Harvick OnLine: Behind The Hauler Chat

Behind the Hauler Chat with NASCAR Nextel Cup Chevy Driver Kevin Harvick

KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 29 SHELL-PENNZOIL SS, MET WITH MEMBERS OF THE MEDIA FOR HIS WEEKLY TOP-12 HAULER CHAT AND DISCUSSED THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF DALE EARNHARDT, JR. JOINING HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS, RACING AT MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY AND NEW WINNERS THIS SEASON:

ON HOW HIS CAR WAS IN PRACTICE: "Our Shell-Pennzoil Monte Carlo SS was really good in practice. We started off in race trim and kind of wanted to get a feel for where we wanted to start tomorrow. We were pretty close. We tried something we wanted to try and went to qualifying trim and everything was ok."

ON THE NEW CHEVY R07 ENGINE: "It just has a little bit different curve to it than our old motor. Just the potential of it is a lot greater than what we had. I think it is definitely a plus and glad we are running it and starting to work through things. A lot of things you have to work through that go wrong, you just have to run it to make those things happen."

GENERAL REACTION TO NEWS THAT DALE EARNHARDT, JR. IS GOING TO HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS: "My honest opinion? I could care less. (Laughs) I really don't care."

DO YOU SEE KYLE BUSCH AS AN RCR TEAMMATE? "No."

ON RACING AT MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY: "Michigan is really one of those places is a lot of fun to race around. You can race from the bottom of the race track to the top of the race track. The cool thing about it is the bottom groove is a little bit less banked than the middle groove and the top groove so you can make your car turn down there if you need to. If you can do that, then you can usually pass people easier than running around the top."

ON RACING HIS KHI TRUCK THIS WEEKEND: "For me, it is just to have fun. The main thing is to help the No. 33 Silverado (Ron Hornaday, Jr.) if they need anything. That is the main focus there is to help them win try to win a championship."

ON IMPORTANCE OF RCR HAVING A FOURTH TEAM: "I think it sounds like something that we are working towards. I don't know if it will be next year or the year after or when it will be. That is up to Richard (Childress). The main thing is you just have to have somebody come in and be able to fit in to the chemistry that we already have and the teammates that we already have. That is my concern."

ON RACING NEXT WEEK AT SONOMA: "I enjoy the road courses. To go out there is going to be a challenge with the new generation car. Our roadrace stuff has always been good. We had a couple of good tests, see what happens when we get out there on the right tire."

THOUGHTS ON HAVING SO MANY NEW WINNERS IN CUP SERIES SO FAR THIS SEASON: "I think both Martin (Truex, Jr) and Casey (Mears) have had a couple of years, in Martin's case, a year in this series. To be able to finally win is good for teams, but those teams are experienced and I think they were expected to win."

ON WHAT MAKES MICHIGAN A DRIVER FAVORITE: "I enjoy coming here, we haven't always had the best luck here, but it is one of the places I really enjoy coming to."