Kevin Harvick will pilot Chassis No.046 from the Richard Childress Racing (RCR) stable, rebuilt for the 2006 season. This is the same car that Harvick drove to victory lane earlier this season at Phoenix International Raceway and Richmond International Raceway.
· Stat Facts … In two Busch Series starts at The Milwaukee Mile, Harvick has posted one pole and one top-five finish. The Bakersfield, Calif., native has also led 169 laps and has an average starting position of sixth.
· Pinch Driver … Randy LaJoie will sub for Harvick this weekend at The Milwaukee Mile during Saturday’s practice and qualifying sessions. LaJoie is a two-time NASCAR Busch Series Champion (1996 and 1997). Additionally, he has tallied 15 wins, 62 top-five and 118 top-10 finishes in his career.
· Inside the numbers … 9,376 – the number of miles Harvick will travel this weekend as he travels back and forth from his North Carolina home to Infineon (Calif.) Raceway and between Infineon and The Milwaukee Mile. 2,450 – the approximate number of gallons of jet fuel it will take to make the commute from Sonoma to Milwaukee. 4,358 – the distance Harvick and RCR teammate Clint Bowyer will travel from Infineon to Milwaukee and back as they commute between the Dodge/Save Mart 350 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Infineon and the AT&T 250 at “America’s Legendary Oval.” 469 – the number of miles both drivers are expected to complete this weekend on the race track. Two – the number of races both drivers are slated for.
· Points Leader … Harvick currently leads the NASCAR Busch Series drivers’ standings by 372 points over Carl Edwards. In addition, the No. 21 Coast Guard team leads the owners’ standings by 381 points over the No. 60 team owned by Jack Roush.
· Impressive Stats … Harvick’s NASCAR Busch Series career stats include 20 wins, 72 top-five and 103 top-10 finishes in 147 starts. That’s a victory in 14 percent of the Busch races he has entered, a top-five in 49 percent of the races and a top-10 in 70 percent of the races.
· Thanks for the Ride Boss … Bowyer and Harvick will travel to Milwaukee via Childress’ Raytheon Hawker 700 Jet. The Hawker will be RCR’s duo’s workhorse this weekend and can make the Sonoma to Milwaukee journey without stopping for fuel.
· One Mile or Less … Harvick has 51 starts in the NASCAR Busch Series on tracks that are one mile or less. He has accumulated 10 wins, five poles, 30 top-five and 38 top-10 finishes. Additionally, he has led 2,157 laps, which is second to Jeff Green on the Busch Series drivers ranking by career laps led on tracks one mile or less.
· Double Duty … In addition to his driving duties with the No. 21 Coast Guard Chevrolet at Kentucky, Harvick, a six-time race winner in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series, will drive the No. 29 GM Goodwrench Chevy at Infineon Raceway Sunday, June 25. The race will air live on FOX beginning at 3 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). Harvick currently sits eighth in the 2006 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series point championship.
· Up to Speed … The AT&T 250 at The Milwaukee Mile will be televised live Saturday, June 24 beginning at 8:30 p.m. EDT on FX. The Motor Racing Network and XM Satellite Radio will also carry the race broadcast live. Qualifying for the 17th of 35 NASCAR Busch Series events will take the green flag at 6 p.m. EDT Saturday, June 17 and will be telecasted live on SPEED.
KEVIN HARVICK QUOTES:
You have a lot of traveling ahead of you this weekend, over 9,000 miles. Are you or are you not looking forward to this weekend?
“It really isn’t that bad. With the way the schedule is laid out we will get qualifying in at Infineon and get to practice on Saturday morning before flying to Milwaukee, Wis. The only thing we can’t control is the weather. This weekends Busch race will be the hardest race of the non-companion events because we will have to start the race without any practice or qualifying. We will also have to start in the back of the field. We will have to depend on what we have done in the past and Randy LaJoie to get the car set-up as close as we can. We just have to make the best out of Milwaukee, hopefully we can get a top 10 and go from there.”
The Milwaukee Mile is a flat one-mile track and you seem to excel on these types of tracks. Do you have some confidence coming into this weekend?
“The last time I raced in Milwaukee was in 2001. We led the most laps and sat on the pole during that event. However, Greg Biffle won the race because of gas mileage. Crazy how you remember that stuff. Milwaukee is one of those race tracks that has a lot of history, and we do a lot of testing there with our Cup cars in preparation for the Loudon (New Hampshire International Speedway). So it is a track that I have logged a lot of laps.”
