Validation Is Sweeter for Harvick

Kevin Harvick’s second career victory came as no surprise to team owner Richard Childress, the man who picked the youngster to replace superstar Dale Earnhardt.

“I’ve been telling people right along that Kevin Harvick is the real deal,” Childress said Sunday after the 25-year-old rookie raced to his second NASCAR Winston Cup victory in the inaugural Tropicana 400 at the new Chicagoland Speedway at Joliet, Ill.

“I think today answers any questions about his driving ability.”

Harvick, elevated to a full-time ride in the Winston Cup Series a year ahead of schedule after Earnhardt’s death in the season-opening Daytona 500, was praised for his emotional victory in Atlanta three races after taking over the assignment.

But this one was a vindication for Harvick and the rest of his Richard Childress Racing team.

“This means a lot,” said Harvick after scrambling from his Chevrolet. “When you’re stuck on your first win, everybody says, ‘He’s a flash in the pan.’ Well, here’s our second win now.”

This one came in the 18th race of the year and Harvick’s 17th and kept him solidly in the top 10 in the season standings.

Harvick, who also is running a full Busch Series schedule and is leading in that series, ran strong throughout the 267-lap race on the new 1 1/2-mile, D-shaped tri-oval. He took the lead for good on lap 242, passing Mark Martin.

Typically, the racing groove on the new track was narrow and cars that ventured off that area often paid a price. There were nine caution flags and two drivers were injured.

Mike Skinner, Harvick’s teammate, cut a tire and slammed into the wall at close to 180 mph. He was diagnosed with a mild concussion and a fractured left ankle before being treated and released at a hospital.

Later, Jerry Nadeau, who led several times and appeared to have a good shot at his second win, lost an oil line and Roy “Buckshot” Jones slid through the oil and hit the wall hard.

Jones was examined for pain in his left knee and took fluids for dehydration on the hot, humid afternoon. He was later released from the track’s infield medical center.

The final caution flag flew on lap 258 when Tony Stewart slowed and was tapped from behind by Sterling Marlin. Stewart, who had been running eighth, spun and hit the wall. He was not injured, but the caution bunched the field for a restart five laps from the end and gave runner-up Robert Pressley one last shot at Harvick.

Harvick won by 0.649 seconds--about five car-lengths--over Pressley’s Ford. Ricky Rudd was third, followed by Dale Jarrett, Jimmy Spencer, Martin, Matt Kenseth and rookie Kurt Busch, all in Fords. Marlin and Bill Elliott were ninth and 10th in Dodges, while last week’s winner, Dale Earnhardt Jr., was next in another Chevy.

Jeff Gordon, who came into the race with a 48-point lead over Jarrett in the season standings, overcame a 28th-place start to become a contender until a late-race engine problem relegated him to 17th, the last car on the lead lap.

With the season at the halfway point, Jarrett moved into a tie with Gordon for the points lead, with Rudd 18 points behind.

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Mika Hakkinen finally became the topic of something other than retirement speculation when he won the British Grand Prix in Silverstone, England.

The victory was the first this season for the two-time Formula One champion. It also prevented polesitter Michael Schumacher from tying Alain Prost’s career record of 51 victories.

Hakkinen’s McLaren-powered Mercedes passed Schumacher’s Ferrari on the fifth of 60 laps on the 3.194-mile road course and won by 33 seconds. Hakkinen, who started second on the grid, got his 19th career victory and his first since last August.

With his second-place finish, Schumacher gained valuable ground as he closes in on his fourth series title. David Coulthard, whose McLaren spun out with a suspension problem on the third lap, did not score a point. Coulthard trails Schumacher, 84-47, after 11 of 17 races.