Kevin Harvick: "We did all we could to put ourselves in position to make the Chase and we just fell a little short." Credit: Autostock

In Review: Kevin Harvick

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Kevin Harvick did have something to show for this year: He set the modern-era record for consecutive races running at the finish, pushing the mark to 58.

That doesn't seem like much. No victories, no poles, no Chase for the Nextel Cup -- nothing. For a guy who is used to running up front, 2004 was certainly a difficult season.

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What went wrong? For starters, consistent performance simply wasn't there for many races.

Harvick started the year with a strong fourth in the Daytona 500. But he later dropped out of the top 10 in points with a 32nd-place finish at Atlanta, an amazing seven laps down.

Harvick and crew chief Todd Berrier rebounded with an eighth at Darlington and a third at Bristol, and things seemed fine. He had another third at Talladega and a ninth at California to move to sixth in points.

From there, Harvick seemed poised to have a solid season. But the struggles wouldn't go away. A 25th at Richmond, followed by a 23rd at Charlotte. Nothing better than a two 10th-place finishes until Indianapolis.

And his consecutive races streak went away, too, with a blown engine at the second Pocono event.

Still, Harvick managed to stay in contention for the Chase for the Nextel Cup. The eighth in the Brickyard 400 and a sixth at Watkins Glen seemed to lock Harvick into the top 10.

But when it counted, when Harvick and his team needed to be at their best, they struggled. Down the stretch, in the final four races before the Chase, Harvick couldn't manage a top-10.

In 2004, crew chief Todd Berrier and Harvick averaged a finish of 16.2. Credit: Autostock

He was 16th at Michigan, and then 24th at Bristol after his arm went numb because of pressure from his seat. Still eighth in the points, Harvick needed only to maintain. But he couldn't, finishing 28th at California and 12th at Richmond to drop out of the Chase.

"We did all we could to put ourselves in position to make the Chase and we just fell a little short," Harvick said. "It's disappointing to not be in the hunt for the championship. We've had some things not go our way this year and some miscues here and there. You can't make those mistakes and expect to be there.

"We'll be all right. The sun will still rise tomorrow and we'll still go on racing. We've got a chance to win races still and go for that final spot at the banquet. This team hasn't given up before, and we're not going to start now."

He was true to his word, as Harvick had two of his five top-five finishes in Chase races: a season's best second at Talladega and a fourth at Phoenix. He closed the season with another top-10 at Homestead to finish 14th in the points.

"It was a pretty crazy way to end the season," Harvick said. "All in all, it's a good way to end the season with a top-10 at Homestead. We've got some work to do here in the off-season to enable us to compete a little bit better. Hopefully it will be enough to get us that championship next year."

Consistency clearly was a problem for Harvick, but that's not easily fixed. While he struggled at some intermediate tracks, he was decent at others. And while he starred at restrictor-plate tracks, he wasn't his best at some short tracks.

In October, Harvick pointed the finger at RCR's engines.

Credit: Autostock

"Our engines are topping the wrong end of the list," Harvick said. "That's about it. That's about all you need to say.

"We have one of the best teams in the garage. We just have to have the engines and bodies and stuff that come from around it to support it. We'll get it straightened out."

But for every positive in Harvick's season, there seemed to be a negative. While Harvick's performance improved in Chase races, he blew two more engines and overheated a third.

And it didn't help matters that Harvick had several different teammates in 2004. Johnny Sauter, Dave Blaney and finally Jeff Burton drove the No. 30; and while Robby Gordon finished the season in the No. 31, he was let go from RCR for 2005.

Harvick certainly is looking forward to 2005. Or maybe he's looking forward to seeing 2004 end.

"I'm probably more ready than ever for the season to end," Harvick said late in the year. "It just seems like it's lasted a lot longer than it has in the past. I don't know if it's all the racing I've done this year or what.

"This GM Goodwrench racing team has had a pretty up-and-down season. We've run some good at some tracks and also had some unfortunate circumstances come our way. I still don't think our team will change that much next year.

"We've been consistent from pit stops to setup. We just couldn't seem to put up anything in the win column. It seemed like there was always something preventing us from reaching our bigger goals."