RCR Team Advance – Daytona 500 Advance

Richard Childress Racing

 

 

   

This Week’s PEAK/Menards Chevrolet … Paul Menard will pilot chassis No. 409 for both the Budweiser Duel and Daytona 500. This No. 27 Chevrolet SS is a new addition to the Richard Childress Racing stable this season.

 

Stats for “The Great American Race”… Menard has 11 starts at Daytona International Speedway. His best start of first came in July 2008 and his best finish of sixth came in last year’s Daytona 500. The Wisconsin native has completed 1,933 of 1,948 laps attempted at the 2.5-mile superspeedway, leading 37 of them.

 

PEAK Colors Adorn the Hood of No. 27 Menards Chevrolet …PEAK’s parent company, Old World Industries, LLC, headquartered outside of Chicago in Northbrook, Ill., was founded more than 30 years ago. Today, the company conducts business in more than 52 countries around the Globe and is a symbol of growth and success. Peak Performance Products provides a variety of consumer products for automotive enthusiasts. For more information, visit www.peakauto.com.

 

Time to Duel … The Budweiser Duels at Daytona feature two 150-mile races to determine the final starting grid for the Daytona 500. By virtue of qualifying 14^th in last Sunday’s qualifying session, Menard will start seventh in the second of the two qualifying races on Thursday, Feb. 21.

 

Let’s Get “Sirius”… Be sure to tune in to Sirius XM Radio Channel 90 at 3:15 p.m.ET on Saturday, Feb. 23. Menard will join hosts Dave Moody and Angie Skinner atop the Fan Deck at Daytona International Speedway to chat about what to expect heading into Sunday’s Daytona 500.

 

Don’t Miss Your Chance to See Paul Menard at the Chevy Q&A … Fans can participate in a question-and-answer session with Menard on Saturday, Feb. 23 at 12:30 p.m. ET on the Team Chevy Stage, located in the merchandise area outside of Turn 4.

 

PAUL MENARD QUOTES:

Paul Menard’s Strategy for the Budweiser Duels on Thursday:

“We aren’t locked into the “500”, so we’ve got to go race. After watching the Sprint Unlimited Saturday night, the cars seemed to drive pretty well, even though it was really cold out. We are going to be racing the Duels on Thursday in the daylight. I’m not sure what the temperature is going to be, but nonetheless it’s going to be a little more of a handful. We’ve got to keep the nose clean on our PEAK/Menards Chevrolet and just go out and race hard.”

 

Menard’s Thoughts on the Daytona 500:

“There are a lot of unknowns going into the Daytona 500. We learned a little bit about how this new Gen-6 car will handle in the draft during testing in January and practice last week. I think it’s going to be a handful in the draft. We will get some drivability built into the cars between now and the “500”, but it’s going to be a wild race. It feels a lot like the old surface before they repaved it. It has a lot less grip and the cars slide around quite a bit, but that what makes for a fun and exciting race.”

 

 

 

This Week’s Budweiser Chevrolet at Daytona International Speedway …  Kevin Harvick will pilot Chassis No.407 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable in both the Budweiser Duel and Daytona 500. New to the fleet, this Chevrolet SS will run its first competitive laps at the 2.5-mile superspeedway during Budweiser Speedweeks. 

  

 The Champion Returns … When the 2007 Daytona 500 champion takes the green flag for the 55^th running of the “Great American Race”, it will mark his 24^th points-paying Sprint Cup Series appearance at the 2.5-mile superspeedway. Over the years, the Bakersfield, Calif., native has collected two victories (2007 Daytona 500 and July 2010), five top-five and 10 top-10 finishes. Harvick is also credited with 178 laps led.

 

Hitching a Ride… On Wednesday, Feb 20, Harvick and wife DeLana will honor Ormond Beach, Fla., Marine veterans with a home delivery of Daytona 500 tickets via the Budweiser Clydesdale hitch. Jayson and Justin Ryter, 22-year-old twin brothers, both completed four years of active duty in the United States Marine Corps and recently returned home after being honorably discharged to pursue college degrees at Daytona State College. Media interested in attending should contact Annette Randall, director of communications for Elevation Group, at [email protected].

 

Draught-ing School… While on-track at DIS, drivers focus on drafting, but on Wednesday night Harvick will learn about draught beer as he and Budweiser’s own Scott Seggi host a private Budweiser Draught School event in Daytona Beach, Fla., for local retailers.

 

Budweiser Clydesdales… DIS fans can get a close look at the Budweiser Clydesdales, an enduring symbol of Anheuser-Busch’s heritage, tradition and commitment to quality for nearly 80 years. The Budweiser Clydesdales will be stationed in the DIS midway for the remainder of Budweiser Speedweeks. In addition, the hitch, consisting of eight Clydesdales, the famous red, white and gold beer wagon, and two drivers seated next to the hitch’s signature mascot Dalmation will take part in a pre-race parade lap prior to the Budweiser Duel on Thursday, Feb. 21 and the Daytona 500 on Sunday, Feb. 24.

 

Dueling for a Position … Harvick and the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet team posted the 25th-fastest lap in Daytona 500 qualifying, earning the team a 13th-place starting spot in the first Budweiser Duel 150 race on Thursday, Feb. 21. SPEED will provide live television coverage of the twin qualifying races starting at 2 p.m. Eastern Time.

 

You’ve Got Questions, He’s Got Answers … Harvick will participate in a fan question-and-answer session prior to the start of the Daytona 500 on Sunday, Feb. 24 at 9:40 a.m. ET at the Team Chevy Stage.

 

2012 Race Rewind … Harvick and the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet team finished seventh in the 54th running of the Daytona 500 after being delayed one day by rain and a fire that erupted as a car made contact with a jet dryer.

KEVIN HARVICK QUOTE:

Kevin Harvick discusses the unknowns heading into the Daytona 500.

“I think you have to keep an open mind about things. You have to be ready for anything as we go through the week. Budweiser Speedweeks is always a little bit different than every other race, because the week kind of evolves from start to finish. I’ve been through weeks where we’ve wrecked anything in sight, and I’ve been through weeks where you’ve won races and been successful through the week. You have to stay calm and not get too high on the highs or too low on the lows and be ready for Sunday.”

 

Kevin Harvick shares what he has learned about restrictor-plate racing throughout the years.

“The biggest thing is you have to try and be around at the end. We have been successful with varying strategies as we’ve gone through the years, especially running in the back. I think the safest place to be, especially right now, is running up front, to be able to understand the cars and you wind up with a little more experience on when to make the move. We’re going to race hard, and see where we fall in the end and hopefully miss the wrecks.”