Harvick Daytona 2 interview

In the Winston No Bull 5 at the Pepsi 400 this weekend, Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 29 GM Goodwrench Chevrolet Monte Carlo, is paired with Robert Smith of Ledyard, Conn.

Since running in both the Busch and Winston Cup Series is a challenge, how are you keeping up with it all health-wise?

"Everything's going great. As far as getting tired, you can get tired by staying up too late or read a book too long. We're just paying attention toa lot things that we didn't pay attention to before. I watch what I eat and make sure I drink a lot of water and fluids and make sure I get to bed on time. If I can't sleep, I'll take something to make me sleep. I'm not tired. There's nothing out of the ordinary so far. I've done this before. We're racing 70 races this year. I've raced 60 before. This is just on a bigger scale with two major series. As long as we get through July, I think everything will be fine."

Is this almost an Adrenalin thing that you'd miss if you weren't doing both series?

"I don't think it's so much as Adrenalin thing as much as the fact that people wonder if you can do it or thinking that you can't do it, and that's what's driving us right now. We're not supposed to be doing the things that we're doing, and that's what we want to do. At the end of the year we want to make sure we did everything that we could to pull it off. Obviously we can't control (things like) the weather. But I think we've done a good job as an organization and a team to do this."

Are you working with a personal trainer or a nutritionist?

"No, I learned all that in high school when I was in wrestling. I learned about my nutrition and about what I needed to eat to stay in shape. I'm not saying I know everything there is to know about it, but I know enough to understand how it all works."

When did you wrestle?

"I wrestled 112's, 130's, and 140's. 1998 was my freshman year."

Have you always been in great shape?

"This winter was the first year I spent the whole winter in the gym with our trainer at RCR. I'm a regular at the GNC store. I have more herbs and vitamins than you can imagine. I think that really keeps me where I need to be on the diet side of it. I'm 25 years old. If I can't handle this, I probably need to find something else to do." TEAM MONTE CARLO Contact: Nancy Wager Pepsi 400 / Kevin Harvick & No Bull 5 Notes GM Racing Communications Friday, July 06, 2001 nmwager@aol.com Daytona International Speedway Page 2

With such a hectic schedule, do you find that your best personal time is actually behind the wheel of the car?

"I think on this particular weekend, that will be the best circumstances. As busy as we're going to be, it'll keep our heads where they need to be on this particular weekend."

Are you maintaining your goals?

"The biggest thing right now is to keep in contention for the Busch championship and try to maintain our spot in the top ten in Winston Cup points and try to win another race. We're just going to try to keep doing what we've been doing and running up front. I think those are legitimate goals to try to win another Winston Cup race and maintain what we've got in both series."

Are you and Richard Childress communicating well?

"The Winston Cup is something we didn't prepare for and we really didn't know what to expect. But we've got a lot of experience on our race team with a lot of people in many different situations. My biggest help personally has been Richard. He's taken me under his wing and before I get somewhere, he'll give me a heads-up on what I need to know - whether it's the press, the fans, or whatever. We're spending a lot of time together and we're communicating well. The best thing about our relationship is that if I think something is wrong, I can go to him and ask to change something and I think he respects that. And he's always the first person to tell me if I need to change something. That's the kind of one-on-one relationship that we need to have, and that's what we've got."

How are you going to handle the two different races this weekend?

"We've got two completely different teams at two different race tracks. Obviously it's going to be a different mindset from speedway to road course (Watkins Glen, Busch race). Barring the weather messing us up, the schedules are on our side. We've just got to go up and qualify the Busch car tomorrow (Saturday), and see what happens here and just go from there."

Because you want to stay in the top 10 in Winston Cup points, does that affect the way you drive?

"I think that's one of the biggest things we've learned this year. If we're in contention to win the race, we need to do everything we can to win the race. We've also got to finish the race if we can't win. But if we can, that means doing whatever it takes --fenders, bumpers - whatever you've got to do. You've got to get all you can out of it. I think last week at Sears Point was one way to show that."

TEAM MONTE CARLO Contact: Nancy Wager Pepsi 400 / Kevin Harvick & No Bull 5 Notes GM Racing Communications Friday, July 06, 2001 nmwager@aol.com Daytona International Speedway Page 3

Once you got back on the lead lap at Sears Point, you made up something like 15 positions

"Yeah, 51 points could mean three or four spots by the end of the year in the point standings."

Are you surprised at how well things are going for you so far this season?

"I think we've been so busy and so focused on what we're doing that we're just taking it on a week-to-week basis. I think that's the best way to approach it. That way, you don't get out of focus and focus on things that might not be realistic once you get there."

On restrictor plate racing at Daytona and Talladega

"I went home and watched a lot of tapes on Daytona. At Talladega, I went from the middle to the back, from the back to the middle. I was just not really understanding it. There are a few things different that you've got to do, and at the end of the race we finally figured that out. We learned a lot. That's why we've got that yellow stripe on our bumper. We have to learn things as they come and the experience would come with it."

What would you do with a million dollars if you won it?

"Oh, I don't know. I'd probably have to split it with Richard."

How hectic has the schedule really been for you and the teams?

"This past month, we got rid of all the testing except for Indianapolis. We're just going to race this month. We're not going to do any appearances or anything and hopefully that will help. A couple of months ago we were wearing the guys into the ground. We've just cut all that out."

When you race, do you make calculated decisions?

"Really, if you try to plan all that out, you can't tell what that guy in front of you or beside you is thinking. Once you see what you've got to deal with, you go. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't."

Talk about the rivalry between you and Greg Biffle

"I thrive on competition. That keeps me going. I enjoy it and that's why we go out there every week. I enjoy going out and trying to beat everybody. Biffle is the one we've been into it a lot this year. I think it's because we're both running really good and we're both hard racers. It's pretty cool. Greg and I have raced for a long time. It's been the same for many years - just with not as much attention as now."

Do you and he talk to each other?

"Oh yeah, I talk to him every week. We talk about our cars, we talk about our boats, we talk about our houses, we talk about lots of things. Once you strap the belts on and turn the switch on, you become different people." TEAM MONTE CARLO Contact: Nancy Wager Pepsi 400 / Kevin Harvick & No Bull 5 Notes GM Racing Communications Friday, July 06, 2001 nmwager@aol.com Daytona International Speedway Page 4

Do you have a mutual respect?

"Yes. I respect Greg Biffle as much as I can respect anybody and I think he does me. We just both want to win so darn bad that we'll just do whatever it takes."

Are there more manners on the Cup side than the Busch side?

"The races are just so much longer. You don't really have to go out with that hard-charging mentally and go as hard as you can every lap. The Busch races are so much shorter that sometimes you start a little bit behind, you just have to go. You've got a lot more time to work yourself out on the Cup side."

Does the wrestler come out in you when you turn the switch on?

"I don't know if that's the wrestler, but I think it's just the competitive nature that I have built in me. I hate to get beat. Sometimes that shows, and Richard's taught me a lot about how to contain all that so that it comes out at the right times."

Do you think you are earning the respect of the other Winston Cup drivers?

"That's the biggest thing that Richard has kept driving into my head is that you've got to earn the respect of everybody. We can go out and race with the best of them and I think they'll give us room to race and race us hard. I think that they're learning that I'll do that. That just takes time. I understand that. There's a lot of things to understand about this sport and I'm just learning about them all."

What kind of restrictor-plate racer are you?

"When we get into a situation, I'll do whatever I have to do to get where I need to be. I don't particularly enjoy it. When you get stuck three-wide and you're in the middle row and you can't go anywhere, you're really have no control. And I don't like to be out of control of a situation. I don't mind being out of control in a racecar, but it's a different form of racing and I haven't done it very much. We're doing a crash course and really pay attention to it and learn about it."

-GM Racing