Kevin Harvick is trying to win his second Busch Series title. Credit: Autostock

Harvick looking to clinch title driving his own car

Thirty-two points. It's all Kevin Harvick has to beat Carl Edwards by to clinch the Busch Series championship, something that's been evident since mid-summer or even earlier.

Kevin Harvick will make his fourth start of the season in the No. 33 KHI Chevy. Credit: CIA Stock Photo

Busch Series Standings heading to LMS Pos. +/- Driver Behind 1. -- Kevin Harvick Leader 2. -- Carl Edwards -729 3. +1 Clint Bowyer -855 4. -1 Denny Hamlin -902 5. -- J.J. Yeley -984 6. +1 Kyle Busch -1257 7. -1 Paul Menard -1267 8. -- Greg Biffle -1331 9. +1 Reed Sorenson -1573 10. -1 Johnny Sauter -1658 • Complete standings, click here DOLLAR GENERAL 300 •   Entry List •   1st Practice Speeds •   2nd Practice Speeds •   2006 Standings •   2006 Loop Data •   Weekend TV Schedule •   Complete Coverage

But Harvick's timing couldn't be any better.

Consider this:

• He's got the home crowd in the stands this weekend, as Charlotte boasts of having nearly three-quarters of NASCAR's Busch Series teams based in the metro area.

• The race is the Dollar General 300. KHI's No. 77, driven by Bobby Labonte, has the same corporate sponsor on the hood.

• So does Harvick.

After driving 27 of the 30 races this year for Richard Childress Racing, Harvick will be back in his own No. 33 Chevy for Friday's Dollar General 300 (8 p.m. ET, TNT).

In three starts driving his own car this year, he has finished eighth twice (California and Texas) and 11th at Atlanta. In contrast, Harvick has finished lower than eight just two times while driving for RCR this year.

Sounds good for any Busch driver. But with a 729-point lead with five races to go, Harvick is no average Busch driver.

He's finished worse than eighth a whopping three times this season. His average finish is 4.7. He's led 908 laps. He's got seven victories. And he needs three more to tie Sam Ard for the all-time mark of 10 set in 1983.

Not a bad way to lift a trophy.

"It's an incredible accomplishment," Harvick said two weeks ago about the possibility of winning the championship.

Harvick will give up the No. 21 RCR seat temporarily this weekend to Jeff Burton. And should Harvick clinch the title driving his own car, it would make it even sweeter for the team.

"This weekend is a big weekend for KHI," said Wally Rogers, crew chief of the No. 33 Chevy. "Obviously with Kevin in the No. 33, we want to try to help build on what he's already accomplished this year in the Busch Series and hopefully give him another good car and another good finish."

Charlotte's a good place for it. Harvick has six top-10s in 11 starts there, including an eighth-place finish in May. But all of his trips to LMS have been in a Childress car.

Kyle Busch has two victories at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Credit: Autostock

GIVE ME THIS ONE Kyle Busch had originally scheduled to take his Chicago car to Lowe's Motor Speedway this weekend.  But he had a change of plans two weeks ago.  "As soon as the checkered flag waved at Kansas, Kyle came on the radio and said he wanted that same car for Lowe's," said crew chief Chad Walter, who helped Busch finish third at Kansas. "He was really comfortable in the car and felt that it responded well to adjustments.  "We had a lot of work to do, though, because the right side of the car had quite a bit of damage."  The team repaired it, had it painted and now has it sitting at LMS, a place where Busch has been tough to beat. In six starts, he's got two victories and four top-fives. But in the last two trips, Busch has finishes of 41st and 23rd.  He aims to change that Friday.  "I think it's obvious things are starting to come together with this team," said Busch, who sits sixth in the standings and hasn't finished worse that 12th in the last six races.  "We won at Bristol back in March, and I know all of us are hoping we can get another W before the season ends."

And Edwards won't be a pushover.

Edwards won the Charlotte Busch race in May and was fourth in this race a year ago. But as of late, he's been Jekyll/Hyde. In the past six races, Edwards has alternated between finishing inside and outside the top 10. His best was a sixth-place two weeks ago at Kansas, while his worst was the week prior at Dover (26th).

In fact, nobody will be a pushover. Especially not Tony Stewart, who has driven in 10 races this year, all for KHI.

The last time the series was at Charlotte, Stewart drove Harvick's 33 car hard into the wall, injuring his right shoulder.

In the following day's Cup race, he crashed again and broke his shoulder blade.

Stewart is back for Friday night's race but obviously in a different car. He's driving the No. 8 DEI Chevy for the first time this season.

"Every time I've driven a DEI car we've had good runs, but just never been able to win because of outside circumstances," said Stewart, who led Thursday night's final practice. "I'm looking forward to driving a car Tony [Eury] Sr. helped build for the first time."

And this trip to Charlotte has a lighter feeling to it for Stewart.

"It's going to be fun because the whole scenario has that Harry Hyde/Cole Trickle flavor to it from Days of Thunder," Stewart said of working with the veteran DEI crewman. "I don't know what to expect with that combination, but I can pretty much guarantee you it's going to be a lot of fun."

Fun for Stewart -- and 41 other drivers -- would mean winning the race on Friday night. Fun for Harvick would mean lifting the trophy with Busch Series champion engraved on it.

And if they miss the setup, chances are they'll still have a good run. They have all season. This isn't the time to stop.

"The days we've been off, we've still been able to make a really good day out of it," Harvick said. "It's just been one of those years where everything has gone our way."