Local Look: Talladega

Events: Aaron's 499, Aaron's 312, Missouri/Illinois Dodge Dealers Ram Tough 200

Local papers contributing: Richmond Times-Dispatch, The Tennessean, The Roanoke Times, The Tampa Tribune

Harvick learns from RCR rebuilding process

The deal: Kevin Harvick, the owner, now understands what Kevin Harvick, the driver, was told by his Nextel Cup boss, Richard Childress.

Inside the Numbers RCR in 2006 (through eight races)   Harvick Burton Bowyer Wins 1 0 0 Top-5s 3 1 1 Top-10s 4 4 2 Poles 0 1 0 DNFs 0 0 0 Avg. Start 19.6 14.2 24.2 Avg. Finish 13.5 18.9 17.1 Points 8 13 12 • Harvick: Driver Page | '06 Stats • Burton: Driver Page | '06 Stats • Bowyer: Driver Page | '06 Stats

Jill Erwin of the Richmond Times-Dispatch writes RCR's performance at Phoenix, when all three of his cars finished in the top 10, reinforces Childress' commitment to winning.

"You understand that things can't just happen overnight," Harvick said. "They laid out a plan and explained it to us and just said, 'Here is what we want to do, here is where we need to get better,' and we have been chipping away at it ever since."

Harvick won both the Busch and Cup races at Phoenix, his rookie teammate, Clint Bowyer, finished a career-best fifth in the Subway Fresh 500, and veteran Jeff Burton was ninth.

Why we care: With Harvick's pending free-agent status, and RCR's lack of productively in recent years, 2006 is important for all parties involved.

Thus far, the results are good. Harvick, who ended a 39-race winless streak in Cup, is eighth in points. Bowyer, the top rookie in the series to this point, is 12th, and Burton is 13th.

"We are heading in the right direction," Burton said. "I am real proud to have the three cars in the top 10. We will keep diggin' and try to get even better."

Which would make Harvick a happy camper in the RCR garage for years to come.

Atwood's father: Evernham gave up too quickly

The deal: Kasey Kahne is doing what Casey Atwood couldn't, writes Larry Woody of The Tennessean.

Inside the Numbers Casey Atwood career (Cup) Year No. W T-5 T-10 2000 3 0 0 1 2001 35 0 1 3 2002 35 0 0 0 2003 2 0 0 0 (Busch) Year No. W T-5 T-10 1998 13 0 1 1 1999 31 2 5 9 2000 32 0 0 8 2003 14 0 0 4 2004 29 0 1 7 2005 4 0 0 1 • Career stats: Cup | Busch

Kahne is having a breakout season with Evernham Motorsports. He has two victories and is third in points. His winnings after eight races is $1.7 million.

Meanwhile, Atwood is sitting at home unable to secure a full-time ride since he was released by team owner Ray Evernham after the 2002 season.

"Ray gave up too quick on Casey," said Terry Atwood, Casey's father. "I don't know if he was feeling pressure from the Dodge people or what. Casey had some good races and everybody thought he was progressing well. Then one day it was all over.

Why we care: A driver who once was considered to have Jeff Gordon-type potential, Atwood might never get another ride.

After never receiving any Cup offers, Atwood was hoping to resurrect his career in the Busch Series. But the infiltration of Cup regulars has made that possiblity remote.

Evernham, who wanted a more experienced driver is his primary car as the team made the move to Dodge, switched Atwood, who was coming off a solid rookie season, with veteran Jeremy Mayfield. Atwood's new ride, co-owned by Jim Smith, was not competitive.

"To my knowledge Ray has never given anybody an explanation about what happened," Terry Atwood said. "All I know is that it was a big setback for Casey and he has yet to recover from it."

Newman 'playing catch-up'

The deal: Dustin Long of The Roanoke Times writes Ryan Newman must first run well before he can run fast.

Inside the Numbers Ryan Newman -- 2004-06 (through eight races)   2004 2005 2006 Wins 0 0 0 Top-5s 3 1 1 Top-10s 5 2 2 Poles 3 3 0 DNFs 1 0 3 Avg. Start 6.5 4.6 9.9 Avg. Finish 15.3 14.5 23.8 Points 11 7 22 • Stats: 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | Page

"I think we're playing catch-up with a few things technology-wise and I see that getting better over time,'' Newman said. "Our struggle in race [setup] has put more emphasis on us doing race trim in practice.

"It's not that we're running fifth to seventh and not winning races and people [are] saying, 'You're winning poles and not winning races.' We're struggling to get to seventh on any point in the race and that's put more emphasis on racing and made our qualifying performances less than they've been in the past."

Newman, who has 11 wins and 28 poles in the past three seasons, has neither this year. He has only one top-10.

Why we care: If things don't turn around in a hurry, Newman will miss the Chase, writes Tony Fabrizio of The Tampa Tribune.

Offseason changes at Penske Racing South might just be responsible for steering Newman in that direction. Newman is 22nd in points, 191 points below 10th place.

"We had a rough offseason with the transition of moving a lot of people around with the 2 car and our situation with losing more people and changing more people than we ever have in the past," he said.

"[Crew chief] Matt Borland and a lot of people at the shop had been so [busy with] meeting and things like that, we haven't been able to put a lot of emphasis and focus on making the Alltel Dodge go around in a circle real quick."