DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Rheem Manufacturing Co. announced a new primary sponsorship with Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI). The company will be the primary sponsor of the No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet driven by Kevin Harvick, KHI CEO, co-owner, and 2007 Daytona 500 champion.

Rheem will also be the primary sponsor of KHI’s No. 77 car driven by rookie Cale Gale. Along with sponsoring these vehicles, 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 manufacturer 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. The company said it 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 JR Jones, Rheem Manufacturing Co. president and COO.

“We are pleased to partner with Kevin and DeLana Harvick and the entire KHI team. 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.”

For more information, visit www.rheem.com or www.ruud.com.

Publication date: 03/17/2008