Kevin Harvick says he isn't holding back anymore

DARLINGTON, S.C. -- Kevin Harvick isn't looking over his shoulder anymore.

After a year in which he was accused by competitors of being selfish and unthinking and became the first driver in NASCAR's then 54-year history barred from a race for conduct on the track, Harvick is ready to put that all behind him.

That means keeping his emotions under control.

"You really have to learn to take each circumstance and each incident by itself," Harvick said. "You have to think about the big picture. It's not about that moment, it's all about that day, how you finish this race."

Harvick already was on probation for an on-track run-in in March in Bristol, Tenn. The final straw came in April in Martinsville the day before the Winston Cup race there.

During a truck race, Harvick kept tangling with Coy Gibbs, finally ramming him from behind and sending Gibbs' truck spinning out of control. NASCAR immediately parked Harvick's truck, then decided he would not be allowed to drive his No. 29 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet the next day.

Several of his fellow Winston Cup drivers said it served him right. They said he was too aggressive and seemed to be trying too hard to emulate the late Dale Earnhardt, who was known as The Intimidator.

It was Harvick, plucked from the Busch Series by team owner Richard Childress, who replaced Earnhardt following the seven-time Winston Cu champion's death in the 2001 Daytona 500.

It took NASCAR's unprecedented decision to grab the young man's attention.

"I think I learned a number of things last year," Harvick said. "Martinsville was probably the center of it. I learned a lot of people depend on me, and to just be an adult."

After the forced day of rest, the 27-year-old driver from Bakersfield, Calif., spent the rest of 2002 trying to avoid attention, on or off the track.

He had to consider every action, a problem for drivers constantly faced with split-second decisions.

Now, with those lessons in mind, Harvick said he is back to his former persona, albeit with a lot more self control.

"People want me to race the car hard," he said. "They come to see me race hard. Now I can go back to using my instinct and not thinking about what you have to do. I can drive like I do naturally."

That also means no more low profile off the track, either.

"I have opinions, and I'm not afraid to voice them," Harvick said.

After being the top rookie in Winston Cup in 2001, with three wins and a ninth-place finish in the season points, as well as winning the Busch Series championship for Childress, Harvick's second season was extremely difficult.

Besides his temper outbursts and the run-ins with NASCAR, Harvick's performance on the track fell off considerably.

He managed one win -- at Chicagoland Speedway in July -- but it was one of only eight top-10s on the way to finishing 21st in the standings.

Still, the potential remained.

With his contract with RCR set to expire at the end of 2003, other teams began to send out feelers. As the 2002 season wore on, rumors of a rift between Harvick and Childress began circulating.

Childress put all that to rest Saturday at Atlanta Motor Speedway when he announced Harvick had signed a contract for three more years with options for two more.

"Everybody always says me and him don't get along and all," Childress said. "But we've got a lot of respect for each other and ... neither one of us likes to lose."

Harvick echoed his boss.

"Richard and I get along great. ... Now we can concentrate on what we need to concentrate on to have a great year."

After finishing fourth in the opener in Daytona, Harvick has come in 25th, 13th and 19th. He stands seventh in the points going into Sunday's Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 at Darlington Raceway.

Before Earnhardt's death, Childress was planning to bring Harvick along slowly, running him in the Busch Series and a handful of Cup races in 2001 before moving him to Winston Cup full time.

The tragedy threw the youngster into the spotlight, and Childress said his performance wasn't surprising.

"He's everything I thought he was then, and more," the owner said. "We haven't been able to give him what it takes to run up front year in and year out. That's our fault.

"He won championships in Winston West and Busch, and he has all the ability to win a Winston Cup championship. We just have to give him the tools."

Harvick smiled at Childress' words but noted he is ready to shoulder a big share of the burden, too.

"I feel like I've tried to step up and take as much responsibility as they want to throw at me," Harvick said. "Before, I didn't understand the consequences. Richard has taught me to be a team player."

And he has some other advice from Childress to apply to his bad-boy antics of the past.

"Richard's always told me that as long as you learn from your mistakes and don't do them again, you'll be OK," he said.