Kevin Harvick may be riding high, but he certainly doesn't look very happy

   Car owner Richard Childress (R) says he'll have a new deal with Kevin Harvick (L, with wife DeLana) by the end of the month....but Harvick himself doesn't seem so sure (Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR)
   

    By Mike Mulhern
    mikemulhern.net

    DOVER, Del.
    For a guy atop the Sprint Cup standings, and working for a car owner who wants to sign him to a new contract, Kevin Harvick should have a lot to smile about.
    Think again.
    Harvick declined again Friday to discuss his contract negotiations with team owner Richard Childress for 2011.
    Harvick's current contract ends at the end of the season, and last week Childress indicated he expected to have Harvick signed to a new contract by the end of this month.
   However Harvick himself may not be on that same page.
   At Darlington Harvick, almost angrily, refused to talk about the negotiations.
   Then twice here Friday Harvick was pointedly asked about those talks, and both times he declined to comment at all, simply ignoring the questioners.
    Ornery? For a man leading the NASCAR points, Harvick ought to be ecstatic.
   But clearly Harvick is not very happy about something?
   Why?
   "I really just don't like any of the tracks we go to in May, for our history at them," Harvick said.
   "Charlotte is our worst track; Darlington is our second worst track. And this track isn't very good for us either.
   "This month is a challenge for me personally.
    "Last week (a sixth place finish) was like a victory at Darlington. And maybe we can have the same thing happen here...and the same thing happen at Charlotte.
     "That will really tell us what the performance of our cars are. 
      "We have run well at Pocono, and we get to go to Indy and a lot of places we really enjoy….like Loudon and a couple of road courses.
     "It's just that this month is a challenge, for the tracks we go to. So you have a lot going through your mind, just a lot of stuff going on. And you are trying to stay focused on what we are doing to do the best, and not let those past results affect what you do now."
     Well, okay, but how about a smile here and there?
    Hey, maybe Harvick, though not an Indy-car racer by trade, might be willing to take up promoter Bruton Smith's offer to pay a $20 million bonus to any driver who can win both the Charlotte 600 and Indy 500 the same weekend?
   "If he's really realistic about it, then he should move his (Charlotte) race to Saturday night (before the 500)," Harvick said. 
    "Move your race to Saturday night and put your money where your mouth is -- Give everybody a realistic shot at it. 
    "Move the Coke 600 to Saturday night, and let Tony Stewart and Juan Montoya and Casey Mears and all these guys that really could do it have a shot. It's not a show if you don't give everybody a realistic shot. 
    "That way those guys can really prepare for it (the double), and be in the cars at the right time. Give them a fair shot."
 
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   For $20 million, would Danica try the Double, Indy and Charlotte? (Photo: Indy Racing League)