Kentucky: Shelby Howard preview

BACK TO BACK: Shelby Howard will be behind the wheel of the No. 2 Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) entry for the second week in a row, making his third and final start of 2010 in the Foretravel Motorcoach Chevrolet Silverado. In his two previous starts, Howard earned an 11th-place finish at O'Reilly (Ind.) Raceway Park at Indianapolis, and a 31st-place finish after engine failure at Chicagoland Speedway.

CARBON COPY: Howard hopes for vindication at Kentucky Speedway after his strong start but disappointing finish at Chicagoland. Howard can expect a very similar racetrack at Kentucky Speedway to what he experienced at Chicagoland Speedway last weekend, because the two intermediate-track races have very similar characteristics. Both tracks are 1.5-mile speedways, and both races will run 225 scheduled miles. Kentucky is a slightly flatter track, with 14-degree turns and eight to 14-degree straightaways, as opposed to Chicagoland's 18-degree turns and five to 11-degree straights. Howard will also return with the same truck he raced last weekend at the Joliet, Illinois track.

THOUGHTS FROM THE DRIVER: Shelby Howard

What are your thoughts going into the race at Kentucky Speedway?

"I'm really looking forward to getting back on track at Kentucky Speedway, since we had such a disappointing race at Chicagoland Speedway. That was probably the best truck I've ever had on a mile-and-a-half track, and I know we would have had a top-10 if we hadn't blown up. We're bringing the same truck to Kentucky, so hopefully we can get the finish we should have had in Chicago."

CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 2 team will once again utilize chassis No. 044 this weekend at Kentucky Speedway. The No. 044 chassis was driven by Howard last weekend at Chicagoland Speedway to a 31st-place finish following an engine failure.

-source: khi