Martinsville: Kevin Harvick preview

* This Week's Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet at Martinsville... Kevin Harvick will pilot Chassis No. 212 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. This Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet was used last year by Harvick at the May event at Richmond, where Harvick ran in the top 10 for a majority of the evening before getting caught up in an accident. This chassis secured two wins, both by fellow RCR teammate Clint Bowyer, at Loudon (Sept. 2007) and Richmond (May 2008).

* Career Martinsville Stats ... The Goody's Fast Pain Relief 500 marks Harvick's 328th career start in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

* In 17 Sprint Cup Series starts at the 0.526-mile oval, Harvick has claimed a total of seven top-10 finishes.

* He has completed 98.0 percent (8,342 of 8,551) of the total laps contested.

* He has led at least one lap in four Martinsville starts for a total of 147 laps.

* High Five ... Harvick has been especially strong at Martinsville over his last five starts. His worst starting position and worst finish over that span is 12th.

* Loopy in Martinsville ... The No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil driver owns some impressive Martinsville statistics via NASCAR's loop data. Over the last 10 Sprint Cup Series starts at Martinsville, Harvick has the seventh best average running position, owns the sixth best driver rating, and is sixth in total laps completed inside the top 15.

* Winner, Winner ... The Bakersfield, Calif., native owns one NASCAR Nationwide Series win (July 2006) and one NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win (Apr. 2009) at Martinsville.

§ Double Duty in Martinsville ... In addition to his driving duties with the No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet, Harvick will drive Kevin Harvick Incorporated's No. 2 Chevrolet Silverado in the March 27th Kroger 250 Camping World Truck Series event.

KEVIN HARVICK:

What do you think about NASCAR running the spoiler for the first time at Martinsville?

"I think a short track is a safe place to start with the spoiler. It gives you more time to work on your balance on your 1.5-mile program, and it's not going to really matter so much at a short track, so it's probably a good decision. Martinsville is the slowest race track that we go to, so it's a good place to start."

Looking at the stats for the last five races at Martinsville, you guys have been a solid top-10 car. What do you think it's going to take for you to get over the hump and get a top-five finish or a win?

"I think Clint ran really well there in the first race last year, and we all ran fairly well the second race. It's just one of those places where you have to be going good at the right time. If you get off a little bit during the middle of the race and lose your track position, it just takes too long to get back up there. Track position is really key, and you have to keep it for the entire race."

Is it easy to get frustrated at Martinsville when you get lined up single file, especially when you have a fast car?

"Yes, and it is actually a little aero-sensitive at Martinsville. When you get behind people off the corner, your car gets a little bit tighter. The corners are so tight, that you wind up beating and banging. You don't want to tear up your car, but you have to do something to progress through the field and make some track position, so it's just a fine balance between aggressiveness and taking care of your car."

Is having the overall lead in points a good psychological boost for you and the team?

"From a confidence standpoint, it's really important for us to keep doing the things that we are doing. You want to look ahead to make sure that you don't get behind, and you want to keep pushing things forward. The ball is in our court right now as far as how we push things forward, and how we make things happen. Leading the points in this part of the season is great, but really it only matters in the last ten."

-source: rcr