View Chase Chronicle: Kevin Harvick
Chase Chronicles: Kevin Harvick
By Gregg Leary
Category:NASCAR -> Sprint Cup
Pressure? What Pressure? Kevin Harvick THRIVES on pressure. In 2001 Kevin Harvick was thrust into perhaps the ultimate pressure cooker…taking over Dale Earnhardt’s Richard Childress Racing ride after “The Intimidator’s” death in the Daytona 500. Harvick had never driven in a Cup race, yet it took him only THREE races to take the renumbered “3” car to a breathtaking victory at Atlanta over Earnhardt’s former nemesis, Jeff Gordon, by 6/1000ths of a second. Now THAT’S pressure!
Harvick went on to win another Cup race, Cup Rookie of the Year AND the Busch Series Championship in 2001. Kevin won another Busch title in 2006. He won the IROC Championship in 2002. Harvick has won races in NASCAR’s three national series…Cup, Nationwide and Craftsman Trucks. He is one of only 19 drivers to accomplish this. He has 11 Cup wins, 32 Nationwide victories and 2 Truck triumphs. Only Mark Martin and Greg Biffle have more wins across the three series. Harvick also holds the modern era record for running at the finish of 77 consecutive races. He is a consistent driver who keeps his car out of trouble and his steeds have been virtually bulletproof from mechanical failures.
He seems to thrive on the big stages. He has won the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400. He is versatile. He has won on the bullring of Bristol, the road course at Watkins Glen as well as the superspeedways. He is also mercurial. He was parked for a Cup race at Martinsville in 2002 by NASCAR, following an altercation in the Craftsman Truck Series. He was placed on probation twice in 2004. He has a temper but his nickname is “Happy.”
Harvick is 307 points behind Jimmie Johnson with three races remaining in the 2008 Chase. Pressure? I don’t think it bothers Harvick. My gut tells me he will go for three straight wins at Texas, Phoenix and Homestead. He has won Phoenix twice. He has finished third at Texas and second at Homestead. Can he win three straight races in the Chase? Last year Jimmie Johnson won FOUR straight…so three in a row is not unprecedented.
How has Harvick done in previous Chase races? He has 2 wins. (NH and Phoenix in 2006) Kevin has 6 Top Fives and 22 Top Tens in 47 races. His Chase winning percentage is 4.2% compared to his career average of 3.9%. His Chase Top Five % is 12.8% compared to his career 19.4%. His Chase Top Ten % is 47% compared to his career 41.3%.
The numbers would indicate “too little, too late,” but that’s what makes racing exciting…it’s not over until the checkered flag waves at Homestead. Just ask Kurt Busch. In 2004 he won the title by only 8 points. It wasn’t over until the field crossed the finish line. (Had Jimmie Johnson won the finale at Homestead instead of finishing second, HE would have been the 2004 Cup Champion instead of Kurt Busch.)
Kevin’s nickname is “Happy.”
Here is a list of things that probably make him smile:
He married DeLana in Las Vegas in 2001, two days after making his Cup debut.
Won Championships:
Nationwide Series: 2001 and 2006
NASCAR Grand National West: 1998
Late Model Series at Mesa Marin: 1993
Was Rookie of the Year:
Sprint Cup: 2001
Nationwide: 2000
NASCAR Southwest Series: 1995
11 Cup Wins
32 Nationwide Wins
2 NCTS Wins
1 IROC Win
Kevin Harvick Incorporated fields Nationwide and NCTS teams.
KHI has 3 Nationwide wins. (2 for Tony Stewart, 1 for Bobby Labonte)
KHI has 15 NCTS wins. (12 for Ron Hornaday, Jr., 2 Kevin Harvick, 1 Ryan Newman)
KHI won the 2007 NCTS Championship with Ron Hornaday, Jr.
KHI currently sits 2nd in 2008 NCTS Points. Ron Hornaday, Jr. is 31 points behind Johnny Benson, Jr. with 3 races to go.
What makes ME smile? I just flipped through the pages of “Pit Road Pets” by Laura Lacy and Karen Will Rogers. In the book Kevin and DeLana are relaxing with their pets… bebe, Endy, Liza, Lo and Sebastian. Kevin, DeLana AND the animals seem to be smiling. Imagine the jack-o-lantern grins if Kevin could pull off the upset and win the 2008 NASCAR Cup Championship.