Harvick happy, confident in best season of career

[irish_blue69]

BROOKLYN, Mich. -- There were times when Dale Earnhardt barely got on the track to practice when he knew he had a good car.
Kevin Harvick, who replaced the seven-time Cup champion after his death in 2001, must have been watching.
Kevin Harvick was third-fastest in Saturday's final practice. Credit: AutostockInside the NumbersKevin Harvick in 2006 CupBuschStarts2224Wins25Top-5s1015Top-10s1321Avg. Start16.012.5Avg. Finish12.85.2Laps Led384700Rank31
Harvick skipped Saturday's first session as he has done several times this season, ran 20 laps in the second session and then made his way to the Busch Series garage for qualifying.
"That reminds me a lot of what Dale used to do," said Harvick's owner, Richard Childress. "If he knew he had a good car he wouldn't waste his time out there, especially on a [cloudy] day like this when he knows the track is going to change 180 degrees before the race."
But unlike a year ago, when Harvick's team struggled with inconsistency, he can't wait to get on the track.
Who can blame him?
Harvick is third in the Nextel Cup Series points race and first in the Busch Series, putting him in position to become the first driver to win both titles in the same season.
He's coming off a victory at Watkins Glen International, his second of the season, and will start fifth in Sunday's race at Michigan.
And he was third-fastest in Saturday's second practice.
"Yeah, confidence is at a high for everybody [at RCR]," Harvick said. "Everybody is moving in the same direction, so it makes it a lot of fun to go to the track and know even if you're off you're probably going to run in the top 15.
"Last year, we struggled to run 15th or 10th. So it makes it a lot more fun."
RCR's Jeff Burton, who is fourth in points, will start on the pole on Sunday. Rookie Clint Bowyer, who is 17th in points, will start 29th.
A year ago, Harvick was the highest-ranked RCR driver at 14th entering this event.
"If we were racing for the championship right now we'd be in good shape, but momentum can swing and you just have to try to keep momentum on your side," Harvick said.
Harvick is in the midst of arguably the best run of his career. He has finished fifth or better in five consecutive Cup races and has six consecutive top-10s.
He already has 10 top-fives, one less than the career-high 11 he had in 2003 when he finished fifth in the standings.
"He's a lot happier," said Childress, who signed Harvick to an extension earlier this year. "He's a lot more relaxed. Anytime you're running this well it takes a lot of the pressure off of you."
Harvick is on an even more impressive run in the Busch Series. He had five wins, 15 top-fives and 21 top-10s heading into the season's 25th race at Michigan on Saturday. He had two wins and no finish worse than seventh, which came last week at The Glen, in the previous seven races.
"Performance consistency is harder than having the momentum on your side, because first you have to be able to perform and run well to get that consistency," Harvick said.
Harvick, who came to Michigan 443 points ahead of second place in the Busch Series, is enjoying this run. He doesn't understand why some are critical that Cup drivers are dominating the Busch Series.
"They need to quit griping and start learning how to win," Harvick said with a smile. "That's what all of us had to do. When I came in, Mark Martin was pretty much kicking everybody's butt.
"Jeff Burton [was good]. They were winning races and it wasn't really that big of a deal, and now it's a big deal it seems like. I've always been the type that if you get beat, you need to figure out why."
Harvick's Cup team obviously has figured out why it hasn't been competitive the past two years, making even rainy days like Saturday enjoyable.
"Anytime you're running good and winning races," he said, "if you're in a go-kart or a Cup car or a Busch car, it's a lot of fun."

http://www.nascar.com/2006/news/head...ice/index.html