HARVICK STAYS WITH RCR TEAM.

Byline: TIM HADDOCK MOTOR SPORTS

Before the NASCAR Nextel Cup season started, there was speculation Kevin Harvick would become the big name Toyota desperately wants behind the wheel of one of its cars when it enters stock car racing's biggest stage next year.

Team owner Richard Childress ended those rumors last weekend when he locked up Harvick through the 2009 season.

No one is happier than Harvick that he is staying with Richard Childress Racing. Quite honestly, Harvick might have been happier someplace else.

Richard Childress Racing has struggled the past two seasons, failing to place a driver in the season-ending Chase for the Championship.

Drivers Jeff Green, Robby Gordon, Dave Blaney and Jeff Burton all have struggled in Childress cars, not exactly what to expect from an organization that won six Cup championships with Dale Earnhardt.

But the promising Harvick, known as much for his dramatic race wins as he is for his post-race indiscretions, has few complaints about Childress Racing and his deal with the team.

``It makes me feel comfortable,'' said Harvick, a Bakersfield native who used to race late models at Mesa Marin Raceway. ``I know it makes all the guys feel comfor- table and I feel good about the direction of the organization.''

Harvick enters Saturday's NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway fifth in points. He has one Cup win this year, coming at Phoenix Interna- tional Raceway, and most recently finished third at Richmond International Raceway in Virginia for his fifth top-10 of the year.

One of the reasons Harvick said his team has been so successful is his familiarity with his teammates and crew.

``They can pretty much tell if I've had a good day or a bad day away from the race track or if I'm frustrated about something in the car,'' Harvick said. ``They know when to say something and when not to say something. That takes a long time to build and, to me, that's the most comforting thing that we have.''

Perhaps most important were changes Childress began making at the end of the 2005 season to improve his cars. Harvick said Childress hasn't deviated from his plan and it has paid off.

``The guys stuck to the plan and kept those cars,'' Harvick said. ``They were very structured as to going to the wind tunnel and implementing the process of what they wanted on the cars that they learned from the wind tunnel. And the engine department is getting better.

``There's a lot of things getting better, but there's so much stuff there that it just takes time to make things happen.''

Making the Chase might seem like a way for Harvick to prove he belongs with the elite drivers. But he doesn't see it that way.

``I don't really think there's anything to prove,'' Harvick said. ``We just want to go out and prove to ourselves that the things we did were right and stand up on that stage in New York and accept the trophy one day.''

--Schmidt picks driver: Car owner Sam Schmidt, a Pepperdine graduate, will have Brazilian Airton Dare drive his No.88 entry in the 90th running of the Indianapolis 500.

Dare has competed in four Indy500s, his best finish coming in 2001 when he finished eighth.

``Sixty days ago, we didn't think we had a shot, but once again we've been able to pull things together,'' Schmidt said. ``We feel very fortunate to have a driver of Airton's caliber.''

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