● While Kevin Harvick is racing for some cold, hard cash on Sunday night in the $1 million-to-win NASCAR All-Star Race, fans can tweet for something even better – beer and bacon for life. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver has joined his teammate, Aric Almirola, to deliver a lifetime supply of Busch Beer and Smithfield Bacon to the luckiest fan in the history of sponsor promotions. All fans need to do is tune into FS1’s broadcast of the All-Star Race beginning at 8 p.m. EDT on Sunday and follow @BuschBeer. Then, during the fourth lap and the 10th lap of every stage of the All-Star Race, tweet #BuschBacon for a chance to win the most coveted prize mankind has ever known – Busch Beer and Smithfield Bacon for life. Throughout the All-Star Race, Harvick’s No. 4 #BuschBacon Ford Mustang and Almirola’s No. 10 Smithfield #BuschBacon Ford Mustang will drive home the point that crispy Smithfield Bacon is best paired with a crisp Busch Light.
● Harvick has always been an all-star. Since his 2001 NASCAR Cup Series debut, Harvick has been a part of every NASCAR All-Star Race – the only active driver to do so. The driver of the No. 4 #BuschBacon Ford Mustang first earned entry into the All-Star Race by winning in just his third career Cup Series start on March 11, 2001 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth marks the 38th anniversary of the All-Star Race and it will be Harvick’s 22nd straight appearance in the race – the most of any active driver.
● Harvick is a two-time winner of the All-Star Race. He won the specialty non-points race for the first time in 2007 by leading the final 20 laps and crossing the stripe .141 of a second ahead of second-place Jimmie Johnson. Harvick scored his second All-Star win in 2019 when he led twice for 36 laps, including the last 11, to take the victory by .325 of a second over Daniel Suárez. Both victories came at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway.
● Charlotte hosted the first All-Star Race and 34 in total. The All-Star Race debuted on May 25, 1985 at Charlotte’s 1.5-mile oval and it was won by Darrell Waltrip. Atlanta hosted the All-Star Race in 1986 before returning to Charlotte for a 33-race run. The 2020 All-Star Race was held at the .533-mile Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, the first and only time the All-Star Race wasn’t held at a 1.5-mile oval. The All-Star Race returned to a 1.5-mile oval last June when Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth began hosting the All-Star Race.
● Harvick has seven top-five and 13 top-10 finishes in his 21 career All-Star Races. Harvick finished 15th in last year’s All-Star Race at Texas, ending a streak of three straight top-threes and four consecutive top-10s in the All-Star Race. Prior to last year’s All-Star Race, Harvick had finished third or better in five of the previous seven All-Star Races, including the 2020 All-Star Race at Bristol when he finished third.
● This year’s All-Star Race at Texas will be 125 laps and broken into four stages with the starting lineup being determined by a four-round qualifying format featuring head-to-head elimination rounds that highlight the speed and efficiency of each team’s pit crew. Here’s how qualifying will work:
● Opening round is the traditional single-car, one-lap format in reverse order of the current 2022 owner points.
● Fastest eight qualifiers transfer to a three-round, head-to-head elimination bracket.
● Elimination bracket will feature two cars staged in adjacent pit stalls near the end of pit road.
● At the sound of an alert, each pit crew will perform a four-tire stop and, at the drop of the jack, drivers will exit their respective pit stalls and return to the track, with no pit road speed limit.
● First car back to the start/finish line advances to the next round.
● Final pairing competes for the pole.
● Once the starting field is set, the 38th edition of the All-Star Race will consist of four stages, with the first three stages 25 laps in length and the fourth and final stage being a 50-lap shootout for the $1 million prize.
● Stage 1 (25 laps): Stage 1 winner will start on the pole in the final stage as long as he finishes 15th or better in Stages 2 and 3.
● Stage 2 (25 laps): Stage 2 winner starts second in final stage as long as he finishes 15th or better in Stage 3.
● Special Stage Break (Pit Stop Competition): Each team must pit and perform a four-tire stop.The team with the shortest time on pit road (pit in/pit out) wins the pit crew award, and the driver will start fourth in the final stage as long as he finishes 15th or better in Stage 3.
● Stage 3 (25 laps): Stage 3 winner starts third in final stage.
● Stage 4 (50 laps): Stage 1 winner starts first, Stage 2 winner starts second, Stage 3 winner starts third, and pit stop competition winner starts fourth.If a caution for an on-track incident or debris happens between laps 15-25 of the final stage, standard race procedures will be in effect. If there is no caution during that time, NASCAR will call a competition caution. Winner of Stage 4 earns $1 million.
| Kevin Harvick, Driver of the No. 4 #BuschBacon Ford Mustang |
| In this era of constant development with the NextGen car, is the All-Star Race a useful test session, both in terms of what you can learn now and what you can apply to Texas when you return there in late September for a regular, points-paying race?“You can definitely try some stuff, and you definitely have to approach the All-Star Race like it’s for the end of the year. Obviously, you want to put yourself in position to win the All-Star Race because that’s cool. But in the end, you want to have the right notes and things for the end of the year.” The 38th All-Star Race takes place Sunday at Texas. There has seemingly been 38 different sets of rules and formats for the All-Star Race. When do you attempt to figure out the rules and what you need to do during the race?“I’ve just gotten to the point where I don’t even pay attention to the rules and I just let them tell me the rules when we get there. It’s just too much to take in until the week of the race. I have Rodney (Childers, crew chief) give me an explanation before we go race because it’s up to them as far as what the strategy needs to be and how many sets of tires you have.” The one thing that has stayed the same over the years is the $1 million payout. How much of that do you get and what do you get to do with it?“I would say that each driver probably has a little bit different of a deal. Usually that percentage kind of varies between drivers, but you definitely don’t get it all.” This is your 22nd season in the NASCAR Cup Series and you’ll be making your 22nd straight appearance in the All-Star Race. You’re the only active driver who has been in the All-Star Race every single year of their NASCAR career. We’d call that a testament to your consistency. What would you call it?“I was fortunate to win the first year and qualify for the All-Star Race and, after that, we were able to win the All-Star Race a couple of times, so we make sure we stay in it every year. Obviously, winning a championship doesn’t hurt with your qualification for that, either. For me, I think as you look at the All-Star Race, it’s fun to be a part of. It’s unique and it’s different and all those things combined, so it’s always been an interesting race.” TSC PR |
