Harvick collects Brickyard ring.

When Kevin Harvick won the Brickyard 400 from the pole last August, he claims it helped him slip out from the under the 'shadow you'll never get rid of'.

That shadow, of course, is the legacy of late seven-time NASCAR champion Dale Earnhardt, who team owner Richard Childress chose Harvick to replace after 'The intimidator's' untimely death in February 2001. And, even if it wasn't in Earnhardt's storied #3 car, Harvick admits that he still felt the pressure from the shadow.

The #29 Goodwrench Chevrolet driver was in Indianapolis this week to receive his 2003 Brickyard 400 winner's ring from Indianapolis Motor Speedway CEO Tony George, and took extra time out to participate in a special preview showing of NASCAR 3D: The IMAX Experience at a downtown cinema. George presented the 14-carat, eight-diamond engraved ring to Harvick in a ceremony before the showing.

Harvick, whose wife DeLana attended the ceremony with him, said winning at Indy was 'ultra-special'.

"I grew up an open-wheel fan and grew up in Bakersfield with the whole Mears family, racing against Casey and watching Rick win four Indianapolis 500s," he said, "For me, this is extra-special. Obviously, for anyone who wins the Brickyard 400 it means a lot, so to come down here today, they didn't have to ask me twice. I was ready to come and take it very happily. And we appreciate everything you guys do for the sport."

After the movie, Harvick talked about how difficult it was to replace a revered racing legend. Earnhardt had won seven season championships to match Richard Petty and won 76 races before his death in a last-lap crash in the 2001 Daytona 500.

Three races into his career - on 11 March 2001 - Harvick edged Jeff Gordon by 0.006 of a second to win at Atlanta and remove some of the intense pressure that comes with replacing a legend. Harvick's victory last August at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway also matched the one scored by Earnhardt in the second Brickyard 400, in 1995.

"To be honest with you, it was very hard at the beginning, because I've always been somebody who made my own footsteps, got to where we were by performing well and doing the things we were doing," Harvick said of replacing Earnhardt, "I was very aggressive.

"We stepped into the situation with Dale's car and did everything we did in 2001. It was like the shadow you'll never get rid of. But he had taken our sport to what it is today. He's responsible for making the Goodwrench car what it is today, and we respect that.

"But it's good now to get out of your car and understand those guys - [crew chief] Todd [Berrier] and all the guys on our car. Those guys have been with me since the Busch days, and it really feels good to know they are there for our situation."

Harvick called winning the IROC title at Indy in 2002 and the Brickyard 400 pole and race in 2003 'pretty phenomenal', noting that all teams and drivers put special emphasis on the annual NASCAR classic at Indianapolis.

This year's Brickyard 400 on 8 August, and is the 21st race of the new-look Nextel Cup season. The cut-off for the new Chase for the Championship - the final ten races of the season in which the top handful of drivers get to race for the title - is the 26th race.

"I think that, the closer you get to 26, the more frantic the weeks become," Harvick said, "Being the 21st race, obviously Indy's worth the effort everybody puts into it. This is going to add just that much more pressure to that weekend."

Harvick slipped from a possible top-five finish to 21st last weekend at Las Vegas, when his car ran out of gas on the final lap. He dropped to sixth in the standings as a result.