Harvick's Daytona win another major stride in RCR's revival

Saturday night's Coke Zero 400 wasn't exactly a NASCAR work of art. A race that began 90 minutes late because of rain, was red flagged for 20 minutes after a 19-car accident and ended well past midnight might not seem Hall of Fame worthy.

But for Kevin Harvick, it was a masterpiece.

Harvick's second consecutive restrictor plate race win was just what the Richard Childress Racing driver needed to help solidify his shot at a first Sprint Cup Series title.

Kevin Harvick gives Richard Childress a hug and a smile. (Getty Images)

Despite leading the point standings, Harvick trailed Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin in victories, which set the Chase seedings when the playoff season rolls around in September.

He was able to cut that deficit with win No. 2 on Saturday.

"That's all we have talked about for the last two or three weeks, what do we have to do to win more races before the Chase starts," said Harvick after career victory No. 13. "We had this conversation Friday night. We had this conversation Wednesday afternoon at the shop. ... For the 29 team, it's just something that we've talked about for two or three weeks, and to be able to come out and capitalize on it tonight is what we have to do."

What Harvick and the rest of the RCR stable have done this year is nothing short of remarkable. A year ago the team was in a state of flux and uncompetitive, and Harvick looked as if he would bolt the organization after his contract expired.

But internal changes and a new direction have righted the ship, and Harvick is locked into a new contract that will keep him in the fold for the foreseeable future.

"A lot of management changes, pretty much started over on our race cars, took a different direction with the engineering and really just kind of came up with a new plan," Harvick said.

"But Richard pulled the trigger on a lot of different things, whether it was reorganizing people, whether it was getting us the funds to build new cars. I mean, he stepped out on a huge limb to spend the money to start over with basically four teams halfway through the year, and it's paying off now for us."

Harvick and Childress hope the big payoff comes with a Sprint Cup title this season.

Fast five

• The biggest restrictor plate since 1988 and the first race at Daytona with a rear spoiler in place of a wing didn't have as much of an impact Saturday night as some expected. Those two elements added up to NASCAR's most competitive race ever when the Sprint Cup Series raced at Talladega back in April. But although a record 18 different drivers led Saturday night, it was a far cry from the performance at Daytona's sister track in the spring.

• Richard Petty celebrated his 73rd birthday over the weekend but his driver A.J. Allmendinger wasn't wishing "The King" well Saturday night. Allmendinger stormed away from Petty who was trying to talk to the frustrated driver after he was knocked from the race in an accident. "I always say the car owner shouldn't talk to the driver anytime after the race, especially after an accident," Richard Petty Motorsports vice president Robbie Loomis said. "I think Richard's been here so many times, he's been through this stuff and he was just trying to get him to loosen up and let the boys do their stuff on fixing the car and getting back out there. Anytime you talk to somebody at the wrong time, it always causes discussion that needs to be worked out. That's all that happened." Allmendinger was credited with 37th.

• The 19-car melee that red flagged the race for more than 20 minutes was huge even by restrictor plate racing crashes. The drivers' list involved in the accident reads like an all-star race lineup, with Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, Mark Martin and Ryan Newman among the unfortunate participants. The good news for the team personnel who fix and repair Sprint Cup cars is that there is only one plate race left on this year's schedule.

• Speaking of the schedule, it appears more likely than ever the 2011 Sprint Cup slate will have a much different look than it has in recent seasons. NASCAR acknowledged both SMI and ISC have requested realignment date changes for next year, and there are reports Kentucky and a second date for Las Vegas will be part of the SMI plan, at the expense of races in New Hampshire and Atlanta, and Kansas will gain a second NASCAR weekend when Auto Club Speedway gets stripped of its February date.

• Saturday was quite a different story for the Earnhardt Ganassi Racing team than this year's first trip to Daytona, when Jamie McMurray gave team owners Chip Ganassi and Felix Sabates their first 500 win. Both McMurray and teammate Juan Pablo Montoya were involved in accidents Saturday night, and despite starting the day with a Rolex Grand Am sports car victory on Daytona's road course, Ganassi's flight to Watkins Glen to watch his Indy Car team race Sunday surely wasn't pleasant.

Speed sounds

"The replay shows I turned right across the nose of the 42 [of Montoya], so apparently I wanted to wreck myself." -- Kyle Busch

"I just cannot get a break. ... It's just very hard to swallow." -- Elliott Sadler, who exited the race after a crash with Sam Hornish Jr.

"There's convincing evidence of that. We've seen him turn right before and wreck a Penske car." -- Kurt Busch on Carl Edwards making contact with his car at the end of the race.

"We didn't have a car to compete tonight. I just apologize to all the fans." -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. despite finishing fourth.

Charging ahead

Kasey Kahne: Was able to avoid mechanical issues to score his third top five finish in the past four races with a runner-up performance Saturday night.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Followed his emotional Nationwide Series victory Friday night with a fourth place Sprint Cup Series effort which lifted Junior to 11th in the series point standings.

Kurt Busch: Survived a couple of accidents and pit road issues to notch a top ten finish to slide him up one notch in the standings to fourth.

Downshifting

Kyle Busch: Caused a huge practice crash and then totaled his backup car in an accident with Juan Pablo Montoya. He wound up 40th.

Mark Martin: Got swept up in the night's giant 19-car accident and was pulled from his car when it caught on fire in the aftermath. Martin has dropped out of the Chase cutoff after his 28th-place finish.

Tony Stewart: The defending race champion didn't have a chance to kick his patented summer hot streak into high gear after a practice accident started his weekend and a 25th-place finish finished it.

Sneak peek

The summer stretch continues with a trip to the Windy City (well, 60 miles southwest of it anyway) and Saturday night's race at Chicagoland Speedway.