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NASCAR NEWS

In the final appearance of the camouflage-themed paint schemes as part of the Realtree ‘Chevy Driven to the Outdoors’ (DTTO) program, Kevin Harvick finished 13th in his No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet Saturday night under the lights at Lowe’s Motor Speedway (LMS) in the Bank of America 500.

Realtree, along with Chevy, Shell and Motorsports Authentics partnered in the DTTO program to excite NASCAR fans with a passion for the great outdoors.

  It was an eventful race Saturday night at LMS, the half-way point of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup and the only night race in the final 10-race run to crown the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) champion.  Despite battling handling problems early in the race, Harvick’s finish maintained the sixth position in Chase championship point standings with just five events remaining in the 2008 season.

The field was set according to the NASCAR rule book after persistent rain cancelled Thursday night’s qualifying session.  Harvick took the green flag on Saturday in the sixth position.

From the beginning of the 500-mile race, Harvick knew it was going to be a long night.  His No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil ‘Driven to the Outdoors” Chevrolet started off driving tight and the Bakersfield, California native had his work cut out for him.

After 43 laps of green-flag racing the caution flag waved for the first time allowing Harvick to come to pit road for adjustments and service.  The Shell-Pennzoil team put a spring rubber in the right rear and air in the right front tire.  They also gave the 2007 Daytona 500 Champion tires and fuel and sent him back out for the restart in the 13th position.

The two-time Nationwide Series champion returned to pit road under caution on lap 57 for more adjustments.  As racing resumed, Harvick reported his Richard Childress Racing crew that the car was getting worse.  Harvick brought the No. 29 Driven to the Outdoors Chevy back down the pit lane on lap 65 for tires, fuel and more adjustments.  This time he returned to the track for the restart in the 28th position as several other cars chose not to pit.

Harvick continued to run just outside the top 25 when the first round of green-flag pit stops began on lap 98.  When caution came out on lap 102, Harvick returned to pit road and received a track bar adjustment along with tires and fuel.  After green-flag racing resumed the Shell-Pennzoil team began to keep their eyes on the No. 29 Chevy as the brake rotors began to glow. 

When caution waved again on lap 121, Harvick reported to his team that the car was overall better and he felt they were going in the right direction with all the adjustments.  By lap 126, the California native had raced his bright yellow camo Chevy back into the top 20 and was running in the 17th position.

A second round of green-flag pit stops started just after the half way point with Harvick making his stop on lap 176.  The Shell-Pennzoil team kept working on the car throughout the second half of the race having to only make minor adjustments with each stop.

  The 32-year-old remained in the top 20 for the remainder of the race and took the checkered flag while running in the 13th spot.

"The Shell-Pennzoil Driven to the Outdoors Chevy was really tight at the beginning of the race,” said Harvick.  “Todd Berrier (crew chief) made a couple big adjustments and we finally got it were it was comfortable, but track position was everything tonight because clean air was the ticket.  We just couldn’t quite get clear of the traffic to get up there where we could get clean air on the nose of the car. It wasn't a bad day for our team and I am happy for (Jeff) Burton and the entire No. 31 team for their win tonight.

“it was an honor for our team to be a part of the Chevy Driven to the Outdoors program. We really wanted to get a win for them tonight. I am very proud of how we rallied and were able to score a decent finish.”

Clint Bowyer, No. 07 Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet, Paul Menard, No. 15 Menards Chevrolet, and Martin Truex, Jr., No. 1 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet kicked of DTTO at Bristol Motor Speedway in August.  Mike Wallace drove the No. 33 Realtree Driven to the Outdoors Chevrolet at Talladega last weekend.

In addition to a full line of NASCAR camouflage merchandise and memorabilia, the ‘Chevy Driven to the Outdoors’ program features unique sweepstakes that will ultimately reward one fan with a 2009 Chevy Silverado LTZ. Other prizes that will be included in the ‘Chevy Driven to the Outdoors’ Sweepstakes include a racing trip to Daytona Beach in February 2009, a hunting trip with Bill Jordan himself, Shell Gift cards and Chase Authentics Driven to the Outdoors hats.

To enter the Sweepstakes a participant must visit http://www.chevy.com/driven (the “Website”) during the Sweepstakes Period, read and accept these Official Rules and follow the instructions to complete and submit the registration form (“Entry”). All registration information requested must be provided. Registrations must be submitted by 11:59 PM ET on 12/8/08.

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