Harvick’s Surprising Dominance Continues

There was no way to predict this from Harvick. Zero. None.

Last year, he was out of sight, and literally out of mind. And maybe out of a team. After 18 races in 2009, Harvick was 26th in points, out of any consideration for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, and likely to leave the only team he has known – Richard Childress Racing.

Fast forward one year. Everything’s different. Harvick has won twice, is the points leader by a hefty margin over Jeff Gordon (212 points) and recently signed a contract extension with RCR.

There’s no reason to think it’ll end any time soon. Harvick is strong at Chicagoland, scoring wins in the track’s first two races — 2001 and 2002.

Speaking of Which, How About RCR?
On the topic of “what a difference a year makes,” Richard Childress Racing as a whole continues its rebirth season.

Last year, these were the final points positions for the then four-car operation: 15th (Bowyer), 17th (Jeff Burton), 19th (Kevin Harvick) and 21st (Casey Mears).

This season, the organization made it a point to improve. It has. Returning to a three-car operation, RCR now has two cars in the top 12 (points leader Harvick and Burton in eighth), and one just outside (Bowyer, in 14th).