Saturday, June 16, 2001
Busch qualifying and race today
Friday rainout forces drivers to do double duty
By Tom Groeschen
The Cincinnati Enquirer
SPARTA, Ky. — The postponement of Friday night's NASCAR Busch pole qualifying may put extra pressure on Kevin Harvick for tonight's Outback Steakhouse 300 at Kentucky Speedway.
Rain forced qualifying to be rescheduled for noon today, with the race still set for 8p.m. No rain is expected.
Harvick, the Busch series points leader, is trying to pull double duty this weekend. Friday afternoon, he qualified 19th for Sunday's Winston Cup race at Pocono, Pa. He then flew to Kentucky for Busch qualifying, but when that was rained out, he immediately flew back to Pocono.
At Pocono today, Harvick will participate briefly in a morning practice (9 a.m. start), then fly to Kentucky on the private jet of his car owner, Richard Childress. He will arrive in time to qualify at noon, stay for the race, then fly back again to Pocono to sleep in for Sunday's race.
Got all that?
Harvick apparently does, but his thoughts were unknown Friday. He was not at Kentucky long enough to meet with reporters, having flown out shortly after learning of the rain postponement around 8:30 p.m.
“It makes it better for us,” said Greg Biffle, another of the pre-race favorites. “It just puts more pressure on him.”
Or maybe not.
“A lot of times, though, it's a drive to do better,” Biffle said. “A lot of times we do better when our backs are against the wall and you've got to come through.”
Kenny Wallace, Harvick's Winston Cup colleague who also was attempting the weekend double, slept easier Friday
night. He didn't make the show at Pocono, meaning he could stay at Kentucky on Friday night without thinking of rushing back to Pocono.
Harvick, who replaced the late Dale Earnhardt in Winston Cup competition in February, had the second-fastest practice speed (172.927 mph) in practices here Thursday.
Defending series champion Jeff Green was fastest in practice on both Thursday (172.955 mph) and Friday (171.168).
Should Harvick encounter weather or other problems, former Winston driver Mike Bliss will replace him. If Bliss has to qualify Harvick's car today, Harvick would have to start at the back of the field tonight, under NASCAR rules.
Harvick goes 15th in the Busch qualifying line, which should put him on the track at about 12:30 p.m. Logistically, he should make it in time.
A closer look at the favorites:
• Harvick, with the wealthy Richard Childress Racing operation behind him, has shown uncanny cool and verve in piloting his No.2 AC Delco Chevrolet into the 2001 series points lead. He has one victory this year.
• Green, the Busch defending champion, is somewhat on home turf as a native of Owensboro, Ky. He has two wins this season.
• Biffle, a Busch rookie, has two wins this year. He also is the only man in the field to have won a race at 1-year-old Kentucky Speedway, having taken the inaugural Craftsman Truck event last June.
Other contenders include Kerry Earnhardt, oldest son of the late Dale Earnhardt. Earnhardt won an ARCA race at Michigan last week.
Other well-known names entered are former Winston regulars Geoffrey Bodine, Dick Trickle, Derrike Cope and Chad Little.
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Busch qualifying and race today
