Harvick now concentrating on Nextel Cup

Now that Kevin Harvick has wrapped up the 2006 championship in the Busch Series, he can concentrate on the big prize: the Nextel Cup.

Heading into today’s Subway 500 at Martinsville Speedway, Harvick is third in the Chase for the championship, trailing leader and Richard Childress Racing teammate Jeff Burton by 89 points with five races remaining.

“Any time during the season, it’s always nice if you can get something out of the way early,” said Harvick, who ran away with the Busch title, locking it up with four races still to run. “In our situation, when we’re running for both, it’s nice to get that Busch championship locked up.

“We’re excited about it, proud of what we’ve done this year, and, hopefully, we can do what we need to do on the Cup side in the next five weeks.

“I have never had a season like this,” Harvick said.