Kevin Harvick has told Richard Childress he would like to leave after this season, according to multiple sources. Harvick has one year remaining on his contract with RCR, but the Shell/Pennzoil sponsorship deal on the No. 29 ends at the end of this season, and Harvick is trying to move with it to Stewart-Haas.
Tony Stewart has said his team is interested in running a third car in Sprint Cup in 2010. Adding Harvick in a package with a strong sponsor would be a masterstroke.
While Stewart-Haas is trending upward like a rocket, RCR is trending downward. It’s become a team that can’t find the speed to run up front, despite the potent driver lineup of Harvick, Clint Bowyer, Jeff Burton and Casey Mears. Bowyer is in Chase contention, 15th in the points (126 behind 12th-place Matt Kenseth with seven races remaining before the Chase). Meanwhile, Burton is 17th (182 behind Kenseth). RCR hasn’t won a race in 2009 after winning three—two with Burton and one with Bowyer—last season.
Harvick has had a dreadful season. He’s 25th in the points with two top 5s and no other top-10s. He was fourth in the points last season, but his last victory was the Daytona 500 in the opening race of the 2007 season—coincidentally his first race with Shell/Pennzoil on the No. 29. SI.com
According to team sources, there’s been dissention between the driver and RCR, particularly with Harvick allegedly making a run at two of Childress’ primary sponsors — Shell and Jack Daniel’s.
“Shell and Pennzoil have enjoyed much success on and off the track as a result of our alliance with Richard Childress Racing and Kevin Harvick,” said Heidi Massey-Bong, Senior Business Advisor of NASCAR Sponsorship for Shell Oil Co. U.S. “We are pleased to be sponsoring the No. 29 car in 2010 and look forward to watching the Shell and Pennzoil colors each week as part of the RCR team and to continued success next season.
With the recent cuts from GM directly affecting Harvick’s own Kevin Harvick Inc., which fields teams in the Camping World Truck and Nationwide Series’, it’s understandable that he has been distracted. Still, his Cup winless streak reached 90 races at Chicagoland Speedway.
“He just wants to win,” said a source close to the situation. “Obviously, we’re not doing that right now. But Richard is working on some changes to make (Kevin) happy.” FOXSports.com
| 
|