Darlington: Tony Stewart NASCAR Busch Preview

May 10

STEWART TO RACE FOR DOLLAR GENERAL: Tony Stewart’s No. 33 will adorn Dollar General colors this weekend at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway for Friday night’s Busch Series event. Stewart joins fellow KHI drivers Burney Lamar and Kevin Harvick on the Dollar General Racing lineup card. Stewart will again pilot a No. 33 Dollar General Chevrolet in July when the Busch Series competes at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. This weekend’s race will be just the fourth Busch Series start of the season for Stewart. His last start came two weeks ago at Talladega. His day ended by sliding on the roof of the No. 33 Old Spice Chevrolet down the frontstretch as a result of a mid-race accident.

STEWART A ROOKIE, ALMOST: Certainly Tony Stewart is far from a rookie, but when it comes to Busch Series racing at Darlington, Stewart has just two starts to his record. Those starts came in 1996 and 1998. It has been eight years since Stewart’s last Busch Series start at Darlington. His teammate and rookie driver Burney Lamar will look to Stewart and car owner Kevin Harvick for much needed advice about Darlington, the track coined “The Lady In Black,” as Lamar will be making his first career start there this weekend.

THE LADY IN BLACK: Friday night’s Busch Series race at Darlington will be the first Busch race ever run under the lights at the track they call “The Lady in Black.” The historic 1.366-mile egg-shaped oval has seen plenty of action since it was first built in 1950, but Friday night’s race will be a first at Darlington.

LOWE’S BUSCH TESTING: Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) will take part in two days of Busch Series testing at Lowe’s Motor Speedway on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. The test is the fourth NASCAR scheduled test of the year for the Busch Series. Burney Lamar will test the No. 77 Dollar General Chevrolet on both days, before being joined by owner Kevin Harvick, who will test the No. 33 Chevrolet on Wednesday.

DID YOU KNOW?: Tony Stewart has just two career Busch Series starts at Darlington, and just 56 career Busch Series starts. Stewart competed in 24 Busch Series events from 1996-1998. He then took a five year hiatus from the series before returning in 2003 for the Busch race at Michigan International Speedway, his only Busch Series start that season. Stewart has four poles, two wins, 13 top-five and 14 top-10 finishes in 56 starts.

KEVIN HARVICK INC. HOLDING STRONG IN POINT STANDINGS: Although four different drivers have been behind the wheel of the No. 33 this season, the Wally Rogers-led crew sits 10th in the Owner’s standings, 17 points behind ninth-place. Burney Lamar, driver of the No. 77 KHI Dollar General Chevrolet, leads the Rookie-of-the-Year standings, and sits 12th in the driver points, 25 points out of the top-10.

KEVIN HARVICK INC. TEAMS UP WITH CYSTIC FIBROSIS FOUNDATION: Ron Hornaday’s Silverado will carry the Cystic Fibrosis banner in the NASCAR Truck Series event at Lowe’s Motor Speedway on May 19. KHI has partnered with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to raise awareness and funds to support vital research and care programs. The companies have joined forces to sponsor “Fast Lane to a Cure,” a dinner to be held on May 16 featuring silent and live auctions, entertainment and a guest speaker. Three drivers from the KHI family will be in attendance at the event, including Burney Lamar, Ron Hornaday and Kevin Harvick. The dinner will benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

KHI QUOTEBOOK

Crew Chief: Wally Rogers

RICHMOND WAS A MUCH NEEDED FINISH FOR THE NO.33, HOW’S THE ATTITUDE GOING INTO DARLINGTON? “Everyone’s still just as focused as ever. We just had a couple of bad weeks, but we rebounded well at Richmond, and we’re looking forward to a great run on Friday night.”

STEWART HAS JUST TWO BUSCH SERIES STARTS AT DARLINGTON, WILL THAT MAKE A DIFFERENCE THIS WEEKEND? “It shouldn’t be any big deal at all for Stewart, he’s got a ton of laps there in a Cup car. The tires still wear out just the same in the Busch Series as they do in the Cup Series, so he’ll know what to expect from that. It’s hard to believe that he’s only got two Busch Series starts there.”

TECHNICAL INFORMATION

§ KHI crew chief Wally Rogers will load chassis No. 008 onto the transporter for competition at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway. Chassis No. 008 was raced several times in 2005, before receiving a new body over the winter at KHI. This weekend’s race will be the first race of the season for chassis No. 008.

§ The NASCAR Busch Series Diamond Hill Plywood 200 presented at Darlington Raceway can be seen live on FX at 8:00 p.m. ET. MRN will carry the live radio broadcast.

Greg Engle, the Editor of the Cup Scene Daily is seeking employment within the motorsports journalism industry. If you are interested, please contact him at:
greg@cupscene.com

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