, and at Bristol, both in 2011. The company also sponsored him in the non-points NASCAR All-Star Race at Charlotte in 2014 and 2015. Harvick finished second in both races.

 

Harvick is hoping he can heat up at Bristol and score his second victory of 2020. And if he leads just one more lap, he will have led 10,000 laps in his SHR career dating back to 2014.

 

KEVIN HARVICK, Driver of the No. 4 Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing: 
 

Is it hard to communicate inside the racecar at Bristol because everything happens so fast?

 

“It’s definitely loud and hard for the teams to hear. One of the hardest things at Bristol is just to see what’s going on. I have crashed at Bristol and gone back to watch it on TV and you’re like, ‘What in the hell were you doing? You just ran into four or five cars that have been sitting there for two seconds.’ But, Bristol is a very demanding racetrack. It’s very hard because things happen so fast, communication is hard. It’s easy to make a mistake or pile into a wreck. It’s easy to wreck somebody or to get into a fight. It’s easy to do a lot of things because there is just so much happening. It’s a tough place to race, to put it all together, and it’s mentally and physically exhausting.”

 

Can you talk about “the bounty” and Chase Elliott defeating Kyle Busch in the Truck Series race last Tuesday?

 

“I was sitting in my motorhome in Las Vegas and I woke up the next morning after Kyle (Busch) had won and saw a tweet from Kyle Larson that just had two cherries in it, which basically symbolizes cherry picking. When Delana (Harvick) and I used to own truck teams, that used to fly all over me, because I know how much time, effort and money it takes to get those trucks on the racetrack. I know how much work Kyle puts into putting those vehicles on the racetrack and I just thought, ‘What the heck, let’s put some money on the line and see if we can get some of these guys to come out and race in the Truck Series.’ You look at it the other night, with everything that has gone on in our sport with Chase (Elliott) and Kyle, to have them battling it out in the Truck Series and have Marcus Anthony Lemonis jump on board, it just wound up being a lot of fun. I really have a lot of respect for what Kyle Busch does and the effort he puts into putting those racetrucks on track and sometimes I think people forget the art of promoting. Sometimes you have to go out and give a little bit of nudge to create a little bit of excitement. As a fan, I love the Truck Series. I love to watch racing and, as a fan, I sat up with my son the other night watching and wondering what was going to happen. It was fun and exciting and it’s going to end up being a great donation once Chase decides where he wants take that $100,000 for charity during a time when there are so many things bigger than our sport right now. Our sport, once again, is going to step up just like we did during the first iRacing event at Homestead-Miami Speedway to donate some money to charity.”

Hunt Brothers Pizza Racing Team Report
Round 9 of 36 – Food City presents the Supermarket Heroes 500 – Bristol 
 

 

Car No.: 4 – Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford Mustang

 

PR Contact: Joe Crowley, True Speed Communication (704) 875-3388 ext. 808 or Joe.Crowley@TrueSpeedCommunication.com)

Primary Team Members:
Driver: Kevin Harvick
Hometown: Bakersfield, California
Crew Chief: Rodney Childers
Hometown: Mooresville, North Carolina
Car Chief: Robert Smith
Hometown: Whitewater, Wisconsin
Engine Builder: Roush-Yates Engines
Headquarters: Mooresville, North Carolina
Engine Specialist: Robert Brandt
Hometown: Mobile, Alabama
Spotter: Tim Fedewa
Hometown: Holt, Michigan
Over-The-Wall Crew Members:

Front Tire Changer: Shayne Pipala

Hometown: Frankfort Square, Illinois

 

Rear Tire Changer: Daniel Smith

Hometown: Concord, North Carolina

 

Tire Carrier: Mike “Shrek” Morneau

Hometown: Oxford, Maine

 

Gas Man: Evan Marchal

Hometown: Westfield, Indiana

 

Jackman: Stan Dolittle

Hometown: Ninety Six, South Carolina

 

Windshield: Shawn Hopkins (also serves as interior mechanic)

Hometown: Chesterfield, Virginia

 
Bristol Notes of Interest:
· Dynamic Duo: While this is Harvick’s 20th year in the NASCAR Cup Series, it’s his seventh with crew chief Rodney Childers, which is the longest pairing of any current driver-crew chief combination. Since joining forces at Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) in 2014, Harvick and Childers have combined to produce 27 points-paying victories, a victory in the non-points-paying 2018 NASCAR All-Star Race at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway, 25 Busch poles, 111 top-five finishes and 161 top-10s while leading 9,999 laps. They won the 2014 championship, finished runner-up in the 2015 title chase to champion Kyle Busch, finished eighth in 2016 and third in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

 

· Harvick has career totals of 50 wins, 31 poles, 211 top-fives, 370 top-10s and 14,425 laps led in 690 starts.

 

· His most recent Cup Series win came on May 17 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.

 

· His most recent Busch Pole came in November 2019 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth.

 

· Harvick’s 50 career NASCAR Cup Series victories puts him in a tie with NASCAR Hall of Famers Ned Jarrett and Junior Johnson for 12th on the all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins list. He is third on the active driver list behind Jimmie Johnson and Busch. Harvick is four wins behind Lee Petty for 11th on the all-time wins list.

 

· At the Homestead season finale in 2019, Harvick became just the 11th driver to have led 14,000 laps in his NASCAR career. He’s led 14,452 and trails 10th-place Busch, who has led 17,445, and Johnson, who is ninth with 18,862 laps led. Harvick has led 9,999 laps as an SHR driver.

 

· Points Position: Harvick arrives at Charlotte first in the NASCAR Cup Series standings with 331 points, 14 markers ahead of second-place Joey Logano.

 

· Harvick in the Monster Energy Cup Series at Bristol: Harvick has two wins, one pole, 12 top-five finishes, 19 top-10s and has led a total of 912 laps in his 38 career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Bristol. His average start is 16.7, his average finish is 13.8 and he has a lap-completion rate of 96.7 percent – 18,401 of the 19,027 laps available.

 

· Xfinity and Trucks at Bristol: Harvick has competed in 29 NASCAR Xfinity Series races with five wins, 15 top-fives and 24 top-10 finishes with two pole positions. He has driven in five NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series events and has one win and four top-10s.

 

· Already Playoff Bound – Harvick qualified for the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs with his win May 17 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.

 

· 111 and Counting – Harvick scored his 100th career win in NASCAR’s top three series with his March 2018 Las Vegas win. He now has 111 total victories – 50 in the Cup Series, 47 in the Xfinity Series and 14 in the Truck Series. Only three other drivers in NASCAR history have passed 100 wins in NASCAR’s top three series: Richard Petty, David Pearson and Busch.

Views: 76

Kevin Harvick Alsco Uniforms 500k Advance and Team Report

by Mike
Kevin Harvick Alsco Uniforms 500k Advance and Team Report
KANNAPOLIS, North Carolina (May 26, 2020) – Kevin Harvick has started seven NASCAR Cup Series races in 2020 and has one win, five top-fives and has finished in the top-10 at every one.

 

It took a late caution and a heck of a drive by the veteran to keep that streak alive in Sunday night’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway.

 

Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Busch Light Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), was off all night and was running between 12th and 16th during much of the race.

 

But on lap 399, William Byron spun and brought out a caution while Harvick was running 14th. He came to pit road, where crew chief Rodney Childers called for four ties and fuel, and Harvick restarted 13th.

 

In two laps, Harvick moved from 13th to sixth. After the race, Jimmie Johnson’s car was disqualified, moving Harvick up to fifth.

 

A lot of teams would have given up, but Harvick, Childers and the 4 team have been together for seven years and expect to win. The fifth-place result is nice, but this team expects to win every race.

 

So Childers and Harvick will come up with a plan for Wednesday night’s 310-mile race at Charlotte. And if Harvick leads 64 laps, he will have led 10,000 laps at SHR.

 

He’s led 14,362 in his career and trails 10th-place Kyle Busch, who has led 17,445, and Jimmie Johnson, who is ninth with 18,862 laps led, on the all-time list.

 

It’s Wednesday night under the light at Charlotte. And a victory would make it even sweeter.

 

KEVIN HARVICK, Driver of the No. 4 Busch Light Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing: 
 Talk about Sunday’s race.

“We just missed the handling and had to battle all night trying to make it better. We left with a top-five somehow and we will be better on Wednesday.”

 

Another Wednesday-night race and the fourth race in 12 days. Can you talk about that?

 

“For me, it’s just gonna purely be the interaction, with not being able to have the interaction with the people, and communication will just be drastically different – how much you’re around people, how close you are to people and things of that nature. I’ve started races with no practice. We went through 9/11 and had a race cancelled and had things different, but this is just so drastically different that you just have to approach it drastically different with an open mind to know that there are gonna be things – before you even get there you have to know that there are going to be things drastically different than the way it was before, and just not be frustrated with things that don’t go right, things that are different.”

Busch Light Racing Team Report
Round 8 of 36 – Alsco Uniforms 500k – Charlotte 
 

 

Car No.: 4 – Busch Light Ford Mustang

 

PR Contact: Joe Crowley, True Speed Communication (704) 875-3388 ext. 808 or Joe.Crowley@TrueSpeedCommunication.com)

Primary Team Members:
Driver: Kevin Harvick
Hometown: Bakersfield, California
Crew Chief: Rodney Childers
Hometown: Mooresville, North Carolina
Car Chief: Robert Smith
Hometown: Whitewater, Wisconsin
Engine Builder: Roush-Yates Engines
Headquarters: Mooresville, North Carolina
Engine Specialist: Robert Brandt
Hometown: Mobile, Alabama
Spotter: Tim Fedewa
Hometown: Holt, Michigan
Over-The-Wall Crew Members:

Front Tire Changer: Shayne Pipala

Hometown: Frankfort Square, Illinois

 

Rear Tire Changer: Daniel Smith

Hometown: Concord, North Carolina

 

Tire Carrier: Mike “Shrek” Morneau

Hometown: Oxford, Maine

 

Gas Man: Evan Marchal

Hometown: Westfield, Indiana

 

Jackman: Stan Dolittle

Hometown: Ninety Six, South Carolina

 

Windshield: Shawn Hopkins (also serves as interior mechanic)

Hometown: Chesterfield, Virginia

 
Charlotte Notes of Interest:
· Dynamic Duo: While this is Harvick’s 20th year in the NASCAR Cup Series, it’s his seventh with crew chief Rodney Childers, which is the longest pairing of any current driver-crew chief combination. Since joining forces at Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) in 2014, Harvick and Childers have combined to produce 27 points-paying victories, a victory in the non-points-paying 2018 NASCAR All-Star Race at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway, 25 Busch poles, 111 top-five finishes and 160 top-10s while leading 9,939 laps. They won the 2014 championship, finished runner-up in the 2015 title chase to champion Kyle Busch, finished eighth in 2016 and third in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

 

· Harvick has career totals of 50 wins, 31 poles, 211 top-fives, 369 top-10s and 14,362 laps led in 688 starts.

 

· His most recent Cup Series win came on Sunday, May 17 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.

 

· His most recent Busch Pole came in November 2019 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth.

 

· Harvick’s 50 career NASCAR Cup Series victories puts him in a tie with NASCAR Hall of Famers Ned Jarrett and Junior Johnson for 12th on the all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins list. He is third on the active driver list behind Jimmie Johnson and Busch. Harvick is four wins behind Lee Petty for 11th on the all-time wins list.

 

· At the Homestead season finale in 2019, Harvick became just the 11th driver to have led 14,000 laps in his NASCAR career. He’s led 14,362 and trails 10th-place Busch, who has led 17,445, and Johnson, who is ninth with 18,862 laps led. Harvick has led 9,936 lap as an SHR driver.

 

· Points Position: Harvick arrives at Charlotte first in the NASCAR Cup Series standings with 291 points, 23 markers ahead of second-place Joey Logano.

 

· Charlotte Numerology – Harvick has two poles, three wins, four second-place finishes, eight top-threes, 18 top-10s and has led a total of 542 laps in his 37 career NASCAR Cup Series points-paying starts on the Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway oval. His average start is 15.9, his average finish is 15.1 and he has a lap-completion rate of 94.6 percent, completing 12,668 of the 13,398 laps available.

 

· Xfinity at Charlotte – Harvick has made 28 NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Charlotte. He has three poles (May 2001 and 2003, and October 2003), eight top-fives and 18 top-10s with a total of 351 laps led.

 

· Trucks at Charlotte: Harvick has competed in three NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series races with two top-fives. He has not driven a truck race since 2007.

 

· 111 and Counting – Harvick scored his 100th career win in NASCAR’s top three series with his March 2018 Las Vegas win. He now has 111 total victories – 50 in the Cup Series, 47 in the Xfinity Series and 14 in the Truck Series. Only three other drivers in NASCAR history have passed 100 wins in NASCAR’s top three series: Richard Petty, David Pearson and Busch.

Views: 97

KEVIN HARVICK 50 is Nice….Let’s Go For 51

by Mike
KEVIN HARVICK 50 is Nice….Let’s Go For 51
KANNAPOLIS, North Carolina (May 18, 2020) –Kevin Harvick scored his 50th win Sunday in NASCAR’s comeback race at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.

 

It was one of the most historic victories for Harvick in the series, ranking right up there with his very first win in March 2001 at Atlanta Motor Speedway three weeks after Dale Earnhardt’s death.

 

As historic as Sunday’s win was, Harvick wants more, including number 51, which could come in Wednesday night’s Darlington 500k at Darlington.

 

Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), will bring back the same car he won with on Sunday. He dominated the race with 159 laps led and won by 2.154 seconds over Alex Bowman.

 

Wednesday’s race will be a bit different than Sunday’s as it will be only 500 kilometers – 311.4 miles – and will be run at night, as opposed to Sunday’s race that was conducted during the day.

 

Harvick will have the No. 1 pit stall for Wednesday’s race but will start 20th as the top 20 cars invert to create the front half of the grid. But if his pit crew is as good as it was Sunday, Harvick could once again be in contention for the win.

 

He’ll also have Mobil 1 on board as a sponsor and partner.

 

Mobil 1 isn’t just the world’s leading synthetic motor oil brand, it also provides the entire SHR team with leading lubricant technology, ensuring that all SHR Mustangs have a competitive edge over the competition on the track. In its 18th consecutive season as the “Official Motor Oil of NASCAR,” Mobil 1 is used by more than 50 percent of teams throughout NASCAR’s top three series.

 

 

Harvick will also have Christopher Bucciarelli’s name on his Mobil 1 Ford Mustang during the Darlington 500k in continuation of NASCAR’s support of The Real Heroes initiative. Bucciarelli works in imaging at the Novant Health Matthews Medical Center and is from Monroe, North Carolina. He spent 11 years as a United States Navy corpsman and had three combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan as a corpsman for the United State Marine Corps.

 

Bucciarelli joined Novant in 2018 and is regarded as dependable, loyal and always willing to go above and beyond for his patients and team members. He volunteered to work at the field hospital that was planned during the COVID-19 crisis. He realized his passion for emergency care during his time working with Med Center 1 in 2018 after Hurricane Florence. Bucciarelli’s son Keegan, who is 6, are avid NASCAR fans, and his favorite driver is Harvick.

 

Here’s hoping Mobil 1, along with Bucciarelli, can help Harvick score win number 51, which would put him only three behind Lee Petty for 11th on the all-time NASCAR wins list.

 

 

KEVIN HARVICK, Driver of the No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing: 
 
You have 50 wins. Can you talk about that accomplishment?

 

“When you say those two names (Ned Jarrett and Junior Johnson, also with 50 career wins), obviously they’re a huge part of what built this sport. Obviously Hall of Famers. What a huge honor it is to have my name sitting next to theirs. I’ve been fortunate, especially since I’ve come to Stewart-Haas Racing. This was 27 wins together with this group of guys. I think that experience going into our seventh year here really paid off Sunday, getting our car right, making adjustments on our car, rebounding from the adversity of a bad pit stop, all the things that came with turned into a race win. That says a lot about the experience of our team, the depth we have with everything that Gene (Haas) and Tony (Stewart) give us. It’s been a lot of fun to drive fast racecars. To have your name next to those guys goes to show you how fortunate I am to be able to ride in those fast racecars. We’ve been able to capitalize on a few.”

 

Drivers describe Darlington as one of the more physically demanding tracks. Normally, you have a full week to recover. You’re going back there to race Wednesday. Does that change how you recover from a race?  What do you normally do to recover from a NASCAR race?

 

“We have been off for 10 weeks. We should be pretty fresh from the physical standpoint. For me, I’ve been working hard to make sure I was in as good a shape as I’ve been in in a long time coming back, not even knowing what the schedule was, but just wanted to be better.I think as you look at that, really the biggest thing is 300 miles for us is a short race. I think as you look at the weather, being at night, it’s going to be fairly cool. The 600 miles (at Charlotte) the next weekend will be the one that you really have to pay attention to as far as what you do.Hydration is the key for me. For the most part, it’s really about making sure that you put enough fluids back in your body.”

 

Why do your prefer Mobil 1 synthetic?

 

“I’m a synthetic guy because, in 1993 when we were sitting in the engine shop, we dumped Mobil 1 synthetic in and that’s all we did and gained seven horsepower. From that day on, we would actually save our money and then go to the local auto parts store because, at that time, it was like $5.50 a quart and the conventional and other oils were like $3.50. At the big races, we would put the Mobil 1 in the car and the regular races would put the regular oil in there. You know I’m going to say synthetic.”

Mobil 1 Racing Team Report
Round 6 of 36 – Darlington 500k – Darlington
 

 

Car No.: 4 – Mobil 1 Ford Mustang

 

PR Contact: Joe Crowley, True Speed Communication (704) 875-3388 ext. 808 or Joe.Crowley@TrueSpeedCommunication.com)

Primary Team Members:
Driver: Kevin Harvick
Hometown: Bakersfield, California
Crew Chief: Rodney Childers
Hometown: Mooresville, North Carolina
Car Chief: Robert Smith
Hometown: Whitewater, Wisconsin
Engine Builder: Roush-Yates Engines
Headquarters: Mooresville, North Carolina
Engine Specialist: Robert Brandt
Hometown: Mobile, Alabama
Spotter: Tim Fedewa
Hometown: Holt, Michigan
Over-The-Wall Crew Members:

Front Tire Changer: Shayne Pipala

Hometown: Frankfort Square, Illinois

 

Rear Tire Changer: Daniel Smith

Hometown: Concord, North Carolina

 

Tire Carrier: Mike “Shrek” Morneau

Hometown: Oxford, Maine

 

Gas Man: Evan Marchal

Hometown: Westfield, Indiana

 

Jackman: Stan Dolittle

Hometown: Ninety Six, South Carolina

 

Windshield: Shawn Hopkins (also serves as interior mechanic)

Hometown: Chesterfield, Virginia

 
Darlington Notes of Interest:
· Dynamic Duo: While this is Harvick’s 20th year in the NASCAR Cup Series, it’s his seventh with crew chief Rodney Childers, which is the longest pairing of any current driver-crew chief combination. Since joining forces at Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) in 2014, Harvick and Childers have combined to produce 27 points-paying victories, a victory in the non-points-paying 2018 NASCAR All-Star Race at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway, 25 Busch poles, 109 top-five finishes and 158 top-10s while leading 9,929 laps. They won the 2014 championship, finished runner-up in the 2015 title chase to champion Kyle Busch, finished eighth in 2016 and third in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

 

· Harvick has career totals of 50 wins, 31 poles, 209 top-fives, 367 top-10s and 14,352 laps led in 687 starts.

 

· His most recent Cup Series win came on Sunday at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.

 

· His most recent Busch Pole came in November 2019 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth.

 

· Harvick’s 50 career NASCAR Cup Series victories puts him in a tie with NASCAR Hall of

Famers Ned Jarrett and Junior Johnson for 13th on the all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins list. He is third on the active driver list behind Jimmie Johnson and Busch. Harvick’s is four wins behind Lee Petty for 12th on the all-time wins list.

 

· At the Homestead season finale in 2019, Harvick became just the 11th driver to have led 14,000 laps in his NASCAR career. He’s led 14,352 and trails 10th-place Busch, who has led 17,445, and Johnson, who is ninth with 18,856 laps led.

 

· Points Position: Harvick arrives at Darlington first in the NASCAR Cup Series standings with 218 points, 28 markers ahead of second-place Alex Bowman.

 

· Darlington Numerology – Harvick has two wins, three poles, nine top-five finishes, 12 top-10s and has led a total of 740 laps in his 24 career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Darlington. His average start is 14.0, his average finish is 13.8 and he has a lap-completion rate of 96.2 percent, 8,135 of the 8,452 laps available.

 

· Harvick at Darlington since 2014 – The combination of Harvick competing at Darlington in SHR equipment is impressive. In his last seven NASCAR Cup Series starts at Darlington – all of which have come with SHR, he has finished inside of the top-10 in each, with two wins and four other top-fives. He has an average finish of 3.9 during that span. And of the 740 laps Harvick has led at Darlington dating back to his rookie year in 2001, a total of 677 (more than 91 percent) have come with SHR despite only seven (29 percent) of his 24 Darlington starts being with SHR.

 

· Xfinity and Trucks at Darlington: Harvick has competed in 16 NASCAR Xfinity Series races with three top-fives and nine top-10s with one pole position (August 2003). He has driven in two NASCAR Gander Outdoors & RV Truck Series events with a best finish of fourth in March 2002.

 

· 111 and Counting – Harvick scored his 100th career win in NASCAR’s top three series with his March 2018 Las Vegas win. He now has 111 total victories – 50 in the Cup Series, 47 in the Xfinity Series and 14 in the Truck Series. Only three other drivers in NASCAR history have passed 100 wins in NASCAR’s top three series: Richard Petty, David Pearson and Busch.

Views: 83

Kevin Harvick The Real Heroes 400 Race Report from Darlington — HARVICK WINS!!

by Mike
Kevin Harvick The Real Heroes 400 Race Report from Darlington — HARVICK WINS!!
Harvick Scores Career Win Number 50 at Darlington

Busch Light #YOURFACEHERE Ford Mustang Driver Leads Race High 159 Laps

Date: May 17, 2020

Event: The Real Heroes 400

Series: NASCAR Cup Series

Location: Darlington (S.C.) Raceway (1.336-mile oval)

Format: 293 laps, broken into three stages (90 laps/95 laps/108 laps)

Start/Finish: 6th/1st (Running, completed 293 of 293 laps)

Point Standing: (1st with 218 points, 28 points ahead of Alex Bowman)

 

Race Winner: Kevin Harvick of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)

Stage 1 Winner: William Bryon of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)

Stage 2 Winner: Brad Keselowski of Team Penske (Ford)

 

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-90):

● Kevin Harvick started sixth and finished fourth and earned seven bonus points.

● Harvick was in second-place when the competition caution came out on lap 30. Harvick pitted for four tires, fuel and a half-pound out of the right-rear tire.

● After early on saying he had a vibration and the alternator possibly not working, both were no longer a problem by the first pit stop.

● Told crew chief Rodney Childers, “The car is good. We’re in the ballpark.”

 

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 91-185):

● Started first and finished fourth and earned seven bonus points.

● On lap 93, Harvick pitted for four tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment.

● Harvick brought the No. 4 Busch Light #YOURFACEHERE Ford Mustang to pit road on lap 112 for four tires and fuel. Came in first and exited in first.

● On lap 126, Harvick pitted for four tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment. Came in first and left first again.

● Harvick pitted on lap 157 for four tires and fuel. Team attempted to add tape to the grill but it wouldn’t quite stick. Came in first and exited first again.

● On lap 174, Harvick pitted for four tire, fuel and a track bar adjustment. Had a small issue on the stop and lost seven spots. Will restart eighth.

 

Stage 3 Recap (Laps 186-293):

● Started fourth and finished first.

● On lap 187, Harvick pitted for four tires, fuel and a tire pressure adjustment. Said the No. 4 Busch Light #YOURFACEHERE Ford Mustang is “Loose, loose, loose.”

● On lap 216, Harvick pitted for four tires, fuel and a tire pressure adjustment. Came in fourth and left first.

● Harvick pitted on lap 255 for four tires and fuel. Came in first and left first.

● On the final restart on lap 260, Harvick had a really good battle with second-place Alex Bowman, but managed to get past him after a lap and went on to win by 2.154 seconds.

 

Notes:

● Harvick’s victory in The Real Heroes 400 was his 50th career NASCAR Cup Series win and it ties him with NASCAR Hall of Famers Ned Jarrett and Junior Johnson for 12th on the all-time NASCAR Cup Series win list.

●  This was Harvick’s 27th NASCAR Cup Series victory since joining SHR in 2014.

●  This was Harvick’s first victory of the season and his second victory in 24 career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Darlington.

●  Harvick’s margin of victory over second-place Alex Bowman was 2.154 seconds.

●  Harvick’s victory marked the 73rd overall win for SHR. It was the organization’s 56th points-paying NASCAR Cup Series win, its first of the season and its second at Darlington.

●  Harvick is responsible for SHR’s previous win at Darlington (2014 Southern 500).

●  This was SHR’s milestone 20th NASCAR Cup Series victory with Ford. The team won its first race with Ford when former driver Kurt Busch captured the 2017 Daytona 500.

●  This was Ford’s milestone 30th NASCAR Cup Series victory at Darlington. NASCAR Hall of Famer Curtis Turner won Ford’s first race at Darlington in 1966.

●  This was Harvick’s second straight top-two. He finished second in the series’ last race March 8 at Phoenix Raceway.

●  This was Harvick’s third straight top-five at Darlington. He finished fourth in the series’ previous visit to the track last September.

●  Harvick has never finished outside the top-10 at Darlington since joining SHR in 2014, a streak that began with a win in the 2014 Southern 500.

●  Harvick finished fourth in Stage 1 to earn seven bonus points and fourth in Stage 2 to earn seven more bonus points.

●  Harvick led twice for a race-high 159 laps to increase his laps-led total at Darlington to 740.

●  There were 10 caution periods for a total of 57 laps.

●  Only 24 of the 40 drivers in The Real Heroes 400 finished on the lead lap.

●  Harvick remains the championship leader after Darlington with a 28-point advantage over second-place Bowman.

 

Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Busch Light #YOURFACEHERE Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

 

“I want to thank everybody from NASCAR and all the teams for letting us do what we do. I didn’t think it was going be that much different and then we won the race and it’s dead silent out here.  We miss the fans, just gotta thank everybody from Busch Light, Hunt Brothers Pizza, Mobil 1, Jimmy John’s, everybody from Ford who helps on this car. It’s a pretty big honor to win 50 races in this deal and I just have to thank all my team guys and everybody for what they’re doing. This Dr. Josh Hughes is one of my really good friends. I spend a lot of time with him and have seen how this whole pandemic has affected our front line workers in person on a weekly basis, so thank you, Josh. We’re thinking of you. I want to say hi to DeLana and my kids at home. I guess we’ll bring home the trophy.”

 

You now have 50 wins.

 

“It doesn’t seem real and I think as you look at Darlington I think as you look at the things that happened this weekend I really thought that it would definitely play into our hand just because our guys are so good at hitting the car off the truck for the most part.  We put a lot of time, a lot of effort, a lot of studying, a lot of meetings and just have to thank everybody at the shop who has built all these cars and just, man, I’m excited.  It is weird just because there’s nobody up there, and you can go to Busch Beer.com and maybe have your face on the car next week, up here on the hood.  I’m speechless.”

 

You race on Wednesday again. What do you have to do to go back-to-back?

 

“It’s gonna be a little bit different.  Hopefully, we have at least one more race before we come back with the XFINITY cars.  It’ll be night, so I think you definitely have to figure out what you want to do with your car.”

 

Next Up:

The NASCAR Cup Series returns to Darlington on Wednesday, May 20 for a 500-kilometer race. It starts at 7:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

 

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LEGENDARY NBA ANNOUNCER AND ‘VOICE OF THE CLIPPERS ’TAKES OVER THE MIC FOR AUTO CLUB 400 DRIVER INTROS

by Webmaster
LEGENDARY NBA ANNOUNCER AND ‘VOICE OF THE CLIPPERS ’TAKES OVER THE MIC FOR AUTO CLUB 400 DRIVER INTROS

~ Hall of Famer Ralph Lawler once served as announcer at Riverside International Raceway ~

 Fontana, Calif. (Feb. 28, 2019) – Broadcasting icon Ralph Lawler, who was the first voice of Riverside International Raceway and is now the voice of the LA Clippers, will add yet another milestone to his lengthy resume – serving as announcer for Driver Introductions at the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway on March 17.

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Views: 513