Kevin Harvick has had his troubles at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the past. And that's exactly the Sprint Cup Series point leader is looking for a solid finish this weekend.
"It's just one of those places that has been tough for me to interpret and communicate the right feel of the race track and what I need in the car," Harvick said. "Usually that's my strong point in helping them (the crew) and helping guide them in the right direction, but this place has been a little bit tougher for us."
Aside from Harvick's sixth-place finish in Saturday's All-Star Race, he hasn't fared well at all at CMS. In his career, Harvick has averaged just a 21st place finish and has recorded only three top 10's and one top five in his career at the 1.5 mile oval. Now facing the longest race on the Sprint Cup Series schedule, Harvick is ready for a fight with the elements and obstacles that will stand in his way.
"There's just so many things that you go through in a 600-mile race," Harvick said. "Just with the fact that you start during the day and you wind up being later at night than a lot of races go. This track is very temperature-sensitive, so your car has to be very adjustable."
For most drivers, the Coca-Cola 600 ranks right up there with the Daytona 500 or All-Star Race. But Harvick, a winner of both, doesn't place it very high on the list of races he would like to win in the future.
"On my list it ranks pretty low," Harvick said. "But I guess I'm a little bit biased the wrong way I guess because it's been just such a tough place for us. In the sport, I think it's obviously an important race just for the fact that that it has a lot of history, it's a really long race and it's right in everybody's backyard."
After struggling to a 19th-place finish in 2009's final series standings, Harvick has made a complete 180 and now sits at the top of the point standings. Maybe his luck at CMS will do the same.
"Hopefully we have a good weekend; a good, solid weekend is what we're looking for this week."
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