This week, four drivers will be eliminated from the NASCAR playoffs as the first round is coming to an end and only 12 drivers will be moving onto the next round. So, pressure is high.
Except for Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr., and Kyle Busch, who have already clinched their spots in the Round of 12. So this week’s race on the Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway “roval” should be fairly easy.
But, let’s be honest, nothing is easy in the NASCAR playoffs. While there is little to gain, the bottom line is Harvick likes to win. That’s the whole point of being in NASCAR racing.
While there is little to gain at Charlotte, a win would put Harvick in elite company. He is looking for his 49th win in NASCAR’s top series, which would put him past 2013 Hall of Famer Herb Thomas and into a tie with his boss Tony Stewart for 14th on the all-time list.
A win at Charlotte would also give him a victory at every “road course” in NASCAR as he’s already scored victories at both true road courses on the schedule – Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International and Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway. Busch and Truex are the only other active drivers who have won at The Glen and Sonoma.
The Charlotte roval is a “road course” built within the oval portion for Charlotte Motor Speedway. Think Daytona International Speedway for the IMSA sportscars or Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Indy cars. Charlotte has only had one race on the roval, but Harvick also has failed to win on the ovals at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta and Pocono (Pa.) Raceway.
So he could check off another racetrack from his list this weekend.
Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Jimmy John’s Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), has three wins, 10 top-five finishes and 19 top-10s in 2019. And he’s had two consecutive top-10 finishes to the starts the playoffs.
He’s been freaky fast again in 2019.
And he hopes to be in victory lane Sunday afternoon at Charlotte
KEVIN HARVICK, Driver of the No. 4 Jimmy John’s Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:
Are you worry-free going into the roval weekend?
“It’ll be a nice week at home. I think it allows everybody to really go, and the biggest thing is you want to go try and learn what you need to do to run fast there, so this week we’ll go to the simulator and try to transfer that to the racetrack and see how practice goes and then we’ll see how the weekend goes. You definitely still want to go there and get a race win or something that will go forward with you and also learn something for the future.”
Do you use the Ford simulator much for the road courses?
“We do. For me, it is just because I’m a big kind of visual person. So that repetition for me is good, just to get a visual and have that memory of curbs and direction of the track and all the things you remember from last time spurred in your memory bank as you use those simulators. So we’ve actually started to use it more this year than we have in the past.”
Does it give you a good base setup or more just feel and sightlines?
“For me, it’s more feel and sightlines. I don’t know that it’s 100 percent setup stuff, unless you’re doing postrace stuff and then it’s more making sure that grip levels and lap times and those types of things are right and things that you wanted to work on that you saw from other cars and other ideas that you had from that particular weekend at the racetrack. I’d never done any of the simulator stuff until I got to Ford, but we’ve got two of them now. We can race each other, too.”
Jimmy John’s Racing Team Report
Round 29 of 36 – Bank of American Roval 400 – Charlotte
Car No.: 4 – Jimmy John’s Ford Mustang
PR Contact: Joe Crowley, True Speed Communication (704) 875-3388 ext. 808 or Joe.Crowley@TrueSpeedCommunication.com)
Primary Team Members:
Driver: Kevin Harvick
Hometown: Bakersfield, California
Crew Chief: Rodney Childers
Hometown: Mooresville, North Carolina
Car Chief: Robert Smith
Hometown: Whitewater, Wisconsin
Engine Builder: Roush-Yates Engines
Headquarters: Mooresville, North Carolina
Engine Specialist: Robert Brandt
Hometown: Mobile, Alabama
Spotter: Tim Fedewa
Hometown: Holt, Michigan
Over-The-Wall Crew Members:
Front Tire Changer: Shayne Pipala
Hometown: Frankfort Square, Illinois
Rear Tire Changer: Chris Thomas (subbing for Daniel Smith)
Hometown: Fort Mill, South Carolina
Tire Carrier: Mike “Shrek” Morneau
Hometown: Oxford, Maine
Gas Man: Evan Marchal
Hometown: Westfield, Indiana
Jackman: Stan Dolittle
Hometown: Ninety Six, South Carolina
Windshield: Matt Custer (also serves as interior mechanic)
Hometown: Bedford, Pennsylvania
Road Crew Members:
Truck Driver: Rick Hodges and Stephen Mitchell
Hometowns: Raleigh, North Carolina and Woodville, Ohio, respectively
Engineers: Dax Gerringer and Billy Keubler
Hometowns: Gibsonville, North Carolinaand Saline, Michigan, respectively
Mechanic: Richie Bean
Hometown: Bradford, Vermont
Tire Specialist: Jamie Turski
Hometown: Trumbull, Connecticut
Shock Specialist: Michael McCarville
Hometown: Kensington, Prince Edward Island, Canada
Mechanic: Allen Mincey
Hometown: Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Charlotte Notes of Interest:
· Dynamic Duo: While this is Harvick’s 19th year in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, it’s his sixth with crew chief Rodney Childers. Since joining forces at Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) in 2014, Harvick and Childers have combined to produce 25 points-paying victories, a victory in the non-points-paying 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway, 24 poles, 101 top-five finishes and 146 top-10s while leading 9,417 laps. They won the 2014 championship, finished runner-up in the 2015 title chase to champion Kyle Busch, finished eighth in 2016 and third in 2017 and 2018. The team has qualified for the Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami Speedway four times in the last five years.
· Harvick has career totals of 48 wins, 23 poles, 201 top-fives, 355 top-10s and 13,840 laps led in 674 starts.
· His most recent Cup Series win and Busch Pole bothcame three races ago at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Sept. 8, 2019).
· Roval Numerology – This is the only the second race the Charlotte roval. Last year, Harvick started 19th and finished ninth. In 38 combined Cup Series races on the Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway and Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International road courses, Harvick has scored two wins, nine top-five finishes, 20 top-10s and led 161 laps. He is one of just three active drivers to win at both Sonoma and Watkins Glen, joining Busch and Martin Truex Jr.
· Points Position: Harvick arrives at Charlotte second in the NASCAR Cup Series playoff standings with 2,120 points, 21 markers behind leader Truex. He has clinched his way into the Round of 12.
· Harvick’s 48 career NASCAR Cup Series victories puts him in a tie with Herb Thomas for 15th on the all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins list. He is third on the active driver list behind Jimmie Johnson and Busch.
· Harvick has led 9,414 in 208 races at Stewart-Haas Racing. That’s an average of 45.25 laps per race.
· Harvick’s Happy Hours on SiriusXM Radio: Harvick is in his third year as the co-host of Happy Hours on SiriusXM Radio channel 90. The show debuted March 28, 2017 and airs on Wednesdays from 1 to 3 p.m. EDT, featuring Harvick’s distinctive perspective on the 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.
· 109 and Counting – Harvick scored his 100th career win in NASCAR’s top three series when he won the Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March 2018. He now has 109 total victories after his most recent Cup Series win two weekends ago at Indianapolis – 48 in the Cup Series, 47 in the Xfinity Series and 14 in the Truck Series. Only three other drivers in NASCAR history have passed 100 wins in NASCAR’s top three series: Richard Petty, David Pearson and Busch.
TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
