Harvick keeps getting better

Kevin Harvick has gone from 14th to eighth to fourth in his past three races. That all adds up to a fourth-place spot in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings.
Harvick won the first race of his Cup career at Atlanta Motor Speedway. It was in his third start, in the car and for the team that was Dale Earnhardt's. Earnhardt died on the final lap of the Daytona 500 that same year.
“The circumstances that we won the first race under… we won’t ever forget that moment just because of everything that went on," said Harvick, driver of the No. 29 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. "When I start thinking about it, it brings those same chills back that I got when I won that race. I know that I can’t do that again and that’s obviously because of the circumstances. Those are the kind of situations as professionals you dream about. You look for that opportunity to take those moments and try to capitalize on them.”
Since that win in 2001, Harvick has only one top 10 finish. That came in his second race at Atlanta in 2001. He's been lucky to finish in the top 20, his best finish coming last year in October at Atlanta. He was 15th.
The car his team is taking to Atlanta is the same car Harvick raced at Fontana, where he finished eighth. He was fourth at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday. He is also encouraged by his team's test at Atlanta last year.
“I think our cars were night and day different from where we are now," Harvick said. "It will be interesting to take the cars back and see where we are compared to the competition. Our speeds were comparable during the test, but the cars just weren’t comfortable to drive. As we have progressed with this car everything we tested with in Atlanta doesn’t even exist anymore. We have advanced tremendously since that test so I am interested to see where we line up to the competition this weekend.”