|
 Kevin Harvick had just struggled to a 14th-place finish in the
Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway, where
race winner Matt Kenseth had twice put him a lap down.
Nevertheless, the reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion seemed
blithely unconcerned -- even confident -- as he fielded questions
from reporters after the race.
Why? Because Harvick already had begun looking ahead with relish to
the defense of his title in the 10-race Chase for the NASCAR Sprint
Cup that begins with Sunday's MyAFibRisk.com 400 at Chicagoland
Speedway (3 p.m. ET on NBCSN).
And because he knew masterful crew chief Rodney Childers already had
been planning for the Chase for weeks.
So as Harvick heads to Chicagoland Speedway for next week's first
event in the three-race Challenger Round of the Chase, he has solid
reasons for optimism.
"I know how much preparation and time everybody at Stewart-Haas
Racing and especially Rodney and all our guys on our No. 4 team have
put into going to these next three weeks," Harvick said. "It's just
what it's all about.
"It's a whole different way of racing. It's a whole different
mind-set as you go into Chicago, and it's kind of take-no-prisoners.
'I don't like you, and I know they don't like me,' so you race like
that on every lap, and we're going to go after it."
As Harvick and teammate Kurt Busch enter the Chase, much of the
conversation will revolve around the recent strength of Joe Gibbs
Racing, and deservedly so. Collectively, JGR cars won seven of the
last nine regular-season races.
Lest we forget, however, Harvick ended the regular season as the
series leader, having accumulated 978 points in 26 races, good for a
30-point margin over second-place Joey Logano. Harvick has two
victories and a remarkable 10 runner-up finishes to his credit this
season, and he led the series in top fives (18) and top 10s (22).
During JGR's dominating run over the last nine races, Harvick has
finished second twice, third three times and fifth once -- a far cry
from backmarker status.
Accordingly, those currently entertaining the possibility of an
all-Gibbs contest in the final round of the Chase at Homestead-Miami
Speedway would be wise not to ignore the defending champion, who
seized his first series title last year by winning the final two
Chase races, at Phoenix and Homestead.
Harvick sees that experience as a distinct advantage, and he seems
eager to embrace a Chase mentality that harkens back to his days as
a pugnacious kid from Bakersfield, Calif.
"I feel like as a team we have been there, done that," Harvick said
after Saturday night's race. "We've been in Phoenix and Homestead
pressure situations and succeeded in both of those situations. I
think when you look at the group (of Chase qualifiers), there's not
a lot of them that have done that, and you've just got to keep
pressure on them.
[to top of second column] |
"And I think, as you go into Chicago, you just know that you're not
going to make any friends, and you don't have to worry about it. You
have to worry about what you have to do to advance to get to the
next round every three weeks, and whatever the scorecard looks like
or whatever you have to do is what you have to do. It's not about
making more friends."
And what about teammate Kurt Busch, winner of the inaugural Chase in
2004? Like Harvick, Busch has shown speed throughout the season, and
his pairing with veteran crew chief Tony Gibson has been
serendipitous.
"Yeah, this is a fantastic feeling going into the Chase this year,"
said Busch, who recorded an average finish of 10.9 during the
regular season. "The team and all the hard work that Tony Gibson and
his guys have put in, I am just so proud to drive with him.
Everything we've done this year has been at the expectation level
that we wanted to achieve - couple wins, few poles, and the
consistency.
"As the Chase starts, there are certain things you have to do to
advance through each of the rounds. We are going to use the strength
of the No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet SS race team, and rely on
that to move through the first section of the Chase."
In Harvick and Busch, Stewart-Haas Racing has two elite drivers,
both of whom have emerged with a series title from the crucible of a
stress-filled season finale at Homestead. Entering the final race of
2004, Busch led Jimmie Johnson by 18 points and Jeff Gordon by 21,
the rough equivalent of four to five points under the current
scoring system.
Busch overcame a broken right front wheel, finished fifth and
prevailed by a mere eight points over race runner-up Johnson, who
would have won his first championship in 2004, rather than 2006, had
he been able to pass Greg Biffle for the win on the final lap.
Last year, in the debut of an elimination Chase format that pitted
the last four eligible drivers against each other in the season
finale, Harvick won his first championship by a half-second over
Ryan Newman.
As Harvick noted, both Stewart-Haas drivers have "been there, done
that."
It would be foolish to assume they can't do it again.
-----------------------------------------------
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
