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Predecessor paved way for Harvick

By KEVIN KELLY

© St. Petersburg Times, published March 13, 2001

Grown men sobbed all around him.

But Kevin Harvick looked as composed as, say, Dale Earnhardt would have when he climbed from his winning race car after the Cracker Barrel 500 on Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

"For this situation," team owner Richard Childress said, "I don't know of anybody who could be as calm and cool."

Three weeks after being awarded the toughest situation imaginable -- that of replacing Earnhardt -- the 25-year-old has shown tremendous potential and poise.

"Not much can get me sidetracked," said Harvick, who is the fifth rookie to win a race by his third start in NASCAR's premier series. "I'm a pretty mellow, laid-back person. I kind of go with the flow. I just got married a week and a half ago to DeLana and we were just talking the other night (and asking), "What in the world are we going to do next year?' Things have definitely changed in the last three weeks.

"I wouldn't say it's for the worst. It's just been unexpected. You just have to work with the cards you've been dealt, and it'll all work itself out."

Harvick's willingness to leap from the Busch Grand National series to Winston Cup made things remarkably easier for Childress.

"It took a lot of the pain as far as not having to worry about how the car was running and how we were doing at the racetrack," Childress said. "It was just a very emotional deal. I didn't think I was very emotional. But I guess I found out how soft I really am."

BACK ON TOP: More than two years since he last sat atop the points standings, Jeff Gordon is back.

The three-time Winston Cup champion, who finished second at Atlanta, leads Dale Jarrett by 37 points.

With help from his teammate, Jerry Nadeau, Gordon came back to finish second after running out of gas and falling a lap behind on Lap143. Nadeau led when the yellow flag came out on Lap 233 and allowed Gordon to pass and get back on the lead lap.

"I just couldn't be more pleased with this team," Gordon said. "I just can't believe the way things are going for us right now."

CHEVY DOMINATION: Gordon's victory marked Chevrolet's fourth in as many races this season.

NASCAR impounded Jarrett's Ford, Gordon's Chevrolet, Bobby Labonte's Pontiac and Sterling Marlin's Dodge after the race to take to the Lockheed wind tunnel for testing.

BAD LUCK: A bolt that rubbed a hole in his car's radiator sent Marlin to the Winston Cup garage in a cloud of smoke.

He finished 35th, his first race out of the top 10 this season, and dropped from first to fourth in the standings.

"You've got to take the good with the bad and go on down the road," he said. "I feel like we can rebound and come back."

DOUBLE DIP: The latest CART driver thinking of entering the Indianapolis 500 is Michael Andretti.

The 38-year-old confirmed to the Associated Press on Sunday that his new team owner, Barry Green, is trying to help him put together a deal to drive in the May race.

Andretti has competed in the Indy 500 11 times with his best finish (second) coming in 1991. He has six top-eight finishes.

"I'm pretty sure it's either going to happen or not happen sometime this coming week," Andretti said. "I hope it does, but it's still kind of up in the air."

ODDS AND ENDS: After winning the first two races of the season, Dale Earnhardt Inc. had a disappointing day at Atlanta. Steve Park's engine blew on Lap 81. Michael Waltrip finished three laps down. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was in contention for the win until his right front tire went flat four laps from the finish. ... Alex Zanardi's return to CART at the Monterrey Grand Prix proved to be nothing spectacular. After running off the course a couple of times, he finished 21st in his Reynard-Honda. ... Seventeen drivers finished on the lead lap in the CART race.

- Information from other news organizations was used in this report.

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