Harvick

The 25-year-old Harvick has already stuffed the Winston Cup Rookie of the Year award in his back pocket, is pretty close to adding the Busch Grand National Series championship into it, and could tuck a cool $1 million away into it this weekend.

All Harvick has to do is win Sunday's EA Sports 500 Presented by Dodge at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. If he does, Harvick, who already has two Cup victories thus far this season (Atlanta and Joliet), would not only claim his third victory, he'd also take home the $1 million Winston No-Bull Five bonus prize that he's eligible for.

Harvick became a contender for the No-Bull money after finishing second when Ricky Rudd sailed past him and on to victory late in last month's Chevrolet Monte Carlo 400 at Richmond. It was one of three runner-up finishes Harvick has recorded this season, the others coming at Bristol (Sharpie 500) and Charlotte (Coca-Cola 600).

Ironically, it was the late Dale Earnhardt, who Harvick succeeded behind the wheel of the GM Goodwrench Service Plus Chevrolet, who won last year's $1 million bonus at Talladega, roaring from 18th place with four laps to go to grab the cash and the winner's trophy. It would be the 76th and final victory of Earnhardt's legendary career.

While he's trying not to think of the potential payday he faces, Harvick, who is currently eighth in the Winston Cup standings (one point behind seventh-place holder Dale Earnhardt Jr.), is already making room in his pocket for the trophy and the $1 million bonus check.

"Talladega is a really exciting track for the fans," Harvick said. "It's pretty exciting for the drivers too. You have to be aware of what's going on around you at all times. Things happen really fast there and you have to be ready for anything.

"The problem is, a lot of times you don't have any control of what happens in front of you and before you know it, you're in the middle of it."

Even with restrictor plates on the engines, speeds at Talladega can quickly approach 200-mph. At 2.66 miles, Talladega's tri-oval is not only the largest track on the Winston Cup circuit, it's also one of the most dangerous. Some of the most spectacular crashes in Cup history have occurred on Talladega's racing surface.

The combination of high speed and 33-degree banking in all four of its turns make for both exciting yet treacherous racing. Invariably, because passing is at a premium, particularly in the turns, and drafting comes into play perhaps more so there than any other track on the Cup schedule, drivers have a tendency to bunch up and get antsy. More often than not, that type of tight and close racing leads to at least one major multi-car accident in each event, along with numerous other smashes involving two or three cars at a time.

"It helps to have the breaks go your way," Harvick said. "A lot of running well depends on picking the right line, having drafting partners and missing the big wreck. If you can do those things you should get a good finish."

Indeed, perhaps the two most important attributes a driver can have while racing at Talladega is awareness and patience. He must be aware virtually every second of where he's at on the racetrack, as well as where his fellow competitors are, so as not to get too bunched up and run the risk of being involved in a major crash.

At the same time, a driver has to be patient at the Alabama super track, as well. Because of the usual five pit stops in each race, it is not prudent for a driver to try and take the lead early and hope to hang on. More often than not, the eventual winner is the driver who comes from behind in the latter stages of the race -- much like Earnhardt did in last year's fall event.

Harvick, who started ninth and finished 12th in his Cup debut at Talladega in April, has proven that he has already learned that lesson well. He's also tested there recently and a patient, consistent and steady drive is his gameplan heading into Sunday's main event.

"A good strategy to take at Talladega is to run all the laps and put yourself in contention to make a push toward the front near the end," Harvick said. "It's not as important to be up front early on because passing isn't difficult like it is at other tracks."

One thing Harvick won't have to worry about this weekend, much to his relief, is to pull double duty by racing Saturday in a Busch event and then Sunday in a Cup race. He can actually enjoy a more relaxed Saturday this weekend, working on his race day setup in final practice sessions.

All told, by season's end, Harvick will have become one of NASCAR's iron men, having competed in 70 events this season, every race on both the Cup and Busch schedules except for the Daytona 500. He even threw in an appearance in a Craftsman Truck Series event at Richmond. All told, he's on target to cover over 21,000 miles of racing by season's end.

"We accomplished what we set out to do (on the Busch series)," Harvick said. "We were just trying to qualify for every race and start every race. We had so many things going against us, weather problems could have kept us from running all of those races. But we got lucky. We were especially lucky last weekend at how the weather worked out and we were able to run both Memphis (Busch event) and Martinsville (Cup race, which was postponed until this past Monday due to rain).

"We got through the tough stretch in July where we ran nine races in eight states. We even built our lead in Busch and made a move in the points in Cup. It was a real success in my mind because we started every race that we set out to."