Kevin Harvick and Jimmy John’s Honors A Life Saving Hero At Daytona

The folks at Jimmy John’s recently came across a story on NASCAR.com written by Pat DeCola that documents the story of 11-year-old Jenna Dumanski of Milltown, New Jersey. Dumanski, a Kevin Harvick fan, made a life-saving decision on Aug. 28, 2014 to donate bone marrow to her then-infant brother Tommy.

Tommy Dumanski was 2 months old when he was diagnosed with Chronic Granulomatous Disease, which is a rare genetic disease that would require a bone marrow transplant to survive. The family faced genetic testing to see if there was a match in the family and, sure enough, his big sister Jenna was a perfect match.

Jenna’s decision to donate bone marrow to her younger brother saved his life.

Now, three years later, both Jenna and Tommy are doing well. Jenna was scheduled to attend the Daytona 500 in February but a bout of meningitis prevented her from making the trip.

After seeing the story on NASCAR.com, Jimmy John’s decided to provide Jenna, Tommy and their family with a trip to Daytona of their own. They are scheduled to watch the Coke Zero 400 Saturday night from the comfort of the Jimmy John’s suite high above the front stretch at the “World Center of Racing.”

Harvick is hoping to make Jenna’s trip extra special by crossing the finish line first Saturday night.

The 2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion is fresh off his first win of the year last weekend at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway, and will be looking to make it two straight trips to victory lane.

If February’s Daytona 500 was any indication, Harvick and the No. 4 team could be favorites heading into the event. Harvick started fifth and led 50 of 200 laps in the season-opening event before being collected in a multicar accident and finished 22nd.

The Bakersfield, California native is no stranger to victory lane at Daytona. He is one of four active drivers to win both the Daytona 500 and Coke Zero 400, joining the likes of Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jamie McMurray.

Harvick, who secured his position in the 2017 NASCAR playoffs with last weekend’s win at Sonoma, would now like to add a second win and start collecting as many playoff points as he can in the final 10 races before the start of the playoffs at Chicago in September. But a win Saturday night would provide an extra special moment for Jenna, Tommy and their family in Daytona.

“The July race at Daytona is special for a lot of reasons. I think when you look at the night race at Daytona, it kind of marks the halfway point of the year and you know that you’re going to Daytona. It’s not the Daytona 500, but it’s still Daytona, and everybody wants to win a race at Daytona no matter what it’s in or what it’s for. Daytona just has that special place in our sport and everybody wants to win there.”

Describe the intensity of restrictor-plate racing?

“Plate racing is something that you have to be aggressive at just for the fact that if you’re not aggressive, it always seems like you’re not going to be where you need to be. Nine times out of 10, I believe that the aggressor is going to be the guy who comes out on the good side of things just for the fact that you’re making things happen and you’re not waiting for something else to happen. When you wait for something else to happen, that’s usually when you get in trouble because it’s usually someone else’s mess. You can still get in trouble if you’re aggressive, but it seems like, with this rules package and the way things are, it’s best to stay aggressive and try to stay up front.”

· Points Position: Harvick arrives at the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway ranked third in the NASCAR Cup Series standings with 548 points after his first win of the season last weekend at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway. He trails leader Kyle Larson by 111 points.

· Playoff Bound: Harvick clinched his position in the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs as he scored his first Cup Series win of the season Sunday at Sonoma. He started 12th, led 24 laps and had more than a five-second cushion when the final caution flag waved to end the race under caution.

· Playoff Points: Harvick and the No. 4 team have scored one race win and three stage wins to account for eight playoff points – fifth most of any Cup Series driver.

· Leading Laps: Through the first 16 points-paying NASCAR Cup Series events of 2017, Harvick ranks fourth in laps led with 538 of 4,776 total laps contested – more than 11 percent. Harvick has led at least one lap in nine of the 16 points-paying events of 2017.

· 2007 Daytona 500 Champion: Harvick won the 2007 Daytona 500 when he beat NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin to the finish line by .020 of a second on the final green-white-checkered restart. It was the closest Daytona 500 finish since the start of computer scoring in 2003.

· One of Four: Harvick is one of four active NASCAR Cup Series drivers to win both the Daytona 500 and the Coke Zero 400. Harvick won the 2007 Daytona 500 and the Coke Zero 400 in July 2010. The others to accomplish the feat are Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jamie McMurray.

· Wins at Daytona: In addition to his three wins in The Clash at Daytona, Harvick has four other victories at the famed 2.5-mile racetrack – two NASCAR Cup Series points-paying races (February 2007, July 2010), a non-points event (2013 Can-Am Duel) and a win in the NASCAR Xfinity Series (February 2007).

· Harvick in the NASCAR Cup Series at Daytona: The Coke Zero 400 will mark Harvick’s 33rd career Cup Series start at Daytona. Harvick has two wins, nine top-five finishes and 14 top-10s at the famed 2.5-mile racetrack. The 2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion has led 229 laps, has an average starting position of 16.3 and average finish of 16.3, and has completed 90.2 percent (5,072 of 5,623) of the laps he’s contested there.

· Passing a Legend: Harvick scored his 49th career second-place finish in the NASCAR Cup Series at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway in June, breaking a tie with Lee Petty and taking sole possession of 10th on the all-time Cup Series second-place-finishes list.

· Upcoming Milestone: Harvick also needs 221 laps led to become the 17th Cup Series driver of all-time to lead 11,000 or more laps. Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth are the only active drivers to accomplish the feat.

· Career NASCAR Cup Series Totals: Harvick has 36 wins, 160 top-fives, 293 top-10s and 20 poles in 590 career Cup Series starts heading into Saturday night’s race at Daytona.

· Harvick the TV Broadcaster: Harvick served as the play-by-play announcer in the FOX TV booth for the first-ever all-driver NASCAR Xfinity Series race broadcast at Pocono three weeks ago. It was his fifth appearance in the booth since the start of the season. He also visited the booth on Feb. 25at Daytona, March 18 at Phoenix International Raceway, April 22 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway,May 6 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, as well as the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series eventApril 1 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. He also is slated to broadcast the Truck Series races July 21 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Oct. 13 at Talladega.

· Harvick’s Happy Hours on SiriusXM Radio: On March 14, Harvick announced that he will hostHappy Hours on SiriusXM Radio. The show debuted March 28 and airs every Tuesday from 7 to 9 p.m. ET, featuring Harvick’s distinctive perspective on his sport and life outside the track. Harvick and co-host Matt Yocum take calls from listeners and give NASCAR fans a unique view on the driver’s life and interests when he is away from the racecar.