Harvick loses lead, but still comes home fourth

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Quote “We were calm and relaxed and just kind of took our time and picked them off as we could." -- Kevin Harvick

BRISTOL, Tenn. -- The last time he visited Eastern Tennessee, Kevin Harvick endured one of his more miserable Winston Cup weekends.

On Saturday night, on a stage set for excess, he made news with performance, not hijinks. Coming from the midst of a crowded pack, Harvick finished fourth in the Sharpie 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. He also empathized with the trauma of winner Jeff Gordon's just-snapped 31-race victory drought.

"Congratulations to Jeff Gordon, man," Harvick said. "I know how it feels when you're down and everybody's kicking you. But that's awesome."

Back in March, Harvick was down -- suffering through a poor start and mired in 23rd place in the points entering Bristol's spring event. Harvick's tumultuous weekend included a shoving match with Greg Biffle following the Busch race and a bumping episode with Robby Gordon after the Cup race.

	Kevin Harvick has moved from 35th to 19th in the standings. Credit: Autostock

Despite all the distractions, Harvick finished 10th in the Food City 500. Which meant the prospect of a good run under the August lights wasn't unreasonable.

Harvick was patient and took his time working toward the front. He was 15th by lap 125 and stayed in the top 15 through the next 150 laps, hovering around the 12th, 13th and 14th marks.

"We were calm and relaxed and just kind of took our time and picked them off as we could," Harvick said. "We kept the front fenders on the car."

By lap 275, Harvick was ninth. He was third with 100 laps remaining and seized the lead on lap 444. He stayed in front until lap 481, when Rusty Wallace overtook him. The difference was that Harvick's tires were about 20 laps older than Wallace's, Gordon's and third-place finisher Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

"We came in about 15 laps before those guys did," Harvick said. "I'm glad to see tires making a difference in Winston Cup racing. Everybody should have to come in and put on four tires. Sometimes you benefit from the strategy, but a lot of times you don't."

Still, he wasn't unhappy with fourth place. Saturday night marked Harvick's sixth top-10 result in seven races. In his last 10 events, he's vaulted from 35th to 19th in the points.

"This GM Goodwrench team had a good night all night long," Harvick said. "We kept ourselves out of trouble and came away with a top five, so that's what we came here for."