NASCAR's Kevin Harvick is Finally Living Up to Expectations

Kevin Harvick inherited a championship contending team in 2001, after the late great Dale Earnhardt passed away. Despite missing one race, Harvick won twice and finished eighth in the NASCAR Winston Cup standings. That was supposed to set the stage for NASCAR superstardom. Instead, Harvick has arguably been the most disappointing driver over the past four seasons.

In 2002, Harvick's temper prompted NASCAR to park him for the spring race at Martinsville, and he never recovered. Regrettably, Harvick finished 21st in the final points standings. A year later, Harvick bounced back by winning the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis, and finished fifth in the points standings, but he never really stood out as a consistent threat to win each week.

In 2004 and 2005, Harvick won just a single race, and missed the NASCAR Nextel Cup Chase for the Championship both years. After wrecking out of the Sharpie 500 in 2005, Harvick brutally criticized his team and the Richard Childress Racing organization, and his departure seemed fated.

Even after a slow start to 2006, Harvick was incessantly mentioned as the guy who would carry the Toyota banner. But Harvick's tolerance and loyalty to Richard Childress Racing, and a complete turnaround in performance has accelerated Harvick's career in Nextel Cup. Before 2006, Harvick was an excessively popular driver who just performed decently. And if he would have given up on RCR and bolted to the Toyota neck of the woods, it's likely that he would have been a less popular driver who just performed decently.

Many credit Harvick's turnaround to the vast enhancement within the entire Richard Childress Racing organization. After missing the Chase for the Championship two successive seasons, Childress has done an exceptional job in the innovation of his entire program.

Another factor as to why Harvick has emerged as a championship threat could be credited to his teammates. Throughout Harvick's career, he has seen a plethora of teammates come and go. In 2001, Mike Skinner was still driving the 31 car, and the sponsor was still Lowe's, and Skinner was replaced by Robby Gordon late that season. In 2002, Jeff Green was added to the RCR roster. In 2003, Green was fired, Steve Park was hired, and Harvick and Gordon were unable to play nice. In 2004, Johnny Sauter began his brief stint with RCR before he was replaced by Dave Blaney who was later replaced by Jeff Burton. In 2005, Blaney returned to RCR as the replacement for the departing Robby Gordon, but he was replaced by rookie Clint Bowyer for 2006.

Before Burton and Bowyer, Harvick never really seemed to mesh well with his previous teammates. But as soon as Burton arrived to RCR, a huge weight was lifted off of Harvick's shoulders. For years, Harvick was the go-to guy at RCR, the senior driver so to speak. Burton, who is much more suited for that role, has taken that leadership role at RCR, and the results speak for themselves.

Harvick and Bowyer are not only teammates, but they are close friends away from the track.