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SPORTS Wednesday 7 March 2018

Column: Harvick takes a bumpy road to 100 victories

By JENNA FRYER a laid-back Southern Cali- racing for the title.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — fornia persona, debuted a The next race was at Phoe-
Kevin Harvick once lay in year after Harvick and has nix, where Harvick had to
wait for Greg Biffle on the collected seven champi- win, at a track here he al-
pit road wall at Bristol Motor onships along the way. ways wins, and Harvick
Speedway. Harvick was an- Harvick has so far managed didn't want to answer any
gry — he always seemed to just one championship. But questions. He didn't want
be angry in the early days he's a Daytona 500 win- to talk about what role he
of his NASCAR career — ner, a two-time Coca-Cola might have had in the Ke-
and he was going to make 600 winner, a Southern 500 selowski scuffle, or how his
sure Biffle knew it the mo- winner and a Brickyard 400 championship was one
ment the race was over. winner. race away from slipping
How did Harvick send his That's a Hall of Fame ca- through his fingers.
message? reer right there, and one But as he thought more
He literally hurdled over many might not have seen about it, Harvick, by then
Biffle's car into a scrum and coming when he was thrust a father to a young son,
lunged at Biffle's throat. into a miserable situation saw the bigger picture. To
The Biffle incident back in at what should have been be a role model to Keelan,
2002 would most certainly the best time of his life. Har- he had to be a professional
be on Harvick's highlight vick was on schedule to and do the right thing. So
reel. In his first two years in drive a Cup car for Richard he met his media obliga-
Cup, Harvick became the Childress in 2002, but when tions in Phoenix, won the
first driver to be "parked" Dale Earnhardt was killed race, and won the cham-
by NASCAR for aggressive on the final lap of the 2001 pionship a week later. Kevin Harvick hoists the trophy with his team after winning a
driving and he once tried Daytona 500, that plan was Harvick and his wife wel- NASCAR Cup series auto race Sunday, March 4, 2018, in Las
to fight Ricky Rudd, usually scrapped. comed a daughter this Vegas.
considered a losing propo- Harvick got Earnhardt's offseason and he’s now a Associated Press
sition. Harvick's nickname ride the next week, went 42-year-old father of two.
has always been "Happy" forward with his scheduled His future is in broadcasting wins in eight races, Harvick maybe even NASCAR.
and he was anything but in Las Vegas wedding the and Fox already uses him hasn’t been to victory lane That’s just who Harvick is,
those early days. week after that, and won quite a bit in its booth. But at the track in three whole 17 years after his whirlwind
He said after the 2002 his first Cup race the week he’s still got racing left; he’s races. and emotional and unten-
parking — for intentionally after that. It was a whirl- certainly shown that out of He might snap that streak able promotion to the big
wrecking Coy Gibbs in a wind three weeks for the the gate this season with Sunday, and if he doesn’t, leagues. He made it work,
Truck Series race at Martins- 24-year-old from Bakers- two dominant wins. he might have something doing it his way, and that’s
ville and generally being a field, California, and when An eight-time Phoenix win- sarcastic to say about a likely how he’ll close his
thorn in NASCAR's side — he had to time to take a ner, including a streak of six competitor, his own crew, career.q
that it was the wakeup call breath, there was a lot go-
the 25-year-old needed. ing on.
"I haven't been racing since Maybe that's why he
I was 5 years old and made snapped so easily back
it this far in my career to then. And although some
throw it all away now," Har- of that went away, he nev-
vick said then. "Having to er really changed who he
miss the race in Martinsville was. Harvick continued to
definitely got my attention." stir the pot in the garage,
OK, so it hasn't been exact- spoke his mind even when
ly smooth sailing since that he didn't have anything
wakeup call. nice to say, and never
But here Harvick is now, lacked for confidence. It
100 NASCAR national wins was just over three years
later, and one of the most ago when Harvick, locked
consistent drivers of his era. into the championship bat-
Harvick doesn't have the tle, shoved Brad Keselowski
statistics to show just how from behind to trigger a
exceptional a race car melee between Keselowski
driver he is in part because and Jeff Gordon.
he came along at the same Harvick just stood back and
time as another Califor- watched the chaos be-
nian. Jimmie Johnson, with tween two drivers he was