Confident, relaxed Kevin Harvick prepared to defend NASCAR championship

Tony Stewart could see the difference in Kevin Harvick as they flew back from Phoenix International Raceway last week where the defending series champion had just locked up a spot in Sunday’s championship finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

A year ago Harvick was a ball of nerves leaving Phoenix, unaccustomed to the position of being thrust into as the championship favorite. Yeah, he talked a big game in the days leading into Homestead and tried to convey an air of confidence by poking fun at fellow title contender Joey Logano, but the sureness was a front. Harvick would admit as much after his winning the race and the title with dogged charge from 12th to lead over the final 15 laps.

But this go-round Stewart saw a different Harvick, someone familiar with what to expect in the week ahead and who wouldn’t be unnerved by the pressure needing to perform in a virtual must-win situation.

“Just going through this experience a year ago, it’s not like racing for a championship 15 years ago where you’re down to one or two guys and it’s a point spread going into it,” Stewart said Thursday during Championship Media Day. “This is a winner-takes-all scenario. I really believes it gives him an advantage going into this week.”

That comprehension is something Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr., who will go against Harvick for the title, have not previously gone through.

All four of Gordon’s titles came in a different championship formula where points accumulated throughout the duration of the season. Mistakes were easier then to overcome and rarely did drivers essentially need to win a race to take the title. Busch and Truex have never entered the final race of the year with a shot at the series crown.

“I’m looking forward to how it goes for those guys as far as how they’ve dealt with it and the things that go on because that’s part of the week that’s just so much different in that it’s not just a normal race,” Harvick said. “It’s for the championship. There’s a lot on the line.”

Going beyond Harvick’s familiarity is his on-track superiority. No team has demonstrated greater consistency and outright speed since the beginning of the season than the No. 4 group led by crew chief Rodney Childers.

In addition to three victories, Harvick leads all drivers in top-fives and average finish and is tied with Joey Logano for most top-10 finishes. Then there is Harvick’s innate ability to rise to the occasion having come through three times in playoff must-wins.

It’s no wonder why the other contenders all concede Harvick needs to be reckoned with Sunday.

“Kevin is the favorite,” Busch said. “The guy has got [15] first- or second-place finishes. His average finish is just unbelievable. He runs up front every single week. That’s just what he does.”

Said Gordon: “He’s the favorite. We’re the sentimentals.”

For his part, Harvick dismisses the idea he holds any perceived edge. Sitting alongside Busch, Gordon and Truex during Thursday’s Media Day, Harvick did not attempt to play mind games or call anyone out -- “You don’t want to be the guy that was disrespectful at Jeff Gordon’s last press conference or say something that’s just a total jackass move,” he said.

Instead, Harvick deferred to the retiring four-time champion offering repeated praise. An approach that goes against his customary approach, but also speaks to the relaxed nature that comes with experience.

“This is about a championship race and four guys, but in the end it’s also about one of the legends of our sport and making sure that he goes out without having something that detracts from it,” Harvick said. “In this particular situation, it’s about respect and going out and racing hard and doing things right.”