With just one race left in the 2010 Sprint cup season, it seems most have counted out or all together forgotten Kevin Harvick. While Harvick is winless in the Chase- in fact he hasn’t won since Michigan in August- the driver of the No. 29 Pennzoil Chevrolet has the best average finish (sixth) in the nine races that have been run in this year’s Chase. Happy also has the best average start and finish of his two title contenders at the Homestead-Miami Speedway: in nine starts Harvick has averaged an 11.6 starting position and an eighth place finish. He also led 56 laps in his third place finish last season, has never finished outside the top 20, and has never failed to complete a lap there. But in terms of qualifying this season, including for Sunday’s Ford 400, hasn’t been Harvick’s strong point. Overall, his starting position through 2010 has been 20th; in the 26 races preceding the Chase (17 of which saw the No. 29 in the points lead), his average start was 18.96, and during the nine Chase races he’s averaged a start of 26th. With a 28th place starting position this Sunday, will the underdog 46 points behind Denny Hamlin be able to rebound as he has all year long, or has Harvick dug himself too deep of a hole? It wasn’t but a year ago that Harvick was no where near title contention. He finished 19th in points, had yet another winless season (ending last season with a 107 race winless streak) and led just three races. Harvick’s relationship with team owner Richard Childress was also a point of concern throughout 2009. Several even questioned whether the contentious relationship between the two would lead to Harvick leaving the legendary team. But with a new year came new cars, new opportunities, and a new Kevin Harvick. He ended his 117 winless streak this past spring in Talladega, and also won in Daytona and Michigan. RCR signed him to a multi-year extension, and new sponsor Budweiser came on board. “Richard and I put a lot of things to bed, personally and professionally,” Harvick said of the pair’s relationship this year. “He wants to be in Victory Lane and he wants to win the championship. Those are a lot of the things Richard and I realized last year when we went through our spat. We wanted the same goals.” In stats, it’s been a career year for Harvick, who matches his career high 15 top fives in a season and has passed his former best of 20 top tens by five (both records set in 2006, where he had five wins). Harvick also made light of another change at this past Thursday’s championship press conference. The Bakersfield, CA native was just 25 when he was thrust into the NASCAR spotlight in 2001, after the tragic death of Dale Earnhardt. With Earnhardt’s shadow, his fans, his legendary sponsor, and his legacy hanging over the rookie driver, Harvick found himself resentful of The Intimidator. Nearly ten years since Earnhardt died, Harvick feels very differently about the circumstances surrounding the start of his Cup career. “All these old school Earnhardt fans have come out of nowhere,” Harvick explained. “The support has been great this week from the race fans, from people who hadn’t watched races for awhile. “This is no disrespect to Dale Jr. … but those people are looking for something to grab onto, and it’s almost been overwhelming this week, with the support of that crowd of fans. Those people are looking for something that was attached to Dale Sr. and to say they’re back on top again … It’s just been the support of not only my core group of fans, but you also have this whole different group of fans that all of the sudden is back interested in what we are doing as a team.” “And I’ve learned it’s not something you really want to get away from,” Harvick continued later. “It’s a great part of what RCR has done in this sport, and it’s great to carry that legacy on to be competitive for championships and winning races and doing the things we’ve done this year.” Harvick said he’d do “whatever it takes’ to win the championship on Sunday. And regardless of what happens on November 21st- whether Harvick, with that small No. 3 on the door, can rise from the ashes of a deep starting spot to take home his first Spring cup title, or loses out to Johnson or Hamlin- one thing is certain: Kevin Harvick, and Richard Childress Racing, are back. “(A championship) would be very special for RCR,” Childress said this week. And Earnhardt Nation would be very happy about that, too. Thanks to Jayski, NASCAR.com, Racing Reference, USA Today and ESPN with the statistics, information and quotes used in this piece.
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