What a difference a new season has made for Kevin Harvick.
At the end of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup campaign, Harvick found himself sitting in 19th place in the point standings. It had been an uncharacteristically rough year, but things did start turning around for Richard Childress Racing and Harvick before the season ended.
In the off-season, the general consensus was that Harvick and his RCR teammates – Jeff Burton and Clint Bowyer – again would find consistency and victory lane this year. Heading into the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway March 21, they are certainly headed in that direction.
While none of the three have won yet, all have run extremely well. Burton is sixth in the standings, Bowyer, fifth and Harvick leads the standings and Matt Kenseth by 26 points.
With BMS looming, the odds definitely look good for the Childress drivers. Childress has nine wins at the World’s Fastest Half-Mile as a car owner and all of his current drivers have Bristol wins. Both Harvick and Burton have Cup victories and each of the three have won in the Nationwide Series.
Just two years ago, they made history at BMS, finishing 1-2-3 in the Food City 500 as Burton won, followed by Harvick and Bowyer. No other team had ever swept the top three positions at the concrete oval.
Obviously, Harvick is feeling good as he gears up for one of his favorite tracks.
“It feels really good to be in the position we are right now heading into Bristol,” he said. “We’ve come a long way from where we were last year and I have to thank (crew chief) Gil (Martin) and all these guys on the No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet. I always look forward to Bristol because you never know what the outcome is going to be, which makes it exciting for the fans.”
“Bristol is one of my favorite places to go. I grew up on a half-mile, high-banked racetrack and enjoy the beating and banging. I have been very fortunate to have a lot of success there and hopefully that continues this time around. RCR has always run really well there, and we go there with high expectations because of that. I always go into a race at Bristol feeling like I can win.”
Harvick and the rest of the Sprint Cup field will begin their quest for the Food City crown Friday, March 19 as qualifying is set for 3:40 p.m.
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