* This Week's Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet at Daytona
International Speedway ... Kevin Harvick will pilot chassis No. 295
from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. This
is a new Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet that was built during the off-season
and tested extensively in the wind tunnel prior to loading up and heading
to Daytona.
* Career Stats ...The 52nd running of the Daytona 500 marks
Harvick's 323rd career start in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
o In 17 starts at the famed 2.5-mile oval, Harvick has claimed
one win, one pole, four top-five and six top-10 finishes.
o In eight Daytona 500 starts, Harvick has a 12.9 average finish
in eight appearances, the best of the active drivers who have competed in
more than one race.
* One Duel at a Time ... For the first time in eight starts,
Kevin Harvick and the No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil team will compete in the
first Duel qualifying race in Daytona. All previous starts in the 75-lap
events have come in the second Duel.
* Former 500 winner ... Harvick and the No. 29 Shell
Pennzoil Racing team made the trip to Victory Lane in the 2007 Daytona
500, making him one of only 33 drivers to win the historic event. While
battling door-to-door with Mark Martin as they were coming to the
checkered flag, a multi-car melee broke out behind them. Harvick claimed
the thrilling victory by a margin of 0.02-of-a-second.
* Just What the Doctor Ordered ... After flu-like symptoms
sidelined him from practice, Harvick made the most of his first race laps
in his No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet for the 2010 season. The
Bakersfield, Calif., native ran strong throughout the 75-lap exhibition
race en-route to earning back-to-back Budweiser Shootout titles.
* Kevin Harvick Live ... Fans can see Harvick live Sunday,
Feb. 14 from 9:25 -- 9:40 a.m. on the Sprint FanZone Main Stage as
part of a question-and-answer session hosted by Coca-Cola.
* Double Duty ... In addition to racing the No. 29
Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet Impala for RCR in the Daytona 500, Harvick is
scheduled to drive the No. 33 Chevrolet for Kevin Harvick, Inc., in the
NASCAR Nationwide Series season opener on Saturday, February 13.
KEVIN HARVICK:
How important are the 150-mile qualifying races?
"I think they are important because it's the first time you
have to actually have the chance to run a full fuel run, and you get to
set yourself up on how your car handles. It's the first real test
with a lot of rubber on the race track, so it's important for the
week, and leading up to everything you have going on for Sunday. It tells
you what you need to work on for the last couple days of practice."
Does it become a nail biter because you don't want to mess up your
car in a qualifying race?
"You definitely don't want to put yourself in a position to
mess your car up, but you need to race it hard enough to know what you
have in your car. That's the glory of racing in the NASCAR Sprint
Cup Series. Hopefully, whatever you have on the race track you better
have another one equally as good sitting in the trailer."
You are one of the few guys who have won the Daytona 500. How tough is
that race to win?
"By no means is the Daytona 500 easy to win because there are so
many circumstances that have to play out right. You have to be there all
day long and stay out of trouble. It's a race that's
unexplainable to win and the magnitude of everything that goes with it is
a lot different than winning any other race. We're just fortunate
to have won a lot of the big races, and that's pretty cool."
You were runner-up last year, after starting 32nd. Understanding it was
difficult to get up there, how did that race play out for you last year?
"The best thing that happened to us was that our Shell-Pennzoil
Chevy was just tearing up tires at the beginning of the race. We were
terrible tight, so we just stopped on the second or third pit stop and
really made some major adjustments not to worry about speed but to worry
more about just the handling of our car. That paid off big time for us.
As the race went on, we were able to handle our way to the front. We got
Clint (Bowyer) behind us and were in a position to have a good shot of
winning the race there at the end, but, unfortunately, the rain came.
But, it was cool that Matt (Kenseth) finished first and we finished
second. That's kind of how my Daytona 500 played out but, it my
mind, it was going to be me first and Matt second."
If the rain didn't come, or if you were able to go back racing, did
you have a really good shot at the win?
"I think we had a good shot at the win. But, we had a shot at
wrecking, too, so you can look at it both ways."
-source: rcr
