Harvick strategy pays off big

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – Kevin Harvick started the season looking for a brief escape from the uncertainty surrounding his career.

He found it in the Busch Series, where for 10-odd hours a week he could climb into a car and forget about all the questions and comments about his status as NASCAR’s top free agent.

All he wanted was a moment of peace.

What he got was the best year of his career.

Harvick embarrassed the competition en route to his second Busch title, wrapping it up with a month to go in the season and finishing with an 824-point cushion over runner-up Carl Edwards.

Harvick won nine races – just missing Sam Ard’s longtime record of 10 victories in a season – and finished in the top 10 in all but three of 35 events.

Not too shabby for a guy who only wanted a break.

“When you are in the Busch car, it’s a good getaway when you don’t know what your future is going to hold,” Harvick said before picking up $2,850,864 – the second biggest payout in series history – at Friday night’s Busch banquet.

He won 14 races in the Nextel Cup and Busch Series and another three as a car owner. He finally qualified for the Chase for the championship and briefly flirted with his first Cup title before fading to a career-best fourth-place finish in the standings.