7-14-10 —     Jimmie Johnson¹s back-to-back wins are spurring talk that the reigning

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion is poised to win an unprecedented fifth

consecutive title.

    In an article that appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Kevin Harvick said

this year¹s Sprint Cup title is there for the taking.

    Harvick still leads Johnson thanks to consistently strong finishes

through the season¹s first 18 races.

    ³This is the best opportunity that we¹ve ever had to win a

championship,² Harvick, 34, told reporters on a teleconference Tuesday.

    ³Obviously you¹re going to have to knock off the 48, but the ball is in

our court.²

    Harvick¹s best previous point finish was fourth, in 2006 and 2008, and

he and the rest of the Richard Childress Racing team have shown a huge

improvement from last season. Harvick was 19th in the standings in 2009.

    Johnson¹s wins at Sonoma and New Hampshire gave him five for the season,

tying Denny Hamlin (who¹s fourth in points) for the series high. But Harvick

said ³consistency is really what we are looking for.²

    The key is not ³trying to force the issue,² Harvick said, adding that ³I

learned this lesson the hard way this year at California.²

    As Harvick chased down Johnson for the lead in the waning laps of the

race in February at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Harvick scraped the wall

and had to settle for second behind Johnson.

    ³You can¹t force winning,² Harvick said. ³You learn not to get greedy.

I¹ve been around this deal long enough to know that [if] we keep running

like we are, we¹ll win our share of races.²

GIVE ME REAL MASHED POTATOES

    The bus was late to take me to the track, so I waited on the sidewalk

outside my hotel in downtown Daytona Beach, and watched people.

    I couldn¹t help but reflect on the restaurant food I¹d eaten the last

two days.

    I was raised on fried chicken, turnip greens, red beans and rice, pork

chops, ham, fresh vegetables, with either mother¹s corn bread or biscuits. I

still need that kind of food at least once a week.

    My wife, Gloria, keeps me well fed, on fresh southern staple foods,

including great macaroni and cheese.



    Whenever I go to races, it seems like the hotels and restaurants get

together and plan menu¹s that are either bland, steak with gristle, or

chicken a la heartburn.

    The food during this year¹s trip to Daytona wasn¹t much different.

    Now don¹t get me wrong, there¹s a lot of fine folks in central Florida,

and they have great seafood, but somebody needs to go down there and teach

them about soul food, the real down-home style of southern cooking.

    The previous night, I had gone into a restaurant that advertised

southern cooking. I ordered country fried steak, fried okra and mashed

potatoes. I knew the okra would be frozen, but that was all right.

    ³Could I get some gravy along with the mashed potatoes,² I asked the

waitress.

    ³Sure,² she answered.

    The steak was passable, and the okra was O.K., but after taking the

first bite of the mashed potatoes, I called the waitress back.

    ³Would you be perfectly honest with me,² I said. ³These mashed potatoes

were poured out of a box, weren¹t they?²

    She gave me a pretty strong look and said, ³Well of course, what did you

expect?²

    I realized the waitress didn¹t have anything to do with the fact that

this restaurant, which specialized in southern cooking, served mashed

potatoes out of a box.

    It was blasphemy to potato lovers and all southern mothers.

    When I paid the bill I did give the manager a few words about how he

ruined the good name of mashed potatoes and southern cooking

    I told him, ³You should be ashamed.²

    He looked at me kind of funny. I believe he took me for some kind of

religious nut.

    Instant mashed potatoes, along with silicon implants are two things I

cannot tolerate.

    Some things aren¹t meant to be changed.



    Weekend Racing: The Cup and Nationwide teams are at the 1.5-mile

Chicagoland Speedway, while the Camping World Trucks race for the first time

at Iowa Speedway, an .875-mile track in Newton, IA.

    Fri., July 9, Nationwide Series Dollar General 300, race 18 of 35;

Starting time: 7:30 pm ET: TV: ESPN.

    Sat., July 10, Sprint Cup Lifelock.com 400, race 19 of 36; Starting

time: 7:30 pm ET; TV: TNT.

    Sun., July 11, Camping World 200, race 10 of 25: Starting time: 1 pm ET;

TV: Speed Channel.



    Racing Trivia Question: Who is the defending Camping World Truck Series

champion?

    Last Week¹s Question: Where is Joey Logano¹s home state? Answer. He is

from Connecticut.

 

    You may contact the Racing Reporter at: hodgesnews@earthlink.net