Harvick crowned king of Busch ranks
By Marty Smith, Turner Sports Interactive
January 14, 2002
10:31 AM EST (1531 GMT)
LOS ANGELES - Sometimes, if the stars are perfectly aligned and the end of the rainbow is in sight, one’s life comes full circle. The goals set forth become reality, and the end result suddenly seems well worth the trials and tribulations faced along the way.
So goes life for Kevin Harvick.
Despite the fact that Harvick is only 26 years old and has decades of competition remaining in his future, his career came full circle Friday night, when he was crowned king of the NASCAR Busch Series just two hours from where it all began, where he dreamt of racing excellence, where he laid the groundwork for championships to come -- his hometown of Bakersfield, Calif.
“Since I was a little boy, I knew racing was what I wanted to do,” said Harvick, stationed at the head podium in the lavish Regent Beverly Wilshire grand ballroom. “I worked on my career, although it seemed slow at times.
“I won a few races and a championship here and there, and I guess you could say my stint in the truck series wasn’t all that spectacular. So that made the vision of driving Busch cars for RCR that much sweeter.”
A sweet proposition, yes. But he never could have imagined what lay ahead. After winning three races and finishing third overall as a rookie in 2000, he entered 2001 with championship aspirations. In fact, he readily admits that nothing else but the head table in Beverly Hills would have sufficed.
For his efforts in 2001 -- five wins and 20 top-5s -- Harvick was rewarded with $1,833,570, including a record $890,403 from the Anheuser-Busch point fund.
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Kevin Harvick (right) with Kevin Triplett
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Reaching the pinnacle of the Busch Series ranks became exponentially more arduous following Dale Earnhardt’s fatal crash on the final lap of the Daytona 500 in Febraury. In the wake of the Daytona tragedy, Harvick was thrust square into the limelight, not to mention a seemingly impossible situation.
Team owner Richard Childress relied heavily on Harvick to keep the organization afloat, summoning him to run both the Winston Cup and Busch Series schedules full time. He thanked the young driver for his tireless efforts Friday night.
“In 2001, the ACDelco team started with a goal,” Childress said. “Things changed, but the goal always stayed the same - win the Busch Series championship. I’d like to thank our driver, Kevin Harvick. It takes a great driver to be a great champion and lead a race team. He was our leader, and I’d like the thank him for that. Kevin, you are the real deal.”
Indeed. Over the next 10 months, Harvick pieced together one of the most impressive individual efforts NASCAR has ever seen, competing in 70 events in NASCAR’s three major series and logging an astounding 17,007 laps, equivalent to 21,347.14 miles.
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Greg Biffle
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During that time Harvick won seven times - twice in Cup, five times in Busch. He also nabbed a top-10 finish in the Winston Cup Series point standings despite competing in one less race than the rest of his top-10 brethren, collected Winston Cup rookie of the year honors and ran away with the Busch Series title.
For Harvick, that was the most coveted award of all.
He voiced that opinion Friday night during his championship speech, saying that the Busch title was priority one, even after Earnhardt’s tragic passing.
“When the season started, the championship was everyone’s goal,” Harvick said. “But, after February, none of us knew which direction we were going. The only thing I did know was I had to do everything in my power to make sure they were sitting at the head table in Beverly Hills.
“Even though things got a little hazy when I had IV’s sticking in my arm, each time I’d see one of my guys, I knew what had to be done.”
And he did it, winning the title by 124 points over second place finisher Jeff Green. During his speech, Harvick shared tales of two seasons, discussed the road blocks the entire NASCAR community faced in ’01 and voiced his adoration for Childress, his team, his wife, the fans and, most of all, his schedule keeper and the RCR pilot.
“It’s an honor to stand up here tonight as your Busch Series champion,” Harvick said. “It’s something I’ll never forget and it’s something we need to celebrate together, as a team, and make a night of it that we’ll all never forget.”
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Harvick (left) at the head table with team owner Richard Childress (foreground).
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Harvick wasn’t the only individual recognized Friday. Green, the 2000 Busch Series champ, collected the $12,500 Gatorade Front Runner Award for leading the most laps during the year. Greg Biffle, winner of five races in 2001, garnered $12,000 after winning Rookie of the Year honors, while Ryan Newman, who won six poles in only 16 starts, took home the $25,000 Bud Pole Award.
Chevrolet won the manufacturer’s championship for the tenth straight season.
RCR chief engine builder Lanny Barnes won the Clevite Engine Builder of the Year Award, and Terry Dolan from Chevrolet accepted the Bill France Performance Cup Award.
Harvick, meanwhile, took home $4,000 for the Goodyear Award, $10,000 for the 76 Gasoline Contingency Award and the coveted Most Popular Driver Award.
Believe it, folks, his stars are perfectly aligned.
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