Childress to Harvick: "Shut up and drive"

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Be sure to catch the audio link.

http://blog.al.com/blogoftomorrow/2009/08/kevin_harvicks_frustration_mou.html



"Kevin Harvick hasn't been "Happy Harvick," the nickname he acquired early in his Cup career, for quite a while. He hasn't won since the Daytona 500 in 2007 and he's mired way back in the points this year.

And he definitely wasn't happy on Sunday at Michigan judging by his exchanges over the radio with team owner Richard Childress. You can listen to them at this link.

Harvick is notorious for complaining about the car and for being sarcastic in doing so. But he was especially irritated on Sunday when he complained because he thought a slow pit stop caused him to lose positions on the track and because he was moving backwards.

"You beat the 14 (Tony Stewart) out of the pits and he's going forward," Childress told him.

"I'm tired of listening to your excuses, Richard," Harvick snapped back.

"I'll talk to you about it later," Childress replied.

Later, Harvick complains that the wheel feels like it's going to fall off.

"Kevin, drive the car," Childress tells him. "I'm getting tired. You get paid to drive it. Drive it."

Childress made it known earlier in the summer that Harvick is under contract through 2010 -- to squash rumors of Harvick's desire to leave and drive for Tony Stewart's team. I guess we'll see if they make it together that long."

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Not sure what will become of this, should prove interesting.
 
The most interesting part of the audio is from about the 7 minute mark to the end. Childress does put it pretty plainly.
 
Typical if you don't like it fire me actions. How much does he make to sit and drive that car? :sarcasm:
 
There is ****y and confident and there is over ****y and over confident. Harvick falls in the latter.
 
GREAT AMERICAN RACE FAN said:
Harvicks out, who goes to the 29, Sadler?
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It would make sense for Sadler. Giving him one last shot to try to reach his potential.

That said, I have a feeling Childress will make breaking the contract as hard as possible on Harvick just for contrariness sake. This will be much more nasty than when Kurt left Roush.
 
would be nice if rcr could pull off a bobby labonte type of driver like gibbs did when dj left. hate to see them as a 2nd tier team. sadler seems risky at best.
 
SlowNeasy said:
would be nice if rcr could pull off a bobby labonte type of driver like gibbs did when dj left. hate to see them as a 2nd tier team. sadler seems risky at best.
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Yeah, he is risky. But RCR is the new Yates....second tier status is unavoidable in the era of the super-mega-teams.
 
It amazes me how short a memory some people have. It was only last year that RCR had 3 teams in the chase. One down year and everyone calls them has beens. :rolleyes:
 
muggle not said:
It amazes me how short a memory some people have. It was only last year that RCR had 3 teams in the chase. One down year and everyone calls them has beens. :rolleyes:
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Anyone else remember the struggles the 3 car went through when they added the 31?

Also remember the struggles the entire team had when they added a 3rd car?

RCR does not add teams very well, but they always recover. Nothing shows that they wont recover from this either.

Harvick always has felt that his **** doesnt stink. Loved to hear Richard say, your paid to drive it, drive it.
 
Yeah, Harvick has always had a bad attitude, no question.

As for RCR, it can be argued he hasn't been a true contender in sometime now. I just dont see ANY team competing with the big three of HMS, Roush and Gibbs. Unfortunately.
 
Harvick was forced to fill some very big shoes and did have some early success. What happened since? Who knows. I think his mind is elsewhere since starting KHI, Hornaday is killin' them in trucks. Modest success in NNW. He does have a relationship with Tony, maybe he's thinking if he gets fired Tony will pick him up for the 3rd team. ?????
 
Far and away his best option, yeah. I am sure he faces an uphill battle to break from RCR though.

Of course, Ive been wrong before.:D
 
I never understood the name "Happy Harvick" unless it was referenced in sarcasim. Actually, it sounds more like a bedroom name Delana would use.

I like him as a driver, but his attitude gets in the way a lot. But that's the sort of thing NASCAR needs more of.

Having said that, I think he's an owner stuck in a driver's body. Owning his own team has gotten him a taste of this, and I think he wants to be able to have more say-so at RCR.

I think he'll be much happier as a driver/owner like how Stewart is. Even if he isn't as successful as Tony, I think I'll be happier knowing that his choices directly impact his on-track performance.
 
mike honcho said:
watch his interviews he's ALWAYS smiling or laughing.
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Yep, he was just walking through the crowd to driver intros and you can tell he's smiling. Lots of the others just had a blank look on their faces.

IMG_0947.jpg
 
Harvick oughta be happy he gets to drive that car with a big dolllar sponsor on the hood in todays day in age. He's not Tony Stewart so I don't know how he'd do on his own with his own Cup deal I mean his NCTS & Nationwide runs have been really good but the Cup series is a whole nother deal. Things are all messed up, if he had been leaving and they had announced it a while ago then maybe RCR could've gotten Keselowski in that car...
 
Restrictor Plate King! said:
Harvick oughta be happy he gets to drive that car with a big dolllar sponsor on the hood in todays day in age. He's not Tony Stewart so I don't know how he'd do on his own with his own Cup deal I mean his NCTS & Nationwide runs have been really good but the Cup series is a whole nother deal. Things are all messed up, if he had been leaving and they had announced it a while ago then maybe RCR could've gotten Keselowski in that car...
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I agree, he should be thankful he has a ride at the moment. Start complaining next year when the economy is better (I hope) and he can afford too, plus it will be the last year of the contract.
 
Changes at RCR? Changes are coming at Richard Childress Racing. "We're getting ready to make a lot of changes to hopefully change [the performance]," Team owner Richard Childress said last weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway. He wouldn't get any more specific, but those close to the situation said there will be some major restructuring announced early this week that hopefully will improve performance. The organization already has made some changes within the teams to put the best at-the-track personnel with Clint Bowyer, the only one of RCR's four drivers with a shot at the Chase. Bowyer is 15th in points, 112 points out with two races remaining before the field is set. Jeff Burton is 18th, Casey Mears is 20th and Kevin Harvick is 24th. Childress has already switched the crew chiefs of Harvick and Mears in an attempt to improve performance, so any further changes likely will come in a shakeup of managerial or engineering structure.(ESPN)(8-24-2009)
 
Changes

Just keep wondering when Austin Dillon will pop into the picture. Could RC be spending a lot of his time with him? Wouldn't suprise me to see him in the black #3 some where on the nascar circuit. Anyway I too don't know where the term Happy Harvick came from, I think Ricky Rudd's "Yap Yap" should have stuck with him.
 
Mears is in 20th, I would of thought a lot lower than that. Worst move at RCR since he hired Mike Skinner. Oh, I forgot about Robby Gordon. Well, atleast Robby did win I guess.
 
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