Problem solved: Strategic pit move, wild pass lead bad-boy Harvick to victory

Monday, July 15, 2002

By Chris Dolack, Special to the Post-Gazette

JOLIET, Ill. -- Kevin Harvick might be NASCAR's problem child, but it doesn't bother him one bit.

In the Tropicana 400 yesterday, Harvick made a wild pass that set up the winning pit strategy as he outdistanced Jeff Gordon to the checkered flag at Chicagoland Speedway.

With 69 laps to go, Harvick, who was suspended earlier this season because of rough driving, raced off the 18 degrees of banking in turn four, dropped to the apron of the 1.5-mile oval in the frontstretch to pass Kurt Busch and lost control of his Monte Carlo going back up the banking in turn one.

By the time he regained control in turn two, a pileup behind him forced a caution. He went directly to the pits, as did Jeff Gordon, while the leaders stayed on the track. That decision to stop by crew chief Gil Martin, who has worked with Harvick for less than two months, ultimately led to the victory, his first since winning at Chicagoland last season.

"I thought Kurt would clear the guy on the outside of him and when I came back up, there wasn't a whole lot of room to go," said Harvick, 26, who was the rookie of the year in 2001 after replacing Dale Earnhardt. "When you come off the apron, you need to go straight up and I tried to go into the corner and up on the racetrack all at once and it felt like someone popped both of the rear tires.

"It's fortunate that nobody hit us but, dang, you can't knock us for trying."

Well, that's not entirely true. The other drivers were more than willing to knock Harvick.

"It was a pretty stupid move in my opinion," said Gordon, a four-time champion who was directly behind Harvick at the time. "He saw an opportunity, he's aggressive and he went for it. I've got to give him some credit, though, because not many guys could have saved that thing. I don't know how he did it.

"It was pretty impressive to see him straighten it out, but it wasn't real impressive to see him try to do it."

Jimmy Spencer, one of two drivers racing for Fox Chapel's Chip Ganassi, was one of those who limped back into the pits with a smashed up race car as a result of Harvick's move. He was also less than thrilled with the maneuver.

"We had a car that could have been in the top 10 and Harvick, I don't even know what you want to call it," Spencer said. "It caused an accident up there, and we got in it and it took us out.

"It was uncalled for. He still drives like an idiot, but what are you going to do?"

When the race resumed with 66 laps to go, Harvick and Gordon were mired deep in the field as Dale Earnhardt Jr., Ryan Newman and Tony Stewart fought for the lead. Then, with 27 laps remaining, Newman's right front tire went flat at the same time Joe Nemechek hit the wall in turn one, bringing out another caution.

The leaders, low on fuel, were forced to pit while Harvick and Gordon remained on the track and moved into first and second. Gordon tried to pass Harvick on the restart with 20 laps to go but wasn't able to slip past him. He held off Stewart for second. Rookie Jimmie Johnson was fourth, followed by Busch and Bill Elliott. Although there were 19 lead changes, only three were on the track under green flag conditions.

"We didn't know how fast it was going to be when we got out front, but it was plenty fast," Harvick said. "It was just a matter of track position for us and once we got it, it was pretty much lights out."

When told of Gordon's remarks, Harvick was quick with a response.

"Jeff Gordon got second, so maybe if he had been a little braver he might have won," said Harvick, who led 29 of the 267 laps. "We went down on the apron coming into the tri-oval, done it two or three times, and he thinks it was a stupid move and I think it was pretty cool."

Points-leader Sterling Marlin, Ganassi's other driver, was in the top 10 for the first half of the race, but dropped off the pace on lap 140 when he was penalized during a pit stop. His Dodge was over the front line of his pit box when his team started to service it.

Despite his misfortune, Marlin finished 16th and leads Mark Martin by 49 points in the race for the championship. The top four drivers are separated by only 95 points. Marlin has led the standings for 17 consecutive races.

Hartford, Ohio, native Dave Blaney finished 17th after running as high as sixth.

NOTES -- There were a total of seven cautions for 35 laps. ... Harvick's victory was worth $200,028.