NASCAR Cup

Richmond II: Kevin Harvick preview

Regaining Momentum HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (September 3, 2002) - Heading into the middle stretch of what is characterized as the most crucial month in the NASCAR Winston Cup Points race, Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 29 GM Goodwrench ...

Edited: Sep 6, 2002, 12:29 AM

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Regaining Momentum

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (September 3, 2002) - Heading into the middle stretch of what is characterized as the most crucial month in the NASCAR Winston Cup Points race, Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 29 GM Goodwrench Service Chevrolet Monte Carlo, brushes Darlington's bad fortune behind him.

The third in a series of four short track events, the NASCAR Winston Cup Series returns to racing under the lights at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway (RIR) this Saturday. Another venue where someone else's bad run can quickly become yours, Harvick looks to recapture the points roll he and his team have dominated in the latter half of the season.

The No. 29 GM Goodwrench Service team will have a hand in continuing their momentum as certain Chevrolet teams will run cars adorned with Looney Tunes characters. The Tasmanian Devil (Taz) accompanies Harvick Saturday night.

Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 29 GM Goodwrench Service Chevrolet Monte Carlo, comments on short track racing and RIR last spring, lap cars, and Taz:

Short track racing at RIR

"Richmond is your optimum race track. It's a three-quarter mile, wide racetrack that you can run all over on. You can go to the top and bottom, the middle. If you've got the car you can win from anywhere. There's plenty of room to pass and the groove usually moves three lanes up.

"Night racing is the whole deal - a complete package. Your car's handling comes into major play because a lot of times the track conditions are completely different from what you qualified on or practiced on. The rise and fall of the temperature affects everything. You need to have a car that'll respond to quick changes and come around (to the changes) fast. You have to think about that as much as the guys in your rear-view.

"In the spring they put a new sealer on the track which made it a whole new place. The groove moved and it just wasn't the same. It was like the sealer was coming up in little balls. Everything was slick and you couldn't get any grip."

Lap cars

"There was a real problem with lap cars in the spring. I'm not talking about restarts. That's a different deal - fighting to get on the lead lap. What happened was a problem with cars that just wouldn't budge who were three or four laps down. When you're on a short track, that can really mess you up. If they box you out of moving through the field, pretty soon you'll be a lap down too."

Taz

"We have Taz with us again this fall. Last year this race was probably some of the best times I had racing in Cup. We had the Taz paint scheme there too. Swapping the front position with Ricky Rudd and (Dale Earnhardt) Junior on those final laps was fun like racing a long time ago used to be. I came out of that one smiling."

Note:

- Harvick will run his No. 6 Chevrolet Silverado truck in the NASCAR Truck Series event Thursday night.

-rcr-

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