Harvick to stay at RCR.

Kevin Harvick has finally signed a contract extension with Richard Childress Racing that should see him driving the #29 GM Goodwrench Chevrolet for another three years at least.

One of the hottest properties on the current Nextel Cup drivers market, Harvick's name was near the top of Toyota's hit list for their entry into Nextel Cup racing next season and had also been linked to numerous other top drives as his #29 RCR team floundered during 2004 and 2005.

However, with the experienced Jeff Burton now complimenting Harvick's fire and passion, Childress' team is once again becoming a force to be reckoned with and after failing to put a car into either of the first two 'Chase for the Championship' title races, both Harvick and Burton have a good chance of making it into the final ten race battle this year.

A strong run of early season form has elevated Harvick into seventh place in the Nextel Cup standings after nine of 36 races while a trio of wins in the Busch Series has seen the 2001 NBS Champ open up a sizeable lead in NASCAR's second tier championship.

Never one to mince his words, Harvick said in public several times that RCR would need to raise their game if he was to stay, and they appear to have done so with Harvick's team boss since the 2000 season suitably delighted that he had kept his man.

"Kevin is an important part of the RCR organisation and we're happy that will continue," said Richard Childress, President and CEO of RCR. "He has done a great job in both the Cup and Busch Series and we look for that to continue over the next several seasons."

"I'm looking forward to the next three years at RCR," added Harvick. "We've made a lot of changes over the past year that have really helped point the organisation in the right direction. The chemistry feels right between the drivers, the crew chiefs and the teams. Above all else, there is a long relationship at RCR that Richard and I have. I feel like it would take time to recreate what we've built over the last seven years."

Although the finer print of Harvick's new contract haven't been divulged, it is almost certain that Harvick and his wife DeLana will continue to run their own burgeoning race team, Kevin Harvick Incorporated.