NEW YORK, NY (September 1, 2001) - The new generation of Winston Cup drivers continues to take NASCAR by storm. Last year we had Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Matt Kenseth - both took their first victories in their rookie years. Among all rookies this season - including the likes of Ron Hornaday, Casey Atwood, Kurt Busch and Jason Leffler, Richard Childress Racing's Kevin Harvick is no doubt the best of class in 2001.

Harvick wasn't initially brought up to race full season this year as he supposed to race 7 or 8 Winston Cup races only. However, after the faithful day at Daytona 500, things suddenly changed around dramatically with the passing of Stock Car legend Dale Earnhardt. Despite all the sadness around the NASCAR community, Earnhardt's owner Richard Childress quickly appointed Busch Series sensation Harvick to take up the seat in the white #29 Chevrolet Monte Carlo.

Harvick knew he had really big shoes to fill at that moment. Moreover, under the special circumstances that he raced in Earnhardt's machine, expectations were unclear as the 25-year-old rookie made his debut in the big league a week later at North Carolina Speedway.

It was a two-way street first for Harvick because it was a golden opportunity for him to make his mark at the Winston Cup level. On the other hand, stepping into Earnhardt's car was not an easy thing since the emotion was high among the team and the fans. Thankfully, Harvick quickly received supports from veterans like Dale Jarrett, Bobby Labonte and Jeff Burton, as well as fans from all around who stood behind him 100%. After finishing 14th at North Carolina and a fine 8th at Las Vegas, he took a surprising victory on March 11 in Atlanta over Jeff Gordon.

``I don't know how you could script it any different,'' Harvick said back in March. ``None of us expected this so soon, what with the unfortunate circumstances. All I can say is this one is for Dale."

With that victory, Harvick soon established himself at the Winston Cup level and became one of the more consistent drivers this season. Moreover, he continues racing full time at the Busch Series. As of South Carolina 200 (9/1), he leads the Busch Championship over Jason Keller by 316 points (5 wins and 16 top fives and 20 top tens in 25 starts). Meanwhile, he also does well in Winston Cup as he is currently 9th for the championship as of Southern 500 (2 wins, 4 top fives and 11 top tens). Harvick also won his second Winston Cup victory at Chicagoland on July 15.

After a near-miss weekend double at Bristol where he won his Busch race and came home second behind Tony Stewart at the Sharpie 500, Harvick and his wife DeLana were able to take their time to visit New York City. Before he threw the first pitch at the Yankees Stadium for the Yankees-Blue Jays game (8/28), I sat down with him at NASCAR's Park Avenue office to talk about his season and his life after stepping into the GM Goodwrench Service Plus Monte Carlo.

Life certainly has changed since he joined the Winston Cup expectedly. Harvick simply put it "It changed 180 degrees than it was," he continued. "I spend twice as much time (with the Winston Cup program). Winston Cup racing is different but I can't explain to you how it is different. I can tell you there is a lot more media involved. Doesn't matter if it is practice or qualify; doesn't matter if it is New York or Texas, you'll always receive attentions, period."

Time management becomes a key for Harvick since he has to run two series full time. His wife DeLana helps him a lot on that matter as Harvick admitted that he can't keep up everything while concentrating on his performance on the track.

The NASCAR community has given Harvick the nickname "Ironman" as a result of his two full time rides. There were few races that the two series ran different venues on the same weekend, as Harvick had to travel from one place to another within a day. For instance, on July 28 Harvick was in the NAPA AutoCare 250 at Pikes Peak, Colorado for the BGN race (finished 3rd). After the race, he flew all the way across the continent to Pocono, Pennsylvania for the Pennsylvania 500 (finished 20th).

KEVIN MA: "How much tougher for you to race in two different venues on the same weekend?"

KEVIN HARVICK: "It is not as tough as last year. NASCAR has changed the motor rules, and they (BGN rules) are a lot like Winston Cup rules now and that makes it easier on the racetrack. As far as the physical demand, it really hasn't been that bad. Once you get through the first couple weeks of the season and you get back to the racing shape and getting into the groove… it actually taken me away from having to deal with things. I am in a car or an airplane, so I can really concentrate on driving the car when I get to the track. That part I like that, I think it helps."

KM: "Does all the traveling become a problem for you between two races (BGN and WC)?"

KH: "Not really. Luckily Richard's got a lot of airplanes and people have organized this really well. Everything has gone really smoothly."

Despite his weekends are pretty much occupied by the two series, Harvick said, "The only time I got worn out was in St. Louis (BGN Race)." Harvick had to travel to New Hampshire for the Cup race a day later.

As of whether he will race in both series again next season, he said, "We are going to do it again next year and take a look of it." In a matter of fact, Harvick claimed that his Busch ride helped him a lot for his Winston Cup effort this year. "We will sit down at the end of next year and evaluate the situation and see how much it helps next year."

Meanwhile, there will be changes within the RCR team next year, with 2000 BGN champion Jeff Green joining him at RCR (Green is Harvick's part time WC teammate at RCR this year), while Harvick's current teammate Mike Skinner will leave the team after this season.

KM: "How do you see the changes?"

KH: "It will balance a lot of things out and in that respect it is going to help. At the racetrack it is going to be a help to have another teammate to go draw from when you are lost. Hopefully every weekend at least two of us running good 'til one of us has something to draw for the other man."

His boss Richard Childress has showen his interest in running at the Indy 500, where he co-owned Robby Gordon's car with A.J. Foyt last May at the 85th running of the Indinanpolis 500. I asked Harvick if he is interested in racing the Memorial Day double (Indy 500 - Pepsi 600) like Tony Stewart did this year. Harvick replied, "It's one of those things that is cool to do, if there is a right opportunity comes along. I may consider it. The main focus especially next year, however, has to be on the Winston Cup championship. I think if you get off course one week, it is going to cost you for the year, but it wouldn't be out of the question."

Like many 25-year-olds, Kevin Harvick enjoys playing video games in his spare time. He collects arcade machines, including Daytona U.S.A and Pac Man and has eight of them in his basement at home back in North Carolina. As modern video games getting more and more realistic to real life nowadays, I asked him whether he uses NASCAR racing games to learn the tracks.

KH: "The reason I did a lot (video games) last year, I actually never been to Dover and we never had a chance to test up there. I pulled up the Dover game, figured out how to get in and out the pit and what'd gone through the racetrack. We went up there and it (the experience from the game) was as close as I can get. If it is a new racetrack, you can get pretty close or if somewhere you don't remember, you can call up the video games and get pretty realistic reaction from it."

KM: "Is it more helpful for you to do it for road races (Sears Point and Watkins Glen)?"

KH: "Yeah, by far. Just to make sure you remember where the corners are."

Going back to real life racing, with Dodge coming back to Winston Cup this year, one of the more intriguing spectacles is the influrences from the four manufacturers (Chevrolet, Ford, Pontiac and Dodge) to the teams. On the track, the Chevrolet teams -- including Richard Childress Racing and Dale Earnhardt Incorporated, seem working well together.

KM: "What are the working relationships between the Chevrolet Monte Carlo teams"

KH: "Our relationships are pretty good. DEI, RCR and Andy Petree cars all run very well on superspeedways."

KM: "How much information is being shared within the Chevrolet teams?"

KH: "It's an open book within those three teams."

Harvick did not mention anything about Hendrick Motorsports, though.

With this year's promising results, Harvick should become much stronger next season after his full season with Winston Cup in 2001. He is currently ninth in the championship and it looks like he will be a serious title contender next year.