H
Happy29
Guest
From GreenvilleOnline.com
Kevin Harvick is Example A for the theory that change and improvement, which often occur at glacial speed in the world of NASCAR, can happen quickly.
A year ago, Harvick raced in a grand funk. He was at war with other drivers and the news media, he was placed on probation and "parked" for a race by NASCAR, and his career, which had started with fire and sass in 2001, seemed lodged in a grumpy neutral.
Fast forward to 2003. Harvick has given his bad-boy attire to Kurt Busch, has restored magic to Richard Childress Racing and basically has owned the Winston Cup series since the arrival of summer.
In the 10 races since June 22, Harvick has seven finishes inside the top five, has placed the marquee Brickyard 400 on his career win list and has finished lower than 12th only once — and that in a gas gamble at Chicago. He has finished second in the past three races.
Most strikingly, since the start of summer Harvick has climbed from 13th to third in the Winston Cup point standings, regaining the high ground that RCR often ruled during the Dale Earnhardt era.
Harvick was given the tough task of replacing Earnhardt after the seven-time champion's death in February 2001. He rose to the challenge, finishing ninth in Winston Cup points after winning in his third race in the RCR car.
Just for fun, he also raced the full Busch schedule that season and, oh, by the way, won that championship.
Last year, everything that went right in 2001 went wrong, and Harvick wrestled with both his results and his approach. The season spiraled south, and he wound up 21st in points with only one win.
Now, happy days are here again for the No. 1 team at RCR, and there is the feeling that the team's championship foundation is being rapidly rebuilt. Early in the year, owner Richard Childress and others admitted that the team was off course in its car preparation. Those problems appear to be in the past.
"We just decided to start racing, I guess," Harvick said. "We haven't done anything different. It's the same cars, the same motors. When you start clicking like that, and things start going good, you start getting in a rhythm. It's one of those mysterious things."
No less of a mystery, Harvick said, is how things went in the tank last year.
"It's like when it all went wrong we didn't plan on it all to go wrong," he said. "It just all went wrong. We couldn't hit on anything. It's a lot of little things that are adding up to something bigger."
Childress, who has been fighting fires within his team practically since Earnhardt's death, hasn't completed the rebuilding necessary to put all three cars on a consistently competitive level, but he said Harvick is back to a solid footing.
"Kevin is on his game," Childress said. "That's a huge part of it. He's on a mission, and when he gets on a mission and on his game, he's good. For a young man, he knows what he has to do. I'm proud of him.
"He gets so focused on what he has to do on race day. He knows what he's got to accomplish. You can call it 'in the zone' or 'on your game' or whatever, but that's where he is."
Harvick trails point leader Matt Kenseth by 415 with 11 races left. Barring calamity, Kenseth is a virtual lock to win his first championship.
Harvick's rebound this year, however, bodes well for future seasons.
"I think as all of us mature and do things and learn more about what we're doing, we understand more," Childress said. "He's understanding Winston Cup racing a lot more, understanding what commitment he has to it. I think he's really on it."
Kevin Harvick is Example A for the theory that change and improvement, which often occur at glacial speed in the world of NASCAR, can happen quickly.
A year ago, Harvick raced in a grand funk. He was at war with other drivers and the news media, he was placed on probation and "parked" for a race by NASCAR, and his career, which had started with fire and sass in 2001, seemed lodged in a grumpy neutral.
Fast forward to 2003. Harvick has given his bad-boy attire to Kurt Busch, has restored magic to Richard Childress Racing and basically has owned the Winston Cup series since the arrival of summer.
In the 10 races since June 22, Harvick has seven finishes inside the top five, has placed the marquee Brickyard 400 on his career win list and has finished lower than 12th only once — and that in a gas gamble at Chicago. He has finished second in the past three races.
Most strikingly, since the start of summer Harvick has climbed from 13th to third in the Winston Cup point standings, regaining the high ground that RCR often ruled during the Dale Earnhardt era.
Harvick was given the tough task of replacing Earnhardt after the seven-time champion's death in February 2001. He rose to the challenge, finishing ninth in Winston Cup points after winning in his third race in the RCR car.
Just for fun, he also raced the full Busch schedule that season and, oh, by the way, won that championship.
Last year, everything that went right in 2001 went wrong, and Harvick wrestled with both his results and his approach. The season spiraled south, and he wound up 21st in points with only one win.
Now, happy days are here again for the No. 1 team at RCR, and there is the feeling that the team's championship foundation is being rapidly rebuilt. Early in the year, owner Richard Childress and others admitted that the team was off course in its car preparation. Those problems appear to be in the past.
"We just decided to start racing, I guess," Harvick said. "We haven't done anything different. It's the same cars, the same motors. When you start clicking like that, and things start going good, you start getting in a rhythm. It's one of those mysterious things."
No less of a mystery, Harvick said, is how things went in the tank last year.
"It's like when it all went wrong we didn't plan on it all to go wrong," he said. "It just all went wrong. We couldn't hit on anything. It's a lot of little things that are adding up to something bigger."
Childress, who has been fighting fires within his team practically since Earnhardt's death, hasn't completed the rebuilding necessary to put all three cars on a consistently competitive level, but he said Harvick is back to a solid footing.
"Kevin is on his game," Childress said. "That's a huge part of it. He's on a mission, and when he gets on a mission and on his game, he's good. For a young man, he knows what he has to do. I'm proud of him.
"He gets so focused on what he has to do on race day. He knows what he's got to accomplish. You can call it 'in the zone' or 'on your game' or whatever, but that's where he is."
Harvick trails point leader Matt Kenseth by 415 with 11 races left. Barring calamity, Kenseth is a virtual lock to win his first championship.
Harvick's rebound this year, however, bodes well for future seasons.
"I think as all of us mature and do things and learn more about what we're doing, we understand more," Childress said. "He's understanding Winston Cup racing a lot more, understanding what commitment he has to it. I think he's really on it."
