Sprint Cup title only whets Kevin Harvick's appetite; hot season continues

Ray Slover

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Sprint Cup title only whets Kevin Harvick's appetite; hot season continues image

Quick, name the best driver for Stewart-Haas Racing. If you didn't say Kevin Harvick, you aren't paying attention.

It might be the easiest question asked about the struggling SHR stable as NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series set up for Sunday's race at Las Vegas.

MORE: Harvick wins at Vegas | Results | PHOTOS: Kobalt Tools 400

No, Harvick wasn't all that fast in qualifying but he more than made up for it with a dominating performance in the Kobalt Tools 400. He led 142 of the 267 laps, and he beat Martin Truex Jr. to the finish. He did it while battling a vibration that developed after his final pit stop.

"We just have to keep our heads down and keep doing everything that we've been doing," Harvick said. "This isn't a bunch of guys that are just going to go out and brag We're going to race every week like we have never won a race before. That's the kind of determination that you need when  you are going to do this stuff."

After all, that's where he has been race after race after race.

Harvick won his first Sprint Cup championship last fall, and his magnificent performance continues. In his past six races, Harvick finished first or second. In this year's races, he chased Joey Logano home at Daytona and was closest to Atlanta winner Jimmie Johnson.

"It feels pretty good. I'm pretty excited about it," Harvick said. "This whole Chase thing, there is a lot of strategy to get into. The best strategy is to go out and win races. I'm just really proud of everybody on our team."

Stewart-Haas doesn't have anyone nearly as good.

— Tony Stewart finished 42nd at Daytona after being caught in a collision, 30th at Atlanta and 32nd at Las Vegas. Question: Is Smoke done?

— Danica Patrick was better than Smoke, with finishes of 21st, 16th and 27th. Not that she was challenging race leaders. Sunday, she ran under a cloud after causing a crash that wrecked Jeff Gordon's car a day earlier. Danica's car was repaired. Gordon started from the rear Sunday in his backup car. Question: Will Patrick ever be anything more than a field racer and pretty face?

— Kurt Busch … yeah. Under indefinite suspension, it's not clear when Busch would complete terms of his NASCAR-mandated reinstatement program. Question: Will Busch drive again?

— Regan Smith has Busch's No. 41 car in the meanwhile, with finishes of 16th, 17th and 16th. Question: Can Smith find better performance?

So Harvick is the standard bearer for SHR. Remember, he was second at Atlanta after blowing an engine in practice and starting last. Oh, he won the Atlanta Xfinity race, too.

MORE: Harvick tops SN driver rankings | Harvick's feud with Joey Logano

Harvick is fast, confident and hungry for more.

"As you come into this year knowing that you can do the things that we did last year is very rewarding," Harvick said this week. "It's also a great confidence builder for our race team and our guys and everybody that's still a part of the No. 4 team."

If you didn't foresee Harvick doing well this year, you didn't pay attention to 2014. Yes, he won the Sprint Cup. But how he did it was telling.

SHR created a team to Harvick, who left Richard Childress Racing, and brought Rodney Childers as his crew chief.

Result: Harvick's best season included eight poles and five victories. He also led 2,137 laps.

"We had an organization that was willing to do everything that they had to do from a financial standpoint to go out and buy new cars, trucks, trailers. Every nut and bolt on that team was brand new last year," Harvick told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

"So you didn't get a couple cars from this team and a couple things from this team. It was, 'OK, we want you guys to succeed, so here, you guys just go get everything that you need and you hire all the people that you think will fit in.' "

Call it a perfect fit for a team that needs Harvick's best in the worst way.

Ray Slover