Harvick ends his drought with dominance in desert

Wins in 2006 could turn into a bigger payday for next season.
AVONDALE, Ariz. (AP) -- If Kevin Harvick had any doubts about the direction his race team was headed, they were eased with a dominating performance in the desert that ended a 38-race winless drought.
Harvick completed a sweep at Phoenix International Raceway Saturday night, winning the Nextel Cup race to go along with his Busch Series victory a day before.
If it was enough to keep with Richard Childress Racing remains to be seen.
"We've run really good this year and the performance is up," said Harvick, who swept weekend events for the second time in his career. "Everything is running good right now."
His contract expires at the end of the year and Harvick is at a very lucrative crossroad in his career. He said Friday that he has told Childress he wants to stay -- something he wouldn't decide until he was sure RCR was turning the corner after several seasons of struggles.
Deal is possible
It's possible that the two still won't work out a deal, and Harvick will enter the free-agent market as the most coveted driver in the garage.
Whatever Childress is thinking is not known. The owner is in Africa on a safari and Harvick joked that he maybe should not come home.
"All I know is while he's been gone, we're undefeated," Harvick said. "If I was him, I'd stay away until we at least lost."
Harvick was off the radar most of the race, driving a car that ran in the top 10 but never challenged for the lead. He made his move late, passing Greg Biffle with 10 laps to race away to his sixth career victory.
Once Harvick got by Biffle, it was clear sailing because the top challengers had late fuel problems.
Biffle ran out of gas, then Mark Martin's tank went dry. It left only Tony Stewart to chase Harvick down and he never got close.
Gas concerns eased
Harvick coasted to the finish line, a luxury because he, too, had feared he might run out of gas -- just like he did last year when his tank ran dry when he was running in fourth. But it was a never an issue this time because with such a big lead, he didn't have to push it.
"We didn't have the best car all day, but we had the best car when it counted," Harvick said. "Once we were able to get out front, I just started conserving fuel. I was sweating the gas."
Stewart was second, a remarkable feat considering he had to forfeit his qualifying spot (third) and start last in the 43-car field because of a mistake by his championship-winning crew.
Stewart's team accidentally turned his qualifying tires into Goodyear, rendering them unusable for the start of the race. NASCAR penalized him by sending him to the back, but he stayed patient, worked his way to the front and even led six laps.
Matt Kenseth finished third to take over the Nextel Cup points standings lead. Carl Edwards was fourth and Clint Bowyer, Harvick's teammate, was fifth.
Martin, who led three times for 111 laps, wound up 11th and Biffle ended up 16th.
It was a heartbreaking defeat for Biffle, who had the car to beat for at least the third time this season only to fall victim to yet another bad break. He did, however, gain two spots in the standings to 21st.
"I feel bad for Greg, it's hard to look at the good side if you are him," said Kenseth, his teammate. "He had a car good enough to win three or four times this season, and none of its his fault. But I have no doubt Greg is going to make the Chase.
"He's running so strong and there's no doubt in my mind he's going to be a contender at the end of the year."
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