Changed Harvick is back at track he loves

Changed Harvick is back at track he loves
Eds: PMs.
By MIKE HARRIS
AP Motorsports Writer
JOLIET, Ill. (AP) -- The Kevin Harvick who will try to make it three straight victories at Chicagoland Speedway isn't the same guy he was when he won the first one.
Two years ago, he won the inaugural Winston Cup race at the track during an outstanding rookie season. Harvick finished ninth in points that year after moving into the seat left vacant when seven-time champion Dale Earnhardt was killed in the season opener.
Last July's Chicago win was one of the few good things that happened to Harvick in the first half of the season. He had been accused by competitors of being selfish, and in April 2002 became the first NASCAR driver barred from a race for conduct on the track. He had to sit out the race in Martinsville.
Harvick spent the rest of the season on probation. From the time he left Chicagoland Speedway to the end of the season, he and his team improved, finishing 21st in the standings.
Now, in the Tropicana 400, Harvick has the chance to better the mark of two straight wins on a new track set by A.J. Foyt (Ontario, Calif.) and matched by Jeff Gordon (Kansas) and Tony Stewart (Homestead).
Sunday's race at the Chicagoland track couldn't come at a better time for Harvick and his team.
Todd Berrier, crew chief on Harvick's No. 29 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, said things are coming together despite a disappointing start. Harvick arrived here with no wins and only six top-10 finishes in the first 17 races. He is eighth in the season standings, 502 points behind leader Matt Kenseth.
"I'm just now starting to see the Kevin Harvick that I knew the year before last," Berrier said. "With all the things that happened, he toned down a lot. It was a deal where he was making sure he didn't overdo it and just do what it took to make things happen.
"Before, he would overexert himself. He might say some things that he might not have said if he had to think about it. And yet he's a hard charger. It's a lot easier to pull somebody back than it is to make him go harder."
Harvick agrees he is as aggressive as ever on the track, but he is different in other ways.
Three weeks ago, in Sonoma, Calif., teammate Robby Gordon passed Harvick under a yellow flag to take the lead. Gordon won the race, but Harvick and four-time series champion Jeff Gordon said Robby Gordon broke a gentleman's agreement by making the pass.
"A couple of years ago, I'd probably have been in Victory Lane choking him. But not this year," Harvick said.
"I was mad and didn't agree with it. I still don't agree with it. I think a lot of people feel the same. But Richard (Childress) told me I was on the verge of having my best year in Winston Cup and not to let one situation change the way things are going right now."
He finished third at Sonoma and followed up last Saturday night in Daytona with a ninth-place run, the first time all year Harvick has put together two top-10 finishes.
Now, he is back at the track he loves, and he can hardly wait for the second half of the 36-race season.
"I don't think we can really focus on trying to win a championship," Harvick said. "We just have to make sure we finish races and turn bad days into something better."
Of course, Harvick doesn't expect to have a bad day Sunday.
"It's just been one of those places that fits my driving style," he said. "I wish I could explain it so I could transfer it somewhere else."
But, Harvick isn't too worried about figuring out why he runs so well on the 1 1/2-mile oval, he just wants to keep it going and have the same kind of strong second half he had in both 2001 and 2002.
"Right now, we're just worried about trying to win a race," he said.