Harvick: Make double duty more difficult for Cup drivers

By Lee Montgomery
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
$util.encode.html($content.photo.alt)

BILL ANDERSON

Kevin Harvick has made a mockery of the NASCAR Busch Series this season, clinching the championship three weeks ago and posting nine victories, 22 top-five and 30 top-10 finishes.

But he's not unsympathetic to the plight of the independent Busch teams. Asked earlier this week about what he would do if he were in charge of the Busch Series, Harvick had some interesting answers.

"I think the first thing that I would change would be the schedule," Harvick said. "I would make it impossible for Cup drivers to make it to at least five of the races."

Currently, there are eight "standalone" Busch races, but two are on Nextel Cup off-weekends, and the six others are relatively easy to access.

"The second thing I would do would be to put Cup rosters in place so that you couldn't use your pit crews from the Cup series," Harvick said.

That would, in theory, make the battles on pit road more competitive, instead of Nextel Cup teams having a built-in advantage with their pit crews.

"I would also seal the motors, so that you would have to run them twice," Harvick said. "That would cut the motor bill in half and would save $500,000-$700,000 in motor cost."

No such legislation exists.

"Finally, I would cut the number of races back to 30 or so," Harvick said. "This would get the cost to run a good Busch program down to $4-$4.5 million, which I think you could sell."

Top Busch sponsorships are currently in the $7-8 million range, though most teams are making do on much less.

Mentioned Drivers: Kevin Harvick

Post a Comment

Disclaimer: All comments are subject to filtering for language, and libelous content. Comments are intended to encourage spirited debate and discussion about the subject matter contained within the articles and ARE NOT intended for personal or demeaning attacks directed at other users. We reserve the right to remove any comments deemed inappropriate. Users who violate this policy may be banned from posting comments on the site.

Comment Preview

Nov 8, 2009 at 9:58 AM
You said:

You must login before you can post comments or rate content.

If you don't have an account you can create a free one here.

2009 Sprint Cup Race for the Chase Standings

Driver Standings after the AMP Energy 500

1 Jimmie Johnson 6248
2 Mark Martin -184
3 Jeff Gordon -192
4 Juan Pablo Montoya -239
5 Tony Stewart -279
6 Kurt Busch -312
7 Greg Biffle -340
8 Ryan Newman -402
9 Kasey Kahne -414
10 Carl Edwards -437
11 Denny Hamlin -448
12 Brian Vickers -556

More by this Author

NASCAR Schedules

abc

Dickies 500

Texas Motor Speedway
03:31 PM, 11/08/2009

Poll PositionView All

Which NASCAR Sprint Cup race winner from the past two seasons is most likely to earn his first victory of 2009 in the next three races?

Promotions

  • Play "WIX Filters' Pick 3" stock car fantasy and win prizes. Season 2 is now in session!

  • Tweet your thoughts about each race and join the conversation with other fans.

  • Drive an authentic NASCAR Sprint Cup car at the NASCAR Racing Experience.

  • Cast your vote for the NASCAR Illustrated 2009 Person of the Year, presented by Old Spice.

  • Make weekly pics for the Chase and be entered to win weekly SPEED Merchandise.

NASCAR Community Join the Community

In the Forums View All

Presented by

Don't have an account yet?

Insiders Guide to NASCAR

Register with SceneDaily.com and get access to the following features:

  • FREE Insider’s Guide to NASCAR (available as a PDF download)
  • Daily NASCAR news updates delivered directly to your e-mail
  • Pre-race and Post-race emails delivered each race week
  • Ability to comment on blog and news articles
  • Information on new website features and upcoming contests
Create my Account

Login

Forgot Password?
Login or Create an Account