Won and Done

KERNERSVILLE, N.C. (Feb. 8, 2010) After 41 career NASCAR Nationwide Series
starts stretched out over five seasons, Tony Stewart finally scored his
first Nationwide Series victory when he won the 2005 season-opener at
Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway driving for an upstart Kevin Harvick
Inc. (KHI). The win was also the first for the team owned by NASCAR Sprint
Cup Series driver Kevin Harvick and wife DeLana.

Flash forward to the 2010 Nationwide Series season-opener at Daytona where
Stewart is back driving for KHI in the No. 4 Oreo/Ritz Chevrolet Impala in
what will be his one and only planned Nationwide Series appearance of the
year.

In the 47 Nationwide Series starts since that maiden win, Stewart has racked
up seven other victories. And of his eight career wins in NASCARs junior
division, four have come in the season-opening race at Daytona. Two of the
four wins have come with KHI, as Stewart scored back-to-back triumphs in the
2005-2006 season-openers. Those were the first and second career wins of
his Nationwide Series career, and ironically, the first two Nationwide
Series wins in KHIs history.

Now theyre back together at the racetrack that put KHI on the map and
provided Stewart his long-awaited Nationwide Series victory. Making the
pairing complete is having veteran crew chief Butch Hylton call the shots
for Stewart in 2010, just as he did in 2005.

The simple goal is to win, something Stewart has proven quite adept at,
especially in the kickoff race at Daytona. The two-time Sprint Cup champion
and former IndyCar Series champion has won four of the last five
season-opening Nationwide Series races at Daytona. A wayward eighth-place
finish in 2007 is sandwiched between back-to-back victories in 2005-2006 and
2008-2009. Making this recent run even more phenomenal is that Stewart has
won these races driving for three different owners Kevin and DeLana
Harvick in 2005-2006, Joe Gibbs in 2008 and Rick Hendrick in 2009.

Coming right out of the box and winning on the Nationwide Series biggest
stage has become a familiar storyline for Stewart, and if he is to repeat
the performance yet again and go for three straight wins in the
season-opener, it will be hugely appropriate as Stewart is carrying the
colors of two products that always delight right out of the box.

His representation of Kraft Foods Oreo and Ritz brands on the No. 4
Chevrolet fielded by KHI is a byproduct of the companys holistic
partnership with Stewart and the Sprint Cup team he co-owns with Haas
Automation Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR).

The iconic Oreo cookie and Ritz cracker brands are SHRs official cookie and
cracker, with Stewart and his Sprint Cup teammate Ryan Newman carrying the
brands colors on their respective uniforms and cars. But adding some
flavor to the pairing of Stewart and Kraft Foods is the No. 4 Oreo/Ritz
Chevrolet. Just as its the figurative vehicle to launch the partnership of
Oreo and Ritz with Stewart, its also the literal vehicle Stewart will use
in his attempt to put Oreo and Ritz inside Daytonas victory lane.

So with one shot at a Nationwide Series win this season, Stewart has gone
retro, teaming with the crew chief and organization that brought him his
first career Nationwide Series victory.

While the term one and done usually provides a negative connotation,
Stewart plans on switching up that line of thinking by being won and done
come the end of Saturdays Nationwide Series race at Daytona.

Tony Stewart, Driver of the No. 4 Oreo/Ritz NASCAR Nationwide Series
Chevrolet Impala at Daytona

Your first career Nationwide Series win came with KHI at Daytona in February
2005, and you won with them again at Daytona in February 2006. Whats it
like to be back driving for them at Daytona in 2010?

Im excited about it. I love Kevin and DeLana. Theyre some of my best
friends. I enjoy the opportunity to be able to drive with them again. Ive
had fun with them. Its always nice to know that DeLana is there on race
day and supportive of what were doing. Shes just as into it when Kevins
behind the wheel. Its fun. Its like driving for some of your best
friends.


Youve won the first race of the Nationwide Series season four times. How
nice is it to start the year with a win, and how much confidence does it
give you going into the Daytona 500?

Its always a bonus when you can win on Saturday before going into the
biggest race of the year on Sunday. To get a Nationwide win there, thats
how you like to go to bed the night before the Daytona 500, knowing that
youve got that trophy sitting out there on your desk from what you did
Saturday afternoon.


How difficult is it to win one race at Daytona, never mind two in a row
something youve done twice?

Restrictor-plate races at Daytona are always a wild-card race. You never
know whos going to win. We were fortunate enough to win one and then back
it up the next year. To do it back-to-back like that once, never mind
twice, is something were really proud of.


What makes you so successful at Daytona, particularly in the season-opening
Nationwide Series race?

I dont know. Ive had a lot of luck there. A lot of it has just been
being at the right place at the right time, and making calls that were a
little edgy on pit strategy to put ourselves in position at the end. Ive
had great cars to drive every time there. Weve just been one of those guys
that everybody knows that when were out there, were a threat in that
division. So when it comes to the end of it, weve had some pretty good
help.


In order to win a restrictor-plate race, youve got to have drafting help.
How do you get that help?

I think its more a situation of guys finding the fast cars, and you
finding the guys that you know are going to go with you because they know
youre quick. If they go with you, theyre going to get you to the front,
which is going to get them to the front. Its kind of help me, help you.


Are there certain guys youve worked with at restrictor-plate races in the
past that you know youre going to draft with?

You have a list of guys that you know youre drafting with, and then
theres another list of guys that youre all right with, and theres another
list of guys that you dont want to be around. So you always know who the
guys are you want to be with and who youd rather not see anywhere near
you.


Is there any strategy involved in running a restrictor-plate race, or is it
just a matter of taking advantage of the opportunities that are presented?

The strategy is making sure youve got somebody you can draft with. You
have to take the opportunities as they come, but with those opportunities
you have to make a very quick decision. Youve got to think, What happens
if I try this and it doesnt work? What are the ramifications going to
be? You dont have the luxury of sitting down and taking the time to
analyze the situation. Youve got to make a split-second decision. A lot
of times itll work, but there are times when the decision that you made
doesnt work. But once youve committed yourself to doing something,
theres not much you can do about it.


Two of your 14 career wins at Daytona have come with KHI. Can you talk
about their preparation leading into that race?

Its a small team size-wise, but as far as equipment and everything, Kevin
and DeLana prepare cars that are some of the best cars in the Nationwide
series. To have a KHI car and to have Oreo and Ritz with us for that race,
it makes for a potent combination.


Kevin and DeLana Harvick have said that you racing for them in the early
years of KHI helped get their race team off the ground. As a still
relatively new Sprint Cup owner, can you see how valuable your time behind
the wheel was for them?

I think they underestimate what they did for themselves. They put together
a great organization, which enabled me to win with them and for Kevin to win
in his own car. Theyve had the capability and the opportunity to be in
victory lane a lot since they started that team, and weve got another shot
to get another win for them this weekend at Daytona.


Are you going to bankrupt Kraft Foods, the parent company of Oreo and Ritz,
because in addition to sponsoring you, theyre giving you and the race team
all the product you want?

We wont bankrupt them from a cash standpoint, but were going to hurt them
on product, for sure.


You accomplished a lot off the track last year. Do you take a sense of
pride in knowing that heres another marquee company in Kraft Foods with
some iconic brands, Oreo and Ritz, signing on with you, and youre getting
to represent them in one of the biggest races of the year?

Yes. It makes me proud of my organization and the people we have here who
have worked so hard to put us in those positions to have major companies
like Kraft Foods come on board. It legitimizes what were doing here and
shows that were a company that these Fortune 500 companies can have hope
and faith in.


Meet the No. 4 Oreo/Ritz Team of Kevin Harvick Inc.

Primary Team Members:

Driver: Tony Stewart
Crew Chief: Butch Hylton

Car Chief: Mark Petty

Engine Builder: Earnhardt-Childress Racing

Engine Tuner: provided by Earnhardt-Childress Racing

Spotter: Bob Jeffrey

Over-The-Wall Crew Members:

Gas Man: Ricky Simmons
Front Tire Changer: Kelly Kellis

Catch Can Man: Donald Colwell
Front Tire Carrier: Todd Drakulich

Windshield: Mark Petty
Rear Tire Changer: Daniel Smith

Jack Man: Mike Casto
Rear Tire Carrier: Mike Shrek Morneau

Road Crew Members:

Mechanics: Mark Petty, Donald Colwell and Terry Krusinski
Tire Specialist: Troy Kelley

Transporter Driver: Wayne Hassenmeyer
Shock Specialist: Ron Drake


The Car

Chassis No. 043: This chassis is a staple among Kevin Harvick Inc.s lineup
of superspeedway cars. In 2009, Chassis No. 043 ran all three
restrictor-plate races on the NASCAR Nationwide Series schedule Daytona in
February, Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway in April and Daytona in July. Team
owner Kevin Harvick wheeled this car at both Daytona races, while Ryan
Newman drove it at Talladega. Harvick won the pole with Chassis No. 043 in
last years season-opener at Daytona and led twice for four laps before
finishing 11th. Newman also picked up a pole with this chassis when he ran
Talladega, where he led three times for 21 laps the second-highest total
of the race en route to a strong runner-up finish to race winner David
Ragan. With Harvick back behind the wheel for the series return visit to
Daytona in July, the driver/owner qualified third and finished 10th. The
2010 Nationwide Series season-opener will mark Chassis No. 043s fourth
career start and first with Tony Stewart as its driver.

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