Harvick OnLine: Top Story: Behind The Hauler Chat

BEHIND THE HAULER CHAT WITH KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 29 SHELL/PENNZOIL MONTE CARLO SS

Auto Club 500, California Speedway

CHEVROLET NOTES & QUOTES
NASCAR NEXTEL CUP SERIES
AUTO CLUB 500 WEEKLY TOP 10
CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY
February 23, 2007

KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 29 SHELL-PENNZOIL MONTE CARLO SS TALKS WITH MEDIA ABOUT HIS DAYTONA 500 WIN AND RACING AT HIS HOME STATE TRACK IN CALIFORNIA

ON LOSS OF SLEEP DURING THE MEDIA TOUR AFTER WINNING THE DAYTONA 500:
"Sleep was ok, actually it wasn't a problem. Everything was pretty busy during the day. We had a lot going on but everything was very well organized and lots of fun to celebrate the Daytona 500 win. It has been a busy week, but it has been a good week to celebrate."

WHEN DID IT ACTUALLY SUNK IN THAT YOU WON THE DAYTONA 500?
"You know, I think I actually under estimated the whole factor of winning the Daytona 500 and everything that it was all about. It is a big deal to me and a big deal to the team, but I under estimated the media end of it and the fan the side of it and just the magnitude of it just a little bit until actually going through it. It was a pleasant surprise and obviously something you can never replace in your life. It is always going to be there and you can always say that our Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet team is Daytona 500 champions."

ON PUTTING TALK ABOUT THE FINISH BEHIND HIM:
"I think anyone who has any sense can go back and watch the video and see when the first cars starting crashing we were ahead and crossed the start/finish line we were still ahead. I am very content with that and really good with the way everything ended and just glad I don't have to make the call as to when to push that light on."

ON THE ISSUE SWIRLING AROUND HELMET:
"I don't know anything about any of that. I think it is probably blown more out of proportion than anything else, I just really know anything about it, that is all I can tell you."

ON WINNING AT CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY:
"It is nice to come home. This is not the Daytona 500 by any means, but you come here and want to have a good weekend and race well. We have been up and down here. We have run really well here and we have run really bad here. It is nice to come home and see all of your family and friends and be able to celebrate our fantastic win."

ON LEVEL OF EXCITEMENT COMING OFF DAYTONA:
"I am pretty with it all. To be honest with you, they used me up pretty good this week but like I said, it was all for a good cause and we were very fortunate to win the Daytona 500, so we will suck it up for a week. Everything could be a whole lot worse, I know that."

ON RACING ALL THREE RACES HERE AT CALIFORNIA:
"These things were planned six months ago. The races are laid out. We plan these things are way in advance. To be able to run the KHI RoadLoans Chevrolet this week is fun for me, just to kind of change pace. It creates a little bit of a different challenge for me because I am the owner of the car. Trying to get these teams of ours up to speed, that creates a whole different challenge for me. We have been very successful in the No. 21 Chevrolet, the No. 2 car at RCR. On top of everything they do, this is a just lot different challenge for me."

ON HOW TOUGH CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY IS ON RACE ENGINES:
"This place and Michigan are probably the two toughest places that we go on engines. The race is 500 miles so it creates a challenge for the engine builders. You need power as well. You have to get your car handling good, the power of the car here is very important, and you have to weigh in the reliability factor. When we run our engines on the reliability dyno, Michigan is where we run it which is very similar to here."

ON WHAT WAS THE COOLEST THING HE DID LAST WEEK:
"Oh, probably having my own segment on Letterman, that was pretty cool. Dave is kind of a racing fan, so it was cool to just to be a part of that. Then the California Governor called me, so that was pretty cool too."

ON UPCOMING WEEK OFF:
"I am looking forward to it. I wasn't a huge fan of that until we won the Daytona 500 and now we are able to race this week and then take a week off and relax. This first part of the schedule is tough on a lot of people, especially these Busch guys. Back and forth from track to track then next week they have Mexico. It is a challenge."

ARE YOU GOING TO THE BUSCH RACE IN MEXICO CITY:
"Negative. I am doing nothing next weekend. We are staying home and I am going to watch the race on TV and just relax."

ON HAVING COMMUNCATION WITH TEAMS WHILE THEY ARE IN MEXICO:
"No, we have been fortunate to put a lot of good people in place and we will probably talk once. But, we have good people, so they should be able to handle it. We will just watch them."

ON RETURNING TO CALIFORNIA IN A TRUCK FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 1999:
"For me, the trucks are a challenge because I am so used to racing the cars. I am just trying to get our second Silverado team up and started, we are going to go through a few lumps with that. It is kind of an R & D package to say the least. I am just trying to help the No. 33 Silverado team to see where we need to go from here."