NASCAR WCUP: Keving Harvick Interview: Bristol Pre Race

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

March 21, 2001

KEVIN HARVICK COMMENTS:

Q: Obviously this has been a whirlwind for you. How happy are you that we' re going to Bristol this weekend?

Kevin Harvick: "It has been a whirlwind. But we're looking forward to going to Bristol. It's probably my most favorite track on the whole circuit. We won a Busch race there last year and we've always ran good there in the Truck and in the Busch car. I'm looking forward to it, I love racing there, and can't wait to get there."

Q: Are you getting more comfortable in the car now in the transition to the Winston Cup Series?

Kevin Harvick: "Yeah. Obviously I have to get to know Kevin (Hamlin, crew chief) and the guys and they have to get to know me. I've just got to fit in with them. They're already a knit bunch of guys that understand how each other works. The longer races are a lot different for me and keeping my mind set on racing 400 or 500 miles. That's been the biggest challenge for me so far. Physically it hasn't been a problem. Last week (at Darlington) I didn 't even break a sweat. It's been okay so far and we've just got to keep learning and doing the things we're doing."

Q. After winning Atlanta, are trying to keep a leash on your own personal expectations or are you trying not to?

Kevin Harvick: "I think we have to keep everything in perspective. The most realistic thing coming into the second race of the year was that we thought we could win a race something during this year. We have one year to do what we want to do and do everything we can for Dale Earnhardt and in memory of him. Right now, I think we just unleash everything we can and try and knock records down and try and do whatever comes to mind. It has been the craziest year of my life and things have really just been off the wall so far. It's pretty cool, but we also understand that there's a realistic factor in here somewhere that has to take place."

Q: After the win in Atlanta, how did you look back at your race in Darlington last week and was it still pleasing to you in some ways?

Kevin Harvick: "Kevin Hamlin and I talked about this yesterday. If we wouldn't have won the week before, and we finished 8th in Las Vegas, we finished 14th in Rockingham. To come to Darlington for the first time and race 400 miles, I think we have to be pleased. We finished on the lead lap. I learned how to over adjust the racecar and how not to do that again. We didn't run into the fence but once and we kept going and finished the race. That was our main objective at Darlington. We understood that it was going to be a long day. I learned a lot. They learned a lot about me. We just have to continue to do things like that."

Q: How overwhelming has this new position been for you with the fans, the media, and everyone?

Kevin Harvick: "My father taught me a long time ago that there would be situations in my life that I wouldn't know how to deal with. And he told me to just deal with them the best that I could and if you can't do what somebody else wants, well, that's all you can do. It's an overwhelming situation. If could have been a whole lot worse if everybody had taken a negative attitude towards it. But the race fans have taken me in with open arms and understand that I can't replace Dale Earnhardt and that I'm not going to try to replace Dale Earnhardt. If it wasn't for the race teams and the fans and everybody in NASCAR, this thing could have been overwhelming and out of control and I could be one of the most hated guys in the sport. But everybody understands that I'm trying to help the situation and everybody's trying to help me. It's really been a close-knit situation with everybody coming together and helping each other. We've made the best out of the situation that I think we possible could have."

Q: At the Atlanta race, was there a stray tire carcass between turns 3 & 4?

Kevin Harvick: "They told me that there was a piece of debris in turns three and four. They told me it was right in the middle of the race track, to go either high or low. On the last lap when you're trying to hold somebody off for the win, and all the circumstances that have been following us for the last three or four weeks, and we're coming down to the finish line to win the race. I remember them telling me about it, and I don't remember going by it, but I remember not hitting anything. I know it was there 'cause I saw it after the race. I think it went down to the apron. It really didn't affect anything that we did."

Q: Regarding Bristol, why does a guy like Rusty Wallace seem to dominate that track?

Kevin Harvick: "They've obviously found something there and he's real comfortable racing there. I personally love Bristol because it reminds me a little bit of Bakersfield, California where I grew up racing and where I cut my teeth on a half-mile, high-banked race track. I look forward to going to Bristol and I don't understand why everybody hat's building new race tracks doesn't build more like Bristol because that's by far what the race fans want to see the most and by far is the best racing action that you'll see all year. I'm really looking forward to running both races there."

Q: Is Wallace's success there intimidating to the other drivers?

Kevin Harvick: "Anytime you can dominate a race track, everybody thinks you 're going to go there and run good and you expect yourself to go there and run good. And nine times out of 10, when you expect yourself to run good, you will. There's such a mental aspect to this sport that when you're on somewhere - even if you're off a little bit - you're going to make up that little bit that you're off and you're going to be right there."

Q: With the transition, what has been the biggest adjustment and the most unexpected adjustment?

Kevin Harvick: "Obviously the biggest thing I've had to adjust to is the overwhelming support of the fans. You're constantly around people and signing autographs. I've had to learn that when I have time, I need to really concentrate on giving back to the fans what they have so graciously given with open arms to me. Sometimes I figure I don't have time and I can' t do everything. So I'm learning how to balance right now. One of the other things I've learned is that you're going to get some criticism because now there's an overwhelming number of people that are watching you and that are around you. You have to take the criticism with all the positives. All of a sudden Kevin Harvick has a lot of critics and he has to be the one that takes it all in stride and goes on with it."

Q: Has that been a difficult adjustment for you?

Kevin Harvick: "Not really. I'm one of those people that takes everything in stride and learns by everything that surrounds me. It's been a learning experience, but it hasn't bothered me yet."

Q: What are your thoughts about racing at Texas, which is the same basic configuration as the Atlanta track?

Kevin Harvick: "We're really looking forward to going to Texas too because we could have won the Busch race there too but we had a little miscalculation in the pits on the gas mileage and wound up getting down two laps, making them up and finished 9th. So we ran good there last year. We' ve got some notes from the Busch car that we're going to take to the Cup car. There's a little trick that I learned in the Truck there that really helped me in the Busch car. Being as we ran so good in Atlanta, the Cup guys have good notes and they ran decent there last year with Mike Skinner and Dale (Earnhardt). I like the mile and a half racetracks and I like the speeds. Texas has been good to us."

Q: How is running a full schedule of Winston Cup races going to affect your bid for the Busch Series championship?

Kevin Harvick: "It's going to take its toll. We're going to have to start in the back for five or six races because we're going to have to run Winston Cup qualifying and Happy Hour. We're going to have to give a little. We've come from the back many times before. Kevin Harvick's not the greatest qualifier and I understand that. It's going to have an affect on the Busch car and maybe just a little on the Cup car. But we're a tough bunch of people and we like challenges and we're looking forward to it."

Q: Can you talk more about being a rookie that's thrust into this transition a little more? What was it like that first week in Rockingham?

Kevin Harvick: "I think we were still in a state of shock. Those guys worked until midnight every night when they knew I was going to drive the car. We knew we had to go on. We knew things were obviously going to change. They were the ones who didn't want to see the Dale Earnhardt and Richard Childress legacy die in an instant when Dale had his tragic passing. That whole week was real quiet. Nobody said a whole lot to each other. Dale wouldn't want us to quit. He'd want us to carry on with what he and Richard had built. That's still what's driving us right now and keeping our attitudes positive. It was obviously a very strange week. There was a lot of emotion and a lot on everyone's minds. When you thought about something and got down for a second, there was always somebody to pick you back up and remind you about all the positive things that Dale brought to each person on that race team. We really just had to gather together as a group that's what's driving us right now. It was different but we all got through it together and we're still getting through it."

Q: Do you think you're going to have to revisit your decision to run both Winston Cup and Busch schedules as time goes on?

Kevin Harvick: "Right now we're committed to run both schedules. But obviously if something comes down to it and we get in the middle of July and I'm having to take IV's every week to keep myself going, then we're not going to be able to do it. Right now, all those people who are saying we can 't do it or that we shouldn't do it are the ones that are driving us forward. All they're doing is adding fuel to the fire. Making me eat better, drink more water, making me go to the gym more, and making those guys in the shop try to figure out how to make the schedule even easier. I think the only thing we need right now is a jet fuel sponsor to keep going to each race. But as of right now we're committed to doing it unless something jumps out that stop us from doing it. If something does jump out, we'll have to stop and re-do things to try to make it the best we can for everybody."

Q: You've come out of the box quickly. How is your relationship with (crew chief) Kevin Hamlin?

Kevin Harvick: "We're still learning and we're going to learn for a long time. When you stop learning in the sport of auto racing - about each other, your crew chief, driver, tires, or whatever - you need to go find something else to do because you're going to get beat up on. We've come out of the box good. Kevin has gone to a lot of the Winston Cup tests that we ran last year at Kentucky and Homestead. We've actually worked together before. Todd Berrier, my Busch crew chief, and Kevin get along real well. Kevin has worked real hard with Todd to understand what I like in a racecar. Every time we've ran the car so far in the last four weeks, it's unloaded off the trailer fast. We've ran pretty good in qualifying and we've ran in the race pretty good. He's worked with Todd in trying to figure out what I like. We' ll get better and understand more in the future."

Q: How do you stay out of trouble at Bristol?

Kevin Harvick: "I think the best way to stay out of trouble at Bristol is to stay up front. You really can't dodge trouble completely because there's so much going on. You're always up on top of the steering wheel and there's such tight quarters that even if you're leading the race, you can wind up in trouble. Staying up front is the key to staying out of trouble."

Q: What is your approach and just how physical will you be at Bristol?

Kevin Harvick: "My opinion is that the aggressor always wins. Nine times out of 10, the one who is more aggressive will come out in front. That's my approach. If you're the mild-mannered type of person, you're going to get run over. That's my opinion, but that's how I approach the race at Bristol."

Q: How much of an advantage is it to come into a well-seasoned team like the GM Goodwrench team?

Kevin Harvick: "It really has helped. I don't have to worry about coming to the racetrack and wonder if the thing's going to go into turn or if it's going to turn good. I can pull it out of the garage, pull out of pit lane, shift through the gears in the first lap, and it's going to be pretty close. Just having the confidence in the race team knowing that they've been to every track. It helps me focus mentally as far as racing and experience. Richard and Kevin can help guide me through situations that they've been through before. If I'd have to come in with a whole new team, it would have been big. So it's really helped me a bunch."

Q: Is there a track on the circuit that is going to be a particular challenge for you?

Kevin Harvick: "Right now, the biggest challenge we see on paper is Pocono. I've never been there, never seen it. We've scheduled a test there. We're going to go try to work the bugs out there. There's some new racetracks like Chicago and Kansas City and we're going to probably go to those too. Other than that, we're just going to take it one week at a time and try to do the best we can."

Q: How is your new bride handling this new situation?

Kevin Harvick: "She's the one who keeps me calm. DeLana has worked in the PR business for Jeff Gordon and Randy LaJoie for a lot of years. She understands the situations I'm going through, and she can kind of lead me through the situations before I get there. A lot of people think that Kevin Harvick has handled it well, but I've got a good girl behind me helping guide me through all these situations. I've got a good girl behind secret weapon in my back pocket."

Text provided by Nancy Wager

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