KEVIN HARVICK
Regrouping for Rockingham
HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (November 4, 2003) - Kevin Harvick and the No. 29 GM
Goodwrench racing team took a big hit in the 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup points
standings this past weekend in Phoenix, Ariz. Their 34th place finish in
the Checker Auto Parts 500, due to an unavoidable accident, has dropped them
from third to sixth, but they're not worried. They've got two races left to
regroup before the season comes to a close. That's plenty of time to get
themselves back in the top-five.
"It's very realistic," states Harvick. "We may have dropped in the points,
but that's already happened to us once this season and everyone saw what we
did. There was nothing we could do to change what happened last Sunday.
You can't control what other people do on the racetrack. All you can do is
control what goes on with this team. It was awesome to see how quickly this
crew got the car back in racing condition after the wreck. That just shows
how strong we are."
Strength is what has gotten Team GM Goodwrench to where they are now. After
Sonoma, Calif., they went on a 16-race run no other team could match. One
win, eight top-five and 13 top-10 finishes propelled them from 11th to
second in the point's standings. Two accidents out of their control have
dropped them to sixth in the past two weeks, but that won't stop this team.
The next race on the Winston Cup Series schedule is this Sunday at
(Rockingham) North Carolina Speedway. Although Harvick didn't have his best
outing (25th) at the 1.017-mile oval in the spring, he knows the silver and
black racing machines are in much better shape than they were then. Look
for that to be a big factor in how things play out this weekend.
No. 29 GM Goodwrench driver Kevin Harvick on The Rock...
What's your focus going back?
"We were terrible in the spring, but our cars are extremely better than they
were then. I think as well as we ran at Darlington (S.C.), that's a good
sign of things to come. We struggled at Darlington at the beginning of the
year too with our set-up. Even though it's probably my worst racetrack, I'm
looking forward to going back there. I think we'll be up to the challenge."
How's the racetrack?
"Rockingham's a high downforce, big tire-wear track. You really have to
work on the handling of your car to make it work. The key is keeping the
car balanced so it will start off halfway good at the beginning of a run and
keep the tires underneath the car at the end of the run."
How can you get a grip on the tires?
"You can't ever predict when you are going to get a bad one (set). The
car's going to push or get loose. You adjust your car around the set of
tires that you have on in practice because you only get three sets. It's
one of those deals where you have to hope that each set of tires that you
have are good. Sometimes, if they're off, you just throw another set on and
everything will be fine. I don't know if you ever get a grip on the tires,
but it seems like we have lately."
What did the spring test help you with most?
"Things went pretty good in that test. We should be a lot better than we
have been in the past. The biggest thing it helped me with was driving
around the racetrack because this is probably my worst racetrack. For some
reason, I don't have a lot of feel for it, and the test really helped me get
some driving techniques worked out that I needed to do a little bit
differently."
Isn't it nice to be racing close to home?
"Oh yeah. Rockingham's a lot like Charlotte because it's close to home and
everybody's families and friends are there, so it's kind of like another
home track. It's important to us, probably more so now, to come out with a
good finish and get back in the top-five in points."
No. 29 GM Goodwrench crew chief Todd Berrier on The Rock...
What's your biggest concern heading back to Rockingham?
"Getting a good qualifying effort. You have to qualify good to get a good
pick on pit road so you can stay up front. It's the same every week. Tires
are not really a concern because it's a standard deal for Rockingham. It's
more about track position, and getting your car ready for the long runs."
Points of Interest...
Team GM Goodwrench will take chassis No.110 to Rockingham, N.C., for
this weekend's 400-mile event. This chassis, different from what they ran
in the spring, has been run 10 times this season including two weeks ago at
Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway.
Harvick will participate in the Target House 200 NASCAR Busch Series
race on Saturday in the No. 21 PayDay Chevrolet Monte Carlo for Richard
Childress Racing. With a 26th place finish, he can clinch the 2003 Owner's
championship for RCR.
Team GM Goodwrench showed their resilience this past weekend at
Phoenix International Raceway. After the accident on lap 228, it took only
15 laps for the 15-man crew to put the No. 29 Chevy back together and keep
the no-DNF streak at 34 of 34 races.
Start time for Sunday's Pop Secret 400 is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
ET. TV coverage of the 393-lap race on TNT starts at 12:30 p.m., with radio
coverage on MRN beginning at 12:30 p.m. Remember times and dates of the
race may change, so check your local listings.
