Kevin Harvick, Todd Berrier and Richard Childress won't miss Atlanta. Credit: Autostock

Berrier: Harvick's Busch focus didn't hurt Cup run

After skipping final practice, Harvick frustrated with 31st at Atlanta

HAMPTON, Ga. -- The way Todd Berrier looks at it, three more days of practice at Atlanta Motor Speedway wouldn't have helped Kevin Harvick get much better of a finish than the 31st he scored in Sunday's Bass Pro Shops 500.

Crew chief Berrier was cast in the role of spokesman as a result of his driver's frustration, one day after Harvick, who clinched the 2006 Busch title two weeks ago, scored his eighth Busch Series win of the year, at Memphis on Saturday afternoon.

Kevin Harvick led the first nine laps before things went sour for the 29 team. Credit: Autostock

Bass Pro Shops 500 Results Pos. Driver Make 1. Tony Stewart Chevy 2. Jimmie Johnson Chevy 3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevy 4. Matt Kenseth Ford 5. Greg Biffle Ford 6. Jeff Gordon Chevy 7. Carl Edwards Ford 8. Denny Hamlin Chevy 9. Joe Nemechek Chevy 10. Robby Gordon Chevy • Complete results, click here • Driver standings, click here Victory LaneTony Stewart celebrates his win and makes his own Victory Lane in Atlanta Top finishersJohnson, Kenseth and Dale Jr. all enjoyed Atlanta racing Final lapsDale Earnhardt Jr. battles Matt Kenseth on the final laps Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

In order to do that, Harvick left Atlanta after one hour of practice Saturday morning, in which he was fifth. He skipped Happy Hour to fly to Memphis in time to make the Busch start.

"In my personal opinion, missing that second practice absolutely did not affect our performance [Sunday]," Berrier said. "I just don't see how it would have made any difference."

Harvick offered no opinion.

When the finishers returned to the garage after the race, Harvick politely drove up to the back of his RCR transporter, neatly parked the No. 29 Chevrolet and climbed out of the seat.

He accepted a Reese's ball cap from his PR rep and walked away without a glance backward or a word to his crew.

On his way to the motorcoach lot, Harvick accepted a couple offers of commiseration from passersby, acknowledged a huge outpouring of vocal support from fans outside the lot with waves to each side, but declined several interview requests by remaining silent.

Ten minutes later, when he exited his coach for a buggy ride to leave the speedway, Harvick declined one final request, saying "I don't have anything good to say."

Berrier agreed the race was somewhat of a crew chief's nightmare. His car fell from its second starting position in the rainout lineup -- based on owner points coming into the event -- out of the top 10 by Lap 40, never to return.

Harvick was then caught, along with more than half the field, when Dale Earnhardt Jr. had a flat tire and pitted out of sequence, then cycled into the lead while other cars pitted before the race's second caution fell at Lap 83.

After Dale Jarrett received a free pass, only 18 cars were on the lead lap. Harvick's wasn't one of them and his slide was on.

He was 30th by Lap 140, a couple laps down and it only got worse.

"We pitted early because we were falling like a manhole cover," Berrier said. "We were losing a second a lap and [Tony] Stewart was getting ready to lap us in about three more laps.

"So obviously the choice was, we were getting ready to be three laps down, we might as well take our chance by pitting because on new tires you can make up six- or seven-tenths [of a second] a lap."

The last 150 laps, which contained three cautions, were brutal, Berrier said.

"If you were on the lead lap or maybe a lap down then yeah, obviously you worry about it," Berrier said. "But at the point we got caught by the caution it made us four laps down instead of two, so if you're beyond a lap down you're screwed anyway.

"And obviously, if we were a lap down and running a different position, it might have played a lot of difference in it. But at the end of the day we were two laps down and running 27th and we ended up four laps down and 31st.

Pitting out of sequence with the field dropped Kevin Harvick two additional laps down, which dropped him four spots in the Chase. Credit: Autostock

Chase for the Nextel Cup After Atlanta (7th of 10 races) Rank +/- Driver Behind 1. -- M. Kenseth Leader 2. +1 J. Johnson -26 3. +1 D. Hamlin -65 4. +2 D. Earnhardt Jr. -84 5. -- J. Burton -84 6. -4 K. Harvick -121 7. +2 J. Gordon -146 8. -1 M. Martin -201 9. -1 K. Kahne -210 10. -- Ky. Busch -249 • Complete standings, click here SUPERSTORE •   2006 Chase merchandise! FrustratedJeff Burton is unhappy after his 13th-place finish Debris on track?Robby Gordon defending himself from debris throwing Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

"Yeah, we needed those four or five spots, or whatever they are, but it is what it is."

Whatever the reason, Sunday night's result left Harvick's hopes in the Chase for the Nextel Cup hanging by a valve spring -- unofficially in sixth and 121 points behind leader Matt Kenseth with only three races remaining.

As bitterly disappointed as Berrier was about the result, he said it didn't diminish everything else his team has done this season.

"We haven't been in the Chase for two years -- that's why I done felt like we'd won the thing when we made it," Berrier said. "If we lose it all and finish 10th, we still won four races this year.

"That's the way I look at it. I could care less otherwise. It ain't the end of the world, you know what I mean?"

But his easygoing demeanor aside, Berrier's a proud warrior, so the result was tough to swallow at a track where Harvick scored his first Cup win in his third career start.

Since that victory, however, Harvick has only one top-10 in 11 starts, and that also came in 2001.

"We've been to Atlanta before, we've been to California before, we've ran like this before," Berrier said. "It's pretty simple. I didn't expect to be that bad, but obviously you ain't done it that many times right [at Atlanta], so how can you feel like you're going to come here and whip the world?"

Harvick can rebound at Texas, where he finished fifth in the spring, but there's no guarantee.

"Yeah, it's a good track to rebound at [because] we've run good at Texas," Berrier said. "I think we finished fifth there last time we were there and historically we've been pretty good there.

"But running 10th ain't gonna get it at this point, you know what I'm saying? We've got to win and things have got to happen [to everyone else]."

A regroup is also definitely in order for the team that ranks third in the league in wins, top-fives and top-10s.

"It remains to be seen how Texas is going to go," Berrier said. "When you leave here, it's hard for me to tell you how optimistic I am about going to Texas when you [struggled] as bad as we did [Sunday]."