Harvick gets first DNF, first championship
By Tim Packman, Turner Sports Interactive
November 12, 2001
11:57 AM EST (1657 GMT)
HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- It’s not often that a driver celebrates a blown motor and a 37th-place finish after a race. Then again, when it’s Kevin Harvick, expect the unexpected.
After leading 128 laps in the GNC Live Well 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Saturday, Harvick was forced pitside with a blown motor in the No. 2 Chevrolet on lap 161. It was the first time Harvick hasn’t finished a race this season and only the third time in his 65-race Busch Series career.
But one DNF and one championship in a single season is a pretty good trade off.
Harvick came into the race with very little pressure on his shoulders as he had already sealed the deal in Rockingham a week earlier. Going into Homestead, he said he was just going to race as hard as he could.
“We were leaning on the motor pretty hard this week,” Harvick said. “We didn’t have anything to lose. Our goal this weekend was to sit on the pole and win the race. These AC Delco guys put a heck of a car underneath me.
“We came up just a little bit short. It felt good to lean on that motor so hard and not have to worry about anything.”
After the race, Harvick and crew rolled out the backup car and did a parade lap to celebrate its accomplishments. With race winner Joe Nemechek already in Victory Lane, Harvick circled the 1.5-mile oval with a huge, black No. 3 Dale Earnhardt flag flying from the driver’s side window.
He had already dedicated the season’s efforts to the late seven-time champion in Rockingham. His owner, Richard Childress, called upon Harvick to drive in Winston Cup after Earnhardt’s death in February. The black car with the famous No. 3 on it was changed to a white No. 29 instead.
As Harvick circled the track with the flag flying high, the crowd stood and cheered. He then parked the car in front of a stage on the frontstretch and he, Childress and crew piled into a couple of pick-up trucks.
Childress and Harvick held onto the championship trophy as both vehicles made another celebratory lap.
“My hats off to the AC Delco guys, the engine shop and the guys who bring this to the track,” Harvick said. “We leaned on everything today and tried to win. We came up a little short though.”
He and the team weren’t short on success during the season though. They close out their campaign with six Bud Pole Awards, a series high five victories, 20 top-fives and 24 top-10s. Defending series champion Jeff Green was relegated to runner-up status, 124 points behind Harvick.
But foes will become friends next year. Both Harvick and Green will compete in Winston Cup for Childress.
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