Harvick hoping to build at Brickyard

INDIANAPOLIS -- Who knew Kevin Harvick was drawn to racing when he was growing up in Bakersfield, Calif., because it was what his father did, or that Superman was -- and still is -- his favorite superhero, or that Madonna's "Material Girl" is the only song you will ever get him to belt out at a karaoke bar?

Just some little-known fun facts about the 31-year-old driver of the No. 29 Chevrolet fielded by car owner Richard Childress.

But you also might not be aware Harvick, winner of the Daytona 500 in February and the non-points Nextel Cup All-Star race at Lowe's Motor Speedway in May, seems to be on the same championship track as reigning NASCAR Nextel Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson.

"Hopefully, the results turn out the same way and we can have the same ending," Harvick said yesterday, as he stood in blazing midday heat taking questions from the media in front of an open-air stage near the Pagoda Tower at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where he had unveiled a Reese's-sponsored car featuring a special paint scheme (and peanut butter and banana creme-filled chocolate candy) dedicated to The King -- Elvis Presley, not Richard Petty.

"That would be nice," Harvick said. "But sometimes it doesn't always go that way. We'll just turn the page and have it all work out."

Last year, Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet fielded by Hendrick Motorsports, became the first driver to win the Daytona 500, the Nextel Cup All-Star race, the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, and the Nextel Cup title in the same year.

It was NASCAR's version of the Grand Slam: the Jimmie Slam.

"I think that when it happened last year, we were so caught up in the moment and focused on the championship that maybe we didn't understand what we did," Johnson said. "And now, as this year has gone on and we are looking back on it, it's quite a feat."

Six times since the inaugural Brickyard 400 in 1994, the race winner has gone on to win a NASCAR championship, with four-time race winner Jeff Gordon doing it twice after kissing the bricks at Indy in 1998 and 2001. NASCAR's last two Nextel Cup champions -- Tony Stewart in 2005 and Johnson last year -- owe their titles to the boost their championship campaigns gained from their Allstate 400 at the Brickyard triumphs.

"You can use the momentum in different ways, and this momentum did help us," said Johnson, who ranks seventh in the driver point standings with 2,423, 488 behind Hendrick Motorsports teammate Gordon, the series points leader. "It is just a great shot in the arm if you are able to do it."

With seven races remaining before the Chase for the NASCAR Nextel Cup begins with the Sylvania 300 Sept. 16 at New Hampshire International Speedway, Harvick, eighth in the driver points with 2,337, has positioned himself to follow the same path Johnson took to the title.

Harvick captured the season-opening Daytona 500 after winning a thrilling last-lap drag race to the checkered flag over veteran driver Mark Martin by two-100ths of a second.

"Winning the Daytona 500 is as big as it gets in our sport," said Harvick, who qualified 20th fastest in the 43-car grid for today's race after touring the 2 1/2-mile oval with a lap of 181.748 miles per hour. "I used to say this thing [the Brickyard] is pretty close, but there is not a whole lot that compares to winning the Daytona 500. This is obviously a big race and this is a very historic track and everybody puts a lot of effort into running good here.

"But winning Daytona is something you just can't compare to."

Harvick followed his momentous $1,510,469 triumph at Daytona by winning the All-Star race at Lowe's Motor Speedway. While it didn't pay him any points, he earned $1,031,539.

"Yeah, he is off to a great start with those [wins]," Johnson said of Harvick. "I am sure he has his eyes on this race and also the championship. It would be wild if he was able to repeat that and have that happen for back-to-back years. Obviously, as a competitor, I don't want to see that happen.

"I want to get out there and win this Brickyard and then go on and win the championship."

The 2006 Busch Series champion, Harvick is no stranger to Victory Lane at the Brickyard, having won here in 2003, which helped him finish fifth in the championship. Last year he finished fourth, but already there seems to be good karma swirling about Harvick after his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver, Ron Hornaday, won Friday night's rain-delayed race at O'Reilly Raceway Park, about 15 minutes west of the Speedway.

"Yeah, I stayed up. That's probably why I'm so cranky today," Harvick said, breaking into a chuckle. "It's fun to watch [Hornaday] race the thing. He won the thing on heart and that's how he races."

Asked if he believed a win today in the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard could propel him to a championship, as it did for Johnson last year, Harvick was quick to downplay that possibility.

"We just need to be consistent and get our package where it needs to be and where we want it for The Chase," he said. "If we're in contention for the win, that's all you can ask for, and [you] go from there. Any time you win, no matter where it's at, it's definitely a momentum boost."

He sounded like a race driver with a conservative approach. But who knew Kevin Harvick, admirer of the Man of Steel and Madonna's "Material Girl," had a conservative bone in his body?

Michael Vega can be reached at vega@globe.com.