Kevin Harvick, 2009 LENOX Industrial Tools 301 Sprint Cup Race Preview

Press Release

NOTES:

· This Week’s Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet at New Hampshire Motor Speedway … Kevin Harvick will pilot Chassis No. 212 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable this weekend. As a No. 07 Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet, this car has been a short track workhorse for drivers Clint Bowyer and Casey Mears. Bowyer drove this car to both of his NSCS wins (New Hampshire Motor Speedway in September 2007 and Richmond International Raceway in May 2008), while Mears finished 20th at Martinsville Speedway and 21st at Phoenix International Raceway with it this year. In its most recent outing, Harvick drove this car (rebranded as a No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet) to a 34th-place finish at RIR in May.

· Stat Facts … In 16 NSCS races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Harvick has earned one win (fall 2006), one pole (fall 2006), three top-five and nine top-10 finishes. Additionally, the 11-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series winner has earned a 12.4 starting average and a 12.6 finishing average and has completed all but seven laps at New England’s Magic Mile during that span. Harvick has finished in the top 20 in 13 of those 16 events.

· Loop Data …

o Harvick has the best average starting position (7.6) of all active drivers over the past eight NSCS events held at NHMS.

o Harvick is second in the number of laps led at NHMS over the past eight NSCS races. During that time, he’s led 251 of a possible 2,392 laps (10.5 percent). Only Tony Stewart has led more in that four-year span.

o Harvick has the sixth-best Driver Rating (102.2 average driver rating) of all active drivers over the past eight NSCS races at NHMS, determined by a formula combining the following categories: Wins, Finishes, Top-15 Finishes, Average Running Position While on Lead Lap, Average Speed Under Green, Fastest Lap, Led Most Laps and Lead-Lap Finishes.

· RCR at NHMS … Richard Childress is tied for third all time with Joe Gibbs and Roger Penske for car owner victories at NHMS with three – Robby Gordon (2001), Harvick (2006) and Bowyer (2007). In 66 starts at the 1.058-mile oval, Childress also boasts two poles, 11 top-five and 27 top-10 finishes with nine different drivers including Dale Earnhardt, Mike Skinner, Harvick, Gordon, Jeff Green, Steve Park, Dave Blaney, Bowyer and Burton.

· Summing Up the Season … In the season’s first 16 events, Harvick has earned two top five and two top 10 finishes. He has recorded a 20.8 starting average to go along with a 22.8 finishing average and has led nine laps. He has completed 4,640 of 4,761 laps (97.5 percent) run this season and earned close to $3 million in purse money.

· The RCR Collection … In 16 races this season, RCR-prepared Sprint Cup Series entries have notched seven top-five and 16 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 18,446 laps with four different drivers including Burton, Bowyer, Harvick and Mears. Meanwhile, RCR teams have been atop the leaderboard for 95 laps and all four teams have earned just shy of $10 million combined purse money in 2009.

· Record-Holder … The Bakersfield, Calif., native holds the NASCAR Nationwide Series qualifying record at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. This record was set on May 11, 2001 when Harvick recorded a fast lap of 29.138 seconds (130.716 mph) at the 1.058-mile New England track.

· Welcome Home, Matt … RCR’s Director of Human Performance and Leadership Development Matt Clark hails from North Haven, Conn., located approximately 190 miles southwest of NHMS. Clark, who joined the Welcome, N.C.-based operation in 2008, is charged with assembling and coaching RCR’s Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series’ over-the-wall pit crews. Clark also led the CAT Racing over-the-wall team to the 2009 Pit Crew Challenge championship in May. Clark is a graduate of Carter Oak Stage College in New Britain, Conn. and, before making the jump to motorsports, he was the assistant athletic director, sports information director and assistant baseball coach for Albertus Magnus College in New Haven.

· Back in the Saddle … In addition to his duties behind the wheel of the RCR No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet, Harvick will pilot his Kevin Harvick, Inc.-owned No. 33 Copart Chevrolet in Saturday’s NNS Camping World RV Sales 200 presented by Turtle Wax at NHMS. The event can be seen live on ABC at 2:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, and will be broadcast on the Performance Racing Network and Sirius XM Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the event will be held the same day at 10:05 a.m. EDT.

· Catch the Action … The LENOX Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway will be televised live Sunday, June 28 beginning at 1:30 p.m. EDT on TNT and will be broadcast live on PRN and Sirius XM Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the 17th of 36 NSCS events will begin at 3 p.m. EDT Friday, June 26 and will be telecast live on SPEED.

· Online With the Times … To keep up with the latest news and information about Richard Childress Racing and to view exclusive online content, visit the team’s official website at www.RCRRacing.com. For qualifying and finishing results, check us out at www.twitter.com/RCRRacing.

KEVIN HARVICK QUOTES:

You’ve got three top 10’s in the past five races at New Hampshire. Is it safe to say you look forward to going there?

“It’s been a really good race track for us from a company standpoint at RCR. Clint’s run really well there and obviously we’ve run well there. It’s a place we go to and expect to run in the top five. It couldn’t come at a better time in the schedule than what we’ve got coming up here.”

Do you feel like the flat tracks are a strength at RCR?

“That’s always been our strongest point – the Loudon, Richmond, Phoenix-type race tracks. We’ve always been fairly competitive at those places. That’s how we knew we were off from where we needed to be was when we got to Phoenix this year and didn’t perform well. Those tracks are usually our best, so that’s when we knew we had a real problem.”

Can you talk about how you are willing to give someone the inside line in Turn 2 to be able to beat them off the corner?

“The hard part of running the low line in Turn 2 is with the transition of the progressive banking, the car ‘unloads’ when you have to run the bottom like that coming up off the corner. So, you can get through the center really good, but as you get to the exit of the corner the back end of the car breaks loose and it’s hard to complete a pass.”

What do you like about racing at New Hampshire Motor Speedway?

“I like this type of track because it’s flat. I started my racing career on flat tracks out west. We’ve always had a fair amount of success at New Hampshire, so that always makes it fun to go back to.”

- Richard Childress Racing, Press Release

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