rpm.espn.com: Kevin Harvick

ESPN Network: ESPN.com \| RPM \| NBA.com \| NHL.com \| ESPNdeportes \| ABCSports \| WNBA.com \| FANTASY

Put the pedal to the metal in ESPN's
Fantasy Racing 2002.
Get your teams today!

Wednesday, December 26

Kevin Harvick
By Jerry Bonkowski
ESPN.com

Team: Richard Childress Racing
Car/sponsor/make: No. 29 GM Goodwrench Service Plus Chevrolet

Kevin Harvick
Harvick

STATS

Year
Rank
Wins
Top 5
Top 10
Money
Best finish

2001 9 2 6 16 $3,716,630 1st, twice

Career 2 6 16 $3,716,630 1st, twice

2001 recap
The good: Harvick enjoyed a year like no other driver ever has in NASCAR history, capped by winning Winston Cup Rookie of the Year for finishing 9th in the standings. While other drivers complained about the length of the 36-race Cup series, that was just an appetizer for Harvick, who also competed in each of the 33 Busch Series races, ultimately winning the championship. He added two more races in the Craftsman Truck Series "just for fun," competing in a total of 70 NASCAR races this season. He also established himself as perhaps the most promising young driver on the Cup circuit and is a bona fide championship contender for 2002.

Season highlight: Harvick had so many highlights, it's hard to pick one. He won two Cup races, five Busch races, the Cup Rookie of the Year and the Busch championship. Arguably the biggest highlight had to be his first career Cup win, March 11th at Atlanta, and in only his third career Cup event. He also won in July in the inaugural event at Chicago.

The bad: Harvick made the most of a very bad situation, being the hand-picked choice by team owner Richard Childress to replace Dale Earnhardt after his tragic crash at Daytona. Most other drivers couldn't handle the pressure of replacing a legend, but Harvick showed talent and maturity far beyond his years, not only being a credible replacement for Earnhardt, but quickly coming into his own right as a driver, too. He showed he's for real, albeit in one of the most difficult situations a driver could ever be thrown into with little preparation, off-season testing (for Cup-level competition) and all the attention and media scrutiny that Harvick faced.

Season lowlight: It's a rare driver who can have little fault found with his performance over an entire season. Kevin Harvick was nearly one of those rare drivers, but on several occassions during the season, the rookie did come off as brash and wrinkled some collars amongst other drivers. After the Busch Series South Carolina 200, he and Chad Little exchanged words -- and nearly blows. That's just the tip of the iceberg. Harvick also managed to ruffle the feathers of soon-to-be-teammate Jeff Green, Jeff Gordon, Dale Jarrett, Tony Stewart, Bobby Hamilton, Greg Biffle, Robby Gordon and several others during the season. So, the results were there for Harvick, but he just didn't make too many friends getting there.

Kevin Harvick
Kevin Harvick's No. 29 replaced the No. 3 after Daytona.

Key stat: Harvick's win at Atlanta not only revitalized an entire organization still in shock over Earnhardt's death, it also boosted him from 28th to 11th in the Winston Cup standings. From that point on, Harvick was never lower than 13th (and as high as 7th) in the weekly Cup standings.

2002 outlook
What needs to be done: Little, if anything, needs to be changed in the No. 29 camp as a whole, or with Harvick specifically as a driver. The more seat time he gains, he'll become even better -- and that's not to say he needs a great deal of improvement, because he doesn't. And given how well he performed in 2001, Harvick has proven he's not a fluke or a lucky competitor, but a natural for Winston Cup competition. Harvick is the real deal, with the mettle to smash fenders and hold his own with the best that Winston Cup has to offer.

Prediction: With not having to compete full-time on the Busch circuit in 2002 (although he plans on racing in 3 to 5 Busch events), Harvick can devote all his energies to the Cup circuit without having to worry what city he needs to be in on a certain day. If he picks up where he left off at the end of 2001, Harvick has an excellent chance of finishing in the top-5 of Winston Cup and taking a concerted shot at the Cup championship. He's part of NASCAR's youth movement with defending champion Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Stewart, and could help push the series to unprecedented heights in terms of popularity and attention in 2002.

Your take
Can Kevin Harvick compete for the Winston Cup championship in just his second season on the circuit? Here are your thoughts.

Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories

	User comments on Kevin Harvick Winston Cup off-season driver spotlight index Off-season driver spotlight series index