This Week's Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet at Homestead-Miami Speedway ... Kevin
Harvick will pilot Chassis No. 288 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR
Sprint Cup Series stable. This car was built new for the October race at
Auto Club Speedway, where it finished 10th, before being raced to an
18th-place finish at Lowe's Motor Speedway and then fifth at Texas Motor
Speedway two races ago.
Track Facts ... In eight NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Homestead-Miami
Speedway, Harvick has notched three top-five and six top-10 finishes. The
closest he came to victory at the South Florida facility was when he
finished second in 2003 and 2008. Through those eight starts, the
Bakersfield, Calif., native has an average start of 12.2 and impressive 9.1
finish. He's led four races for a total of 60 laps, while completing 2,140
of 2,141 (99.9 percent) of laps contested. Harvick, an 11-time NSCS winner
in his career, has made five top-10 starts at HMS.
One Trophy Missing from the Shelf ... Homestead has been a bit of an
Achilles Heel for RCR as one of the few race tracks where team owner Richard
Childress hasn't earned a Sprint Cup Series victory. As a company, RCR's
best finishes at HMS came in 2003 and 2008 when Harvick finished second. In
29 starts, RCR has four top-five and 13 top-10 finishes at the
mile-and-a-half, progressively-banked oval with drivers Dave Blaney, Clint
Bowyer, Jeff Burton, Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Green, Harvick and Mike Skinner.
Auto Club Speedway, Kansas Speedway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway are the
only other tracks on the current schedule where RCR has yet to visit Victory
Lane.
Double Fun in the Florida Sun ... In addition to his duties behind the wheel
of the Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet, Harvick returns to the seat of his Kevin
Harvick, Inc. No. 4 Chevrolet Silverado in Friday night's NASCAR Camping
World Truck Series finale. Last week, Harvick won the NCWTS race at Phoenix
International Raceway.
Already a Champ in the Trucks ... With his NCWTS driver Ron Hornaday, Jr.
finishing fourth last week at Phoenix, he was crowned the 2009 series
champion. With that, Harvick and his wife, DeLana, and all of Kevin Harvick,
Inc. became champions for the second time in three years. Hornaday made
history by becoming the only driver to win a NCWTS championship for the
fourth time. Powering the KHI team to victory and the championship were
Earnhardt Childress Racing engines.
KEVIN HARVICK:
Are you looking for this season to come to an end?
"I definitely can't wait to get to Homestead. With the way we've run there
in the past, I think it's going to be one of the most exciting things that
could happen this year. When this race ends, we get to start over in 2010
with a clean sheet of paper."
Because of how this season went for you, did it drag on or go by quickly?
"Unfortunately, its drug on like you can't believe with how things went for
us there in the middle of the season. It's just one of those deals where you
want this to end so we can get going for next year. "
With three guys racing for the championship this weekend, you don't want to
just roll over and give them the victory. But, are you aware of them on the
track and the big picture at stake?
"Oh yeah, you're definitely aware of what's going on and don't want to be
the ause of anything happening negative to them. "
Do you plan your off-season, or just wing it?
"Me? I just wing it. You plan on staying home, not traveling around as much
and just relaxing."
Where do you stand with no testing in the off-season?
"I think it's good for the guys because they get to recharge their batteries
and get ready for the next season."
-credit: rcr
