Team: Richard Childress Racing
Car/sponsor/make: No. 29 GM Goodwrench Service Chevrolet
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STATS
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Year
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Rank
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Wins
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Top 5
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Top 10
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Best finish
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2002
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21
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1
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5
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8
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First, Chicagoland
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Career
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3
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11
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18
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2002 recap
The good: Considering the horrible sophomore slump Harvick experienced in 2002, finding a number of good things isn't all that easy. But, it seemed that starting with Chicago in July, Harvick was ready to turn things around, with a win, three top-five and two other top-10 finishes in six of seven consecutive starts. Unfortunately, with the good came what seemed to be the inevitable bad: he went right back to struggling after that streak, with nine finishes of 20th or lower (including a 40th at Darlington, S.C., in late summer) in the season's final 12 races.
Season highlight: Winning at Chicago, where he earned his second career Winston Cup race as a rookie in 2001, and then came back to successfully defend his title in that race this past July. It was one of the few bright spots in an otherwise fairly dismal season.
The bad: After an outstanding rookie season, Harvick's sophomore campaign was one he'd probably do best to forget, finishing last among the three drivers in the Richard Childress Racing camp in Winston Cup competition, with teammates Jeff Green and Robby Gordon finishing ahead of him, 17th and 20th respectively. The bad luck started early: being knocked out of the season-opening Daytona 500 as part of a multi-car crash that collected 18 cars in its wake, including his. He also failed to finish six of the season's 36 races overall.
Season lowlight: Collectively, the first 15 races of the 2002 season were Harvick's albatross, with 11 finishes of 25th or lower. One of the lowest points came when he dropped five places and fell to 35th in the standings following the spring race at Pocono, Pa. (which he finished 39th). His worst overall finishes of the season were three 40th-place outings (Richmond, Va., in the spring, Darlington, S.C., in late summer and late in the season at Atlanta). Not to mention NASCAR benching Harvick for a Cup race due to on-track conduct during at Truck race.
Key stat: Harvick came close to earning his first career Winston Cup pole position when he started the season-opening Daytona 500 on the outside of the front row for the first time ever (only to finish 36th after being knocked out in an 18-car wreck). He returned to Daytona in July for the Pepsi 400 and finally earned that elusive first pole (finished 11th).
2003 outlook
What needs to be done: Things got so bad in the Harvick/RCR camp that Kevin Hamlin, Harvick's crew chief for last season, was moved to teammate Robby Gordon's team in June, while veteran Gil Martin took over the same spot on Harvick's team. Martin is too experienced and too win-driven to let 2003 become a repeat of 2002. Look for Harvick to shake off the sophomore jinx this coming season and return to the kind of form he showed in 2001.
Prediction: With the talent and ability he possesses, 2002 may be the last time we'll ever see Harvick finish out of the top-15 in the rest of his Winston Cup career. He finished ninth as a rookie in 2001, and it would seem likely that he is due for a big comeback season in 2003. Not only is finishing in the top-10 a good possibility, Harvick has the same kind of drive that Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon possess to potentially go out and win the whole thing this coming season.
Your take
Here are your thoughts on Harvick's prospects for the 2003 season.
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