Wednesday, October 2, 2019

Kevin Harvick is 6/1 to win at Dover

KEVIN HARVICK
Busch Beer / All HARVICK

Kevin Harvick won at Dover last spring.
KANNAPOLIS, North Carolina (Oct. 2, 2019) – Kevin Harvick advanced to the Round of 12 of this year’s NASCAR playoffs and it starts with Sunday’s Dover 400 at Dover (Del.) International Speedway.

This weekend at the track known as “The Monster Mile,” most of the talk will be about the driver and his No. 4 Busch Beer / All HARVICK Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR).

Busch loves sponsoring Harvick – no other driver more perfectly represents its brand. But in the NASCAR world, the name Busch doesn’t just stand for crisp, cold, refreshing beer, and it’s been giving free advertising to Harvick’s rivals for too long. So, to show its appreciation for Harvick and to make sure there is no confusion about who the brand’s guy truly is, Busch is going All–HARVICK in Dover for the NASCAR Cup Series race.

Every Busch branded item at Dover will now say “HARVICK,” instead. This won’t just be the paint scheme on Harvick’s No. 4 Ford Mustang or his firesuit, but everything at the track – even the Busch beer at the concession stands – will have the driver’s name. 

A win at Dover in the Busch Beer / All HARVICK scheme would be beneficial in a lot of ways for Harvick and the No. 4 team. If he takes the checkered flag first, he will automatically advance to the Round of 8 because, if you win, you’re in.

Harvick would also then tie his boss, Tony Stewart, for 14th on the NASCAR Cup Series all-time wins list at 49 career victories. And it would put him within one win of 50 victories. Only 13 drivers are members of the 50-win club.

Harvick scored his first Dover win in October 2015, when he started 15th, led 355 of 400 laps and beat runner-up Kyle Busch by 2.639 seconds. He scored his second win at the concrete mile oval in May 2018, when he started second, led 201 of 400 laps and finished 7.450 seconds ahead of SHR teammate Clint Bowyer.

Sunday will mark Harvick’s 38th Cup Series start Sunday at Dover. In addition to his two wins, he has one pole, seven top-five finishes, 18 top-10s and has led 1,443 laps.

In 17 NASCAR Xfinity Series races at Dover, Harvick has five top-five finishes, as well as a June 2000 pole. Harvick has competed in two NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series races at Dover with two top-five finishes. In May 2011, he started second, led 18 laps and finished fifth. In June 2012, he won the pole, led 96 laps and finished third in a rain-shortened race.

Last weekend at the Charlotte roval, Harvick scored his 20th top-10 finish of the season to give him 20 top-10s every year since 2013.

As the Round of 12 kicks off this weekend at Dover, Harvick would love nothing more than to deliver a win for himself, his team and his longtime sponsor Busch Beer in the All HARVICK car.
KEVIN HARVICK, Driver of the No. 4 Busch Beer / All HARVICK  Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing: 
Put simply, what do you think of the Busch Beer / All Harvick weekend?
“Harvick beer. It doesn’t get much better than that”

What do you think about heading into Dover?
“When I go to Dover, I think about one thing, and that is, ‘How can I win this race – what do we need to do as a team to focus on what we need to do?”

Describe what it’s like to take a lap around Dover.
“Dover is the racetrack where you feel the sensation of speed more than anything. It’s a place where you drop off into the corner and slam into a lot of banking and then, as you come out of the corner, it’s kind of like jumping out of a hole and up onto the straightaway. It’s a really fun place to race. You feel that sensation of speed and you can be really aggressive.”

Why is Dover one of the more challenging racetracks on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule?
“I think as you look at Dover, if you look at our history, when I was at RCR (Richard Childress Racing), it was probably one of our worst racetracks. It’s been one of our best since I came to SHR in 2014. For me, the thing I love about Dover is just the fact that it’s hammer down and you’re up on top of the wheel for 400 laps there. It’s violent. Everything about Dover is violent. It’s fast. You can just be aggressive with the car and you have to get in there and wrestle that thing all day because it’s bumpy, slings you up out of the corners, dumps you down in the corners, and there’s just a lot going on. The car is bouncing around a lot and, with as rough as the cars have been just as the ride goes, we are in for a rough ride when we get to Dover this weekend. It’s one of my favorite racetracks to go and race on.”

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