Talladega, Alabama - 4/28/2009 -

Ryan Newman definitely put Rheem in the limelight when he made his first career superspeedway start in the Nationwide Series at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway on Saturday, April 25.  Newman and the No. 33 Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) Rheem team started the Aaron’s 312 from the pole position, Newman’s first superspeedway pole in any NASCAR series, and he narrowly missed victory as first-time winner David Ragan made a pass in the final yards of the last lap to earn his first career win in NASCAR.
 
“I have to thank everyone at KHI for putting together a great car and to Kevin and DeLana (Harvick) for letting me drive this car,” said Newman after climbing from the No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet. “(Crew Chief) Ernie Cope and these guys worked hard and we had a great day. We were in a good situation there with (Dale Earnhardt) Junior pushing us; I just didn’t expect the 6 car (Ragan) to come so fast, but I guess he had someone pushing him. These ECR engines are great, good enough to win the pole and good enough to win the race.”
 
 By crossing the finish line in second place, the No. 33 team now leads the NASCAR Nationwide Series Owner’s Point Standings by 22 points over the No. 18 of Joe Gibbs Racing.    
 
UP NEXT FOR THE #33 RHEEM CHEVROLET:
Kevin Harvick will return to the No. 33 Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) Rheem Tankless Hot Water Heaven Chevrolet this week at Richmond (Va.) Intenational Raceway (RIR). When Harvick climbs behind the wheel, he will be looking for his fifth win at the .75-mile track and the fifth win for KHI in the Nationwide Series.
 
“We got our first win this season, came close to a few more wins and now we’re looking to score another win this weekend at Richmond in the Rheem Tankless Hot Water Heaven Chevrolet,” said Harvick. “We’re bringing the car that we won Bristol with and hopefully at the end of the day, we can get it back in Victory Lane for KHI and Rheem.”

CONCORD, NC - 5/26/2009 -

Race/Date:        Coca-Cola 600– May 25, 2009
Location:           Lowe’s Motor Speedway – Concord, N.C.
Start Position:   22nd
Finish Position:  41st
Points Position: 23rd (Lost two positions)

CONCORD, NC – Kevin Harvick and the No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet team suffered a handful of setbacks during the opening laps of the Coca-Cola 600, leaving the Richard Childress Racing team several laps down to the race leaders when the race was called 173 laps short of its scheduled distance.
 
Contact with another car, a deflated tire that sent Harvick into the outside retaining wall and a speeding penalty contributed to the No. 29 team’s 41st-place finish. The less-than-desired result also dropped the Shell-Pennzoil team two spots, to 23rd, in the NASCAR Spring Cup Series point standings after 12 events.
 
After rain postponed the start of the race from Sunday afternoon until midday Monday, Harvick rolled off the starting grid from the 22nd position, and almost immediately reported his car had a loose-handling condition. His troubles began on lap 13 when he made contact with the car of Sam Hornish Jr. The incident damaged the right-front fender on the Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet, but Harvick was able to remain on track.
 
On lap 16, the right-front tire on Harvick’s car lost pressure, causing him to hit the outside retaining wall. The debris from that incident caused NASCAR to call for a caution period, and Harvick came to pit road.
 
Crew chief Gil Martin called his driver in for two pit stops during the caution period, once for tires and again for repairs.
 
Harvick restarted the race 43rd on lap 20, but managed to remain on the lead lap. He informed Martin the car now had tight-handling characteristics, which resulted in slower lap times.
 
Fortunately, NASCAR called for a competition caution on lap 40 to allow teams to assess how their cars, which were set up in anticipation of racing on Sunday night, were faring in the midday weather conditions.
 
Martin and crew took advantage of the opportunity, putting four new tires on the yellow and red machine and taping a new fender over the damaged sheet metal on the Shell-Pennzoil machine.
 
Restarting the race 42nd on lap 45, Harvick reported the handling on his car had loosened up quite a bit.
 
A lap 70 caution gave him the chance to come in for more repairs and service. A few laps later, NASCAR displayed the red flag when rain settled back into the area. After a 55-minute delay, the red flag was lifted and the field made a number of laps under yellow-flag conditions, allowing Harvick several more opportunities to pit for repairs.
 
Once NASCAR displayed the green flag on lap 79, Harvick found his car was now “super tight” getting into the turns, causing him to fall a lap down to the race leaders.
 
Around lap 128, Harvick was back on pit road for fresh tires and more adjustments. When the No. 29 returned to the track, the team’s spotter, Bill O’Dea, had the unenviable task of telling his crew NASCAR was penalizing Harvick for driving too fast coming on to pit road. This meant the 11-time Sprint Cup Series winner had to come back down pit road for a “pass through” penalty. With the race under green-flag conditions at the time, the No. 29 machine lost another lap.
 
When rain slowed the field again on lap 163, Martin brought his driver back in for extensive repairs. The crew determined the splitter, situated below the car’s front bumper, was broken, which negatively affected the car’s handling. The decision was made to replace the right half of the splitter, which required the old piece to be unbolted and a new one bolted into place. In all, Harvick made four pit stops during the 16-lap caution period to facilitate the change.
 
Once he returned to the race, Harvick found his car was again loose getting into and off of the corners. While the team planned to make more chassis adjustments, rain began falling again on lap 221. After the field made six laps under caution, the cars were brought down pit road on lap 227 as the precipitation increased and the red flag was displayed.
 
After officials waited to see if a window of opportunity would allow workers to dry the track, the persistent rain forced NASCAR to call an end to the event. By staying out on track when the other leaders pitted during the final caution period, David Reutimann assumed the lead and scored his first NSCS win. Ryan Newman, Robby Gordon, Carl Edwards and Brian Vickers rounded out the top five.
 
Harvick’s RCR teammates Jeff Burton, Casey Mears and Clint Bowyer, finished 25th, 33rd and 36th, respectively.
 
The NSCS competitors now head to the “Monster Mile,” Dover (Del.) International Speedway. The Autism Speaks 400 will air live on FOX, Sunday, May 31, beginning at 1:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The race will also be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and Sirius XM Satellite Radio.
 
Qualifying for the 13th points-paying race of the 2009 NSCS season can be seen on SPEED, Friday, May 29, at 3 p.m. EDT.
 
Kevin Harvick Quote:
"What a day. It just wasn't our weekend. I got together with the (No.) 77 about 10 laps into the race. Then a tire went down and I hit the wall and messed up the fender. Later on, we got a speeding penalty. I was asking myself, 'What's next?' I'm sorry for the fans that they didn't get to see 600 miles, but I'm not sad this day's over."