Harvick's chance at second Daytona 500 win falls short

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- When Kevin Harvick, Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth went through a winless 2008 season, there's no telling what they thought, or when they thought they'd win again. But if they spent much time worrying, it was a waste because all three won races during Speedweeks 2009.

Harvick, who won the season's first event -- the Budweiser Shootout on the opening weekend at Daytona International Speedway -- scored perhaps the comeback of the Daytona 500 Sunday night by rebounding from a day in the weeds to finish second behind Kenseth when rain ended the race after 152 laps.

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Harvick used some drafting help from Kenseth two years ago to win his first Daytona 500. He was disappointed with second place this year but saw the righteous element in the fact that he'd pushed Kenseth past leader Elliott Sadler on Sunday evening.

Kenseth was just plain relieved, but not overwhelmed when it was pointed out to him the sport's three most significant streaks of futility had ended at Daytona.

"That's pretty cool. I hope it keeps happening," Kenseth said. "I thought about us not winning. That was disappointing. But it's really hard. It's really competitive. Everything's got to go right to be able to win these races.

"It's pretty cool to be able to win this race, but it doesn't make or break your season. We know there's a lot of work to do coming up."

Harvick and his Richard Childress Racing crew did a lot of work in the 500 after he was one of seven drivers that went to the rear for using backup cars.

"Just from the start of the race the track changed a little bit," Harvick said. "We were on the right side of it with our car and were able to make some big adjustments early in the race because we started in the back. Our Chevrolet was rough in the beginning. We came in and made some really big adjustments with the spring rubber and some air pressure and did a lot of things to work on the handling. We realized that we didn't have the speed we needed to.

"They did a good job on pit road and kept us in the game and made the right adjustments and put us in position to have a chance and that's all you can ask for."

In the aftermath of the second rain-shortened 500 in the last seven years, Harvick had no room for criticism. He was satisfied with Sunday's outcome and didn't want to debate NASCAR's decision to call the race based on a forecast for rain that ceased while Kenseth was in Victory Lane and never reappeared.

"I've learned a long time ago that I just kind of do my own thing and the rest of it is all up to them," Harvick said. "You know, fortunately we've sat on the other side of the fence. Knowing how our day started, what we accomplished [Sunday], I'm happy with where we are. Obviously, I know how exciting it is to be in Victory Lane. But it's easy to second guess something until you have to sit up there and make those decisions."

Harvick's been a fixture in the championship race the last several years, and starting the season as he has puts him in a positive mind-set, even though his day Sunday didn't start that well.

"Well, I wasn't happy with the way we started the day, but I was proud of the way that we came back and made the car handle really good," Harvick said. "We knew where we were speed-wise -- it didn't have the speed like it needed to. We said, 'All right, let's make the thing handle.' That really paid off for us in the end.

"I'm kind of like Elliott [Sadler, who led late but finished fifth]. Another lap, you never know what would have happened if that doesn't shake out like it did. I mean, you always want to win the race. Knowing what it's like to win the Daytona 500, it's a lot of fun to win and neat to be in Victory Lane. But, you know, it's also kind of bittersweet, I guess you could say, for the fact that Matt is the one that pushed me to my Daytona 500 win. In the end, it's kind of weird how that stuff works out, but to kind of have it reverse the roles here that's all right."

All the way around, for Harvick his Speedweeks was satisfying. One of his RCR cars won the Shootout and he was second in the Daytona 500. His own Kevin Harvick Inc. vehicles were fifth in the Truck Series race and on the pole for the Nationwide race, where Harvick finished 11th.

But after the 500, as uneasy as he was with his own finish, he was ready to give Kenseth a lot of respect on Sunday night.

"I think in the garage it will definitely be a popular win," Harvick said. "I think Matt's obviously a pretty stand-up person and a great race car driver, accomplished a lot in this sport. I think a lot of us can relate to Matt for kind of going out of the spotlight.

"I think he's one of those guys that he can win seven or eight races in a year and never receive any credit. He's a really good race car driver. He's a champion, Daytona 500 champion. I think a lot of times some of those things are overlooked."