CORAL GABLES, Fla. -- In many ways, this has been a normal week for Kevin Harvick, even with a championship on the line. He did some planning for next season at Kevin Harvick Inc., worked out twice, and sat in on the regular Tuesday morning competition meeting at Richard Childress Racing, where his No. 29 squad game-planned setups and strategies for Sunday's finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. It was all routine and familiar, helping him to arrive in South Florida relaxed, smiling, and looking every bit like the outside title contender that he is.

And yet, at the same time, this week has been somewhat different. Harvick has noticed it in some of the telephone calls that have come into his race shop, in some of the messages he's received on Twitter, in some of the voice mails he's heard. The old Earnhardt fans are rousing, rallying around the Intimidator's successor, rooting on a driver who could bring RCR its first championship in NASCAR's premier division since the halcyon days of the beloved black No. 3.

Kevin Harvick, circa 2001

“

You start with the weight of the world on your shoulders. As it's gone through the years, it's gotten easier.

”

KEVIN HARVICK

There was once a time when such an outpouring would have made Harvick uncomfortable, when he would have rebuffed it, when he would have gone out of his way to try and prove that he was his own man and not someone just trying to carry on a legacy. It was certainly that way in the weeks and months after he was thrust into the national spotlight in the days immediately following Dale Earnhardt's death in 2001, when overnight he was transformed from a promising driver in the then-Busch Series into the seat of a vehicle that represented not just a six-time championship team, but in some ways an entire sport. But with time has come perspective, and Harvick now seems comfortable with the idea that he represents something bigger than himself.

"All these old-school Earnhardt fans have come out of nowhere," he said Thursday after a news conference involving the three remaining Sprint Cup title contenders. "The support has been great this week from the race fans, from people who hadn't watched races for a while. ... This is no disrespect to Dale [Earnhardt] Jr., he's had a couple of tough years, but those people are looking for something to grab onto, and it's almost been overwhelming this week with the support of that crowd of fans. Whether it be Dale Jr. fans or Dale Earnhardt Sr. fans, it's been a big eye-opener for me. Those people are looking for something that was attached to Dale Sr. and to say they're back on top again, would be one way to put it. It's just been the support of not only my core group of fans, but you also have this whole different group of fans that all of the sudden is back interested in what we are doing as a team."

He's still something of a long shot, 46 points behind leader Denny Hamlin, with four-time champion Jimmie Johnson in second place, 15 back. But Harvick seems to be relishing his position -- in fact, he's smiled more often and grown more talkative as the championship picture has tightened. People ask if he feels pressure. Pressure is running for a race team that's flailing in its attempt to remain competitive. Pressure is being 25 years old and being asked to replace an icon. Chasing down Hamlin and Johnson? By comparison that seems simple, which only makes Harvick more dangerous.

"It just seems like, you know, we've been through so much together," he said, referring to himself and car owner Childress. "It all has worked backwards for me with coming in, with taking over Dale's car. You started with the biggest press conference you'll ever be a part of in your whole life. You start with the weight of the world on your shoulders. As it's gone through the years, it's gotten easier. It's almost like you've gotten prepared for these situations before you even got started."

Harvick isn't the type who backs away from tough situations. The son of a firefighter, the Bakersfield, Calif., native wrestled for four years in high school because the mental and physical pain inherent to the sport only challenged him to get better -- both on the mat, and in the race car. "It was the best thing I ever did to prepare me for this level," he said, "... because it's so physically demanding, and you want to quit about every other day." He won the Winston West championship in 1998 with one car, which he used on all types of tracks, towed behind a 1977 Winnebago. He was one of several drivers mentored by Ron Hornaday, and spent many nights sleeping on the eventual Truck Series champion's couch. (Continued)