Neither Kevin Harvick nor Matt Kenseth say they'll wreck Jimmie Johnson to win the Nextel Cup title Sunday. Credit: Autostock

Harvick, Kenseth will race Johnson clean

Both contenders say they have too much respect for sport

HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- It's the final laps of Sunday's Nextel Cup finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway and Kevin Harvick is on the rear bumper of points leader Jimmie Johnson.

	Chase for the Nextel Cup Next: Homestead (Season finale) Pos. +/- Driver Behind 1. -- J. Johnson Leader 2. -- M. Kenseth -63 3. +2 K. Harvick -90 4. -- D. Hamlin -90 5. -2 Earnhardt Jr. -115 6. -- J. Gordon -167 7. -- J. Burton -225 8. +1 M. Martin -273 9. +1 K. Kahne -319 10. -2 Ky. Busch -359 • Complete standings, click here SUPERSTORE •   2006 Chase merchandise!

Wreck Johnson and Harvick becomes the first person to win the Cup and Busch Series title in the same season.

Let him go and he's racing for second.

Would he do it?

"Absolutely,'' Harvick says with a smile.

He pauses, looking at the blank stare of reporters around him. He realizes they're not sure if he's joking or serious.

He's joking.

As much as Harvick wants to win his first Cup title, he's not willing to compromise his reputation.

"The integrity of the sport is on the line, and you also have to be able to sleep at night,'' Harvick says. "I say 'absolutely' just in a joking matter. You can't just blatantly knock somebody out of the way. It's just not what we're all about.''

That doesn't mean Harvick, who is 90 points out of the lead, won't race Johnson hard. He'll go door to door with him just as he did a week ago at Phoenix when he held off Johnson's late charge for his fifth win of the season.

"Everybody is going to do everything we can to try and gain an advantage,'' Harvick says. "You don't want to knock somebody out of the way on purpose just to put them out of the race.

"To be able to lay your head down at night you want to be able to win it fair and square.''

Matt Kenseth, in second place 63 points behind Johnson, agrees. He won't race Johnson any differently than he's raced him all season.

He has too much respect for the sport and Johnson.

"I've been in a lot of races with Jimmie and he's had a lot of chances to knock me out of the way, even at a track like Bristol where it's acceptable, and he's never done it,'' Kenseth says. "So I wouldn't do that to him, either.''

Kasey Kahne won his sixth Bud Pole of the season. Credit: Autostock

Ford 400 Qualifying Results Pos. Driver Speed Time 1. K. Kahne 178.259 30.293 2. S. Riggs 178.218 30.300 3. Ky. Busch 178.118 30.317 4. E. Sadler 178.059 30.327 5. J. Burton 177.983 30.340 6. B. Vickers 177.288 30.459 7. K. Harvick 177.270 30.462 8. J.J. Yeley 177.084 30.494 9. D. Gilliland 177.009 30.507 10. C. Bowyer 176.945 30.518 • Complete lineup, click here • Practice Speeds, click here Pole winnerKahne will lead the field to green in the season's final race Eye on the prizeJohnson will chase his first NNC title from the 15th starting spot Middle of the packMatt Kenseth will start the Ford 400 from the 19th position Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

He pauses.

"If it was the 24 [Jeff Gordon], maybe that would be different, but I don't think the 48 would do that to me and I wouldn't do that to him, either,'' Kenseth says.

Kenseth was joking as well, referring to the incident after the spring race at Bristol Motor Speedway in which Gordon physically shoved him after the race.

But Kenseth, like Harvick, doesn't want the title at any cost.

"I don't think you should race anybody different, whether it's for the title or not,'' he says.

Such talk might hurt the sport's WWE image, but the fact is there are few Rowdy Roddy Piper's in Nextel Cup with Jimmy Spencer behind a microphone instead of the steering wheel.

This isn't to suggest NASCAR has become the gentlemen's sport of golf, but for the most part drivers want to win because of their ability and equipment.

Not because they can slide up behind their opponent with a metal chair.

Johnson, Kenseth and Harvick -- with Denny Hamlin the only four with a realistic shot at the title -- are more worried about a loose lug nut or getting a speeding penalty on pit road than they are blindsiding each other.

They fear getting caught up in somebody else's mess more than creating one.

Johnson likely won't adhere to the cliché rubbin' is racin' based on the way he backed away from Harvick and Mark Martin last week.

"It will still be exciting and I think it will be nerve-wracking for the leader and for the rest of us because you know any lap, anything can happen,'' Kenseth says.

Although further back than Kenseth, Harvick may be in the best position to make a run based on recent performance. He's coming off a victory at Phoenix and has two wins in the Chase, more than the other nine drivers in NASCAR's playoff.

He also has the fastest car of the three, qualifying seventh to 15th for Johnson and 19th for Kenseth, and the latter's cars have been sub-par the past six races.

Harvick also was second-fastest in Saturday's first practice. Johnson was 10th and Kenseth 33rd, prompting crew chief Robbie Reiser to make radical changes to the setup.

Taking chances with setups is allowed.

Taking somebody out isn't.

"I'm not going to cut him any slack, but we're going to race fair and we're going to race hard,'' Harvick says. "Do you jokingly say stuff? Sometimes. But you don't ever want it to come down to that. You'd be so tarnished it would be hard to live with.''