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[h=2]WEAVER: Overlooking Kevin Harvick[/h]



Matt Weaver / Images by LAT
Is it possible that we've somehow overlooked Kevin Harvick?


The status of a championship leader isn't as prestigious as it used to be in the Sprint Cup Series, given that wins are now the ultimate signifier of success in the NASCAR playoff era. And yet, by traditional measures, Harvick has actually been the most consistent driver on the tour based on his 27-point advantage over Brad Keselowski.
But somehow, he's been somewhat forced under the shadows of a dominant Joe Gibbs Racing effort with their 10 combined victories. Harvick won the Bristol "night" (actually afternoon) race on Sunday but that was only the second time he's broken through in 23 starts.
Granted, much of that obscurity is their own fault, given that countless pit road mistakes have cost them win-after-win during the course of the regular season. They've led 964 laps this season, third-most behind Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. but just haven't capitalized until recently.
The team spent much of the summer tinkering with their much-maligned pit crew and now Harvick feels like his team is prepared to make a run at two championships in three seasons.
"You know, it's us against us," Harvick said. "That's how we're going to treat it and if that's not good enough, then we'll go back to the drawing board. We have a good plan. I think we have great cars, and we've made a lot of adjustments.
"We've had to make a lot of adjustments as the year has worn on ... and I think this win and getting everything ready to run the Chase is going to put all the pieces together."
With all due respect to the five Toyota teams, Harvick and crew chief Rodney Childers are still the biggest threat to anyone else hoping to hoist the Sprint Cup come November at Homestead Miami Speedway – and they wear that confidence, too.
"It's really not a competition between us and Toyota," Harvick said. "For us, it's about not beating ourselves. Today we didn't beat ourselves and that's what we've been talking about. The performance of our racecars will be there."
But it's shaping up to be the No. 4 versus Toyota over the final 10 weeks. Busch just narrowly defeated Harvick in the championship race last season while Truex and Furniture Row Racing were also involved in their final season with Chevrolet. Toss in a Penske Ford and that's probably the safest forecast for the 2016 showdown as well.
For his part, Childers said he doesn't have a chip on his shoulder about the attention Toyota has received but believes they can compete with anyone now that they've cleaned up their mistakes.
"Those guys (at TRD) do a good job, of course," Childers said. "They've got good drivers, they've got good cars, and they work well together. But like Kevin said, this is about not beating ourselves. We have great cars too. We've been right there with them. So hopefully we have things ready for the Chase and we're going to be there when it counts."
The current championship format has been a bit of a crapshoot compared to its predecessor but Harvick is the lone common denominator throughout both years. The championship runs through him and there's no reason to think this year won't be any different.
It doesn't mean much anymore, but Harvick is the championship leader, and maybe he should start getting more consideration for overall championship favorite as well.
"It finally all just came together tonight," Harvick said. "We're three weeks away from the end of the regular season, and I don't think this could have come together at a better time...
"Confidence and momentum go a long ways in racing, baseball, football, basketball, whatever it is, and you just want to ride the wave. That's what we're here to do."

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