It seems the pressure is definitely off now
that NASCAR's Chase for the Nextel Cup championship is ready to
begin.
Kevin Harvick's main objective Friday was to gain a little
revenge on rookie Denny Hamlin, who hit the veteran in the face with
a pie during a TV appearance 24 hours earlier.
And winning the pole for Sunday's Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire
International Speedway was nice, too.
``The biggest goal I had was to get Denny Hamlin,'' Harvick said
minutes after winning his first pole in just over a year. ``We've
been planning that all day. He got me pretty good yesterday on the
`Regis and Kelly' show.
``I didn't say anything. I just waited until the opportune moment
and I got even. It was pretty cool.''
Payback came moments after Hamlin qualified. The youngster got
out of his car on pit road and had just begun an interview with
several TV reporters when Harvick stepped up with a pan filled with
whipped cream and put it squarely in Hamlin's face.
That done, Harvick turned his attention back to racing. But the
six-year NASCAR Nextel Cup veteran is having fun on the track, too.
Harvick, who qualified easily for NASCAR's 10-race Chase, got off
to a solid start with his fifth career pole.
``I think this is fun,'' said Harvick, who took the top spot in
Sunday's race with a lap of 132.282 m.p.h. on the 1.058-mile New
Hampshire oval. ``Racing for a championship has to be fun.''
If that is true, then the Richard Childress Racing driver should
be having a ball.
He has all but wrapped up the Busch Series title already _
holding a 619-point lead over Carl Edwards with just seven races to
go _ and also is one of only 10 drivers with a chance to win the
2006 Cup title.
``I think we are a favourite,'' said Harvick, coming off a Cup
victory last Saturday night at Richmond, where the pressure was
still on for a group of drivers racing to qualify for the Chase.
It's not too surprising that Harvick, who last won a pole in
September 2005 at Richmond, is feeling confident right now.
The entire Childress team has been resurgent this season, with
Harvick, third in the season points, leading the way.
``It is something that everybody feels good about,'' Harvick
said. ``All the hard work this team has put in the last year and a
half to make our cars better and do things better as we go forward.
``Everyone at RCR is confident and feels good about the
performance of our cars. We look forward to coming to the track
every week. Everybody feels good about themselves, but it is all
about these next 10 weeks.''
Jeff Gordon, another Chase driver, wound up second in Friday's
qualifying at 131.751, followed by Penske Racing South teammates
Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman at 131.483 and 131.216, respectively, and
Hamlin, the first rookie to make the Chase in the three years it has
been run.
Series leader Matt Kenseth qualified 25th, runner-up Jimmie
Johnson was seventh and the rest of the Chase contenders were
scattered through the 43-car field, with Dale Earnhardt Jr. eighth,
Kyle Busch 16th, Harvick's teammate Jeff Burton 22nd, Mark Martin
26th and Kasey Kahne 33rd.
Meanwhile, Hamlin _ known as a jokester _ isn't ready to forget
that pie in the face.
``It definitely ain't over,'' he said. ``We're going to keep this
going. This is a lot of fun.''
Harvick had an answer for that, too.
``I am all about this stuff,'' he said. ``If it continues, we
will just keep playing the game and try to stay one notch up.''
