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Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 29 Chevrolet of Richard Childress Racing, became a title contender after learning to better adjust to the highs and lows of Cup racing, writes Allen Bestwick of MSNBC.com.

Lessons learned
Harvick says he learned some valuable lessons in the process of deciding whether to stay with RCR or move on to another organization.

"I should not have said things about the race team…if I am going to be part of this team, then I have to be part of this team," Harvick said.

"I can’t be a thorn in the side and causing commotion all the time. You have to go in and all pull in the same direction."

Harvick has been good to his word where his teammates are concerned. His crew chief Todd Berrier told me Harvick was a much better teammate to his crew members in 2006 than he was in 2005.

Berrier says where in the past Harvick used to dwell on things that went wrong, now he lets go of bad days much easier and focuses on the positive.

And Harvick told me that he doesn’t ride the racing roller coaster like he did before, and that change has made him a happier person, and someone who is better able to be a championship contender.

The quick summary from Harvick: "In a six month period my life has turned around, and it has been good for a lot of people."

A confident team and driver
The changes Childress made to his organization paid off in 2006. Two of his three cars made the Chase with Jeff Burton joining Harvick in the playoff. Harvick knows his decision to stay with RCR was the right one.  

"We are excited about everything that is going on. We are excited that we have turned our organization around," Harvick said.

"We are confident in our cars, I am confident, Todd is confident, everybody is confident, but we aren’t going to get cocky about it."

When summing up his future chances at a Cup championship, Harvick uses one word a couple of times, which really describes what he is now experiencing from his racing: fun.

"In 2006 we had fun and raced to win. At the beginning of the year nobody would have expected us to make the Chase so we were in the underdog role from day one. It was nice to fly under the radar and just have fun with it,” Harvick said.

With his five wins in 2006, Harvick is not under anyone’s radar anymore. He is happy, so everyone associated with him is happy, and the results while impressive in 2006 could be even better in 2007.