The 43 Days of Daytona - 14th Place in 2005

Over the 43 days leading up to the Daytona 500, I'll be doing a short review/preview of the Top 43 Drivers of 2005.

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Kevin Harvick
#29 - GM Goodwrench / Reeses

He ran the full 2005 season in the Richard Childress Racing #29. He had 2 poles, 1 win, 3 Top 5's, and 10 Top 10's. His winnings were $4,970,050.

...and still it was a down year.

It was snakebit. Something good would happen and, then, something bad.

Harvick has a temper, but that can't be blamed for what went on last year. He won a race...but had some equipment failures. It was a down year for RCR equipment, just ask Jeff Burton and Dave Blaney...especially Blaney. The biggest opportunity of his career so far went belly up with his losing the #07 Jack Daniels ride.

Harvick is interested in the future of NASCAR. The following quote comes from Kevin Harvick via ESPN.com.

"No one has been able to replace Earnhardt as a voice for the drivers in the NASCAR Nextel Cup garage area." Speaking Thursday during NASCAR's annual Media Day, Harvick said longtime Cup star Rusty Wallace filled some of that void until he retired last year. "With him gone, I can't tell you who is going to step up," Harvick said. "It's like our biggest stars are involved in a lot of other things and not taking 100 percent interest in the sport now." Without saying his name, Harvick made it clear that he believes four-time champion Jeff Gordon should be filling Earnhardt's role as the unofficial drivers' representative to NASCAR. "There are people who should be more involved and you know who I mean," he said. Gordon shrugged off the apparent criticism, saying the sport has changed and no one can really replace the charismatic and often enigmatic Earnhardt. "I know people have asked me, `Why haven't you done that? Why haven't you done that?' I've never really felt like it was my place to do that," Gordon said. "I feel like over the years that I've been here that I've earned more respect, but I don't know if I'll ever have the type of respect that Dale had. I think we all play a certain role in doing it together as drivers. It is our responsibility to bring up certain issues and try to do our best to keep the sport growing. But the sport is growing. It's been doing good."

Looks to me like has taken all the necessary steps to allow Tony Stewart to step past him as NASCAR's leading driver. Look no further than the bump drafting commentary that Stewart made after the Bud Shootout and NASCAR's making moves this week to limit and penalize excessive bump drafting.

Harvick may be getting his wish. Gordon doesn't want the job. Stewart will take it as a responsibility, not that he necessarily wants it either.

Rumors are swirling that when the Toyota Camry debuts in NASCAR next season with 3 different teams, one of them being Team Red Bull, that Kevin Harvick may be in the seat of one of the Red Bull offerings.

Harvick is long on talent, short on temper, and he has a lead foot. Add quality equipment to that equation and RCR should be running for a championship...if they don't come back consistently, it wouldn't surprise me if Harvick does move on to greener pastures at some point, being Dale Earnhardt's heir apparent at RCR or not.

Good news is that Jeff Burton put the #31 Cingular Chevy out of the RCR stable on the pole for the Daytona 500. That is a good step in the right direction.

Will sponsorship be big enough to allow the team to field a car every week? Yes. The GM Goodwrench deal mixed with the Reeses deal is solid.

Do I think he could go win a championship? Yes.

Do I think he could win a race or two and have a good season? Yes. In a bad car, Harvick could win a race. If RCR puts the right combination under him consistently this season, he could win 5 races.