Rheem Manufacturing Company announced today a new primary sponsorship with Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI). Rheem will be the primary sponsor of the No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet driven by KHI CEO and co-owner, and 2007 Daytona 500 Champion, Kevin Harvick.  Rheem will also be the primary sponsor of KHI’s No. 77 car driven by highly touted rookie Cale Gale.  Rheem will be the primary sponsor for four Nationwide Series premier races in 2008 and the company’s Ruud brand will be an associate sponsor for the same four races. 

The 77 car driven by Gale will debut for the season opener at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway on Feb. 16 and will race again at Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 8.  Harvick will drive the 33 car at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway (May 2) and at Lowe’s (N.C.) Motor Speedway (Oct. 10). Rheem has also signed on to be a KHI full-season associate sponsor of the 33 and 77 cars as well as on KHI’s 33 Chevrolet truck in the Craftsman Truck Series races.  Rheem is pleased to partner with Camping World and RoadLoans in sponsoring the KHI entries for 2008.

“Rheem is geared up for an exciting future and is seizing valuable opportunities to grow our company and to improve the consumer awareness of our quality products and brands,” said Rheem Manufacturing Company President and COO, JR Jones.   “We are pleased to partner with Kevin and DeLana Harvick and the entire KHI team.  These are fine, enthusiastic, young people who reflect in their business and personal lives a will to win through hard work, professionalism, and commitment to delivering a first rate effort at every opportunity.  We saw right from the first race at Daytona in 2007 that Kevin shares our vision and passion for quality, innovative thinking, and a fierce determination to win.”

The powerful, bold Rheem paint design features a black base body color strongly punctuated by a unique flame treatment that is the signature design element of the paint scheme. 

A new Rheem marketing slogan: “Gotta Have A Rheem” is being introduced on top of the rear deck lid.  Rheem has arranged to have in-car camera coverage of Harvick and Gale in all four of its primary sponsored races which will be carried by ESPN.

“I am happy to have Rheem jump on board and join the KHI racing family,” said Harvick. “I have built a strong relationship with Rheem over the last couple of years and look to continue that partnership here at KHI.” 

DeLana Harvick, co-owner of KHI, “We are proud to have Rheem, an award-winning manufacturer of central heating, cooling and water heating products, as a new partner here at KHI. Kevin and I have been fortunate to get acquainted with Rheem over the past couple of seasons and look forward to the up-coming season.”

Rheem will leverage its primary sponsorship throughout the season with exciting events and promotions for its independent distributor, contractor, and homebuilder partners as well as to increase brand awareness of Rheem and Ruud home comfort products. 

As a primary sponsor, the Rheem logo will be featured on the No. 33 and No. 77 cars in bold red and black on the hood, spoiler, and rear panels as well as on the teams’ fire suits, helmets and gloves. As an associate sponsor for all other races, the Rheem logo will be emblazoned on both Rheem cars in the C-post position behind the back window.  The Ruud brand logo will be prominently displayed on the C-post when Rheem is the primary sponsor.

Harvick, a two-time Nationwide^® Series champion (2006, 2001) and Rheem originally joined forces in 2007 when Rheem first came onto the NASCAR scene as the major associate sponsor of Richard Childress Racing’s No. 29 car driven by Harvick in the Sprint^® Cup Series.  Rheem recently announced that it had agreed to extend its associate sponsorship with RCR and Harvick through the 2009 Sprint ^® Cup season.

About Rheem Manufacturing Company
Rheem Manufacturing Company (www.rheem.com) is a privately held company with headquarters in Atlanta, Ga.  In its 81st year of operation, the company manufactures a full-line of high-quality residential and commercial heating, cooling, water heaters, swimming pool heaters and commercial boilers throughout North America and world markets.  The premium brands of Rheem Manufacturing Company include Ruud, Raypak and Rheem.  Rheem Manufacturing Company is the major associate sponsor of Richard Childress Racing and the No. 29 team driven by Kevin Harvick, 2007 Craftsman Truck Series Champion and 2006 Busch Series Champion.  Rheem is also the primary sponsor of Kevin Harvick Inc.’s No. 33 and No. 77 car for four high-profile Nationwide Series races in 2008.
 
About Kevin Harvick Inc.
Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI), established in 2001, is a 70,000 sq. ft. facility located in Kernersville, N.C.  KHI houses two full time Truck Series teams:  the No. 33 Camping World/VFW Chevrolet Silverado driven by three-time Truck Series champion Ron Hornaday as well as the No. 2 American Commercial Lines/RVs.com Chevrolet Silverado driven by three-time Truck Series champion Jack Sprague.  KHI is also home to the No. 33 Camping World/RoadLoans.com/ Rheem Chevrolet driven by Kevin Harvick, Ron Hornaday and Cale Gale and the No. 77 Rheem/VFW Chevrolet driven by Cale Gale and Ron Hornaday competing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. 2008 marks KHI’s fifth year of full-time competition in NASCAR’s elite divisions.  Please visit www.kevinharvickinc.com for more information.