Harvick would be good catch if he tests free-agent waters

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Unless car owner Richard Childress can sign him to a long-term extension, Kevin Harvick will be one of the top free agents for the 2007 season - just in time for Toyota to make its NASCAR debut.

"They are going to make a run at a lot of drivers, and everyone is aware that Kevin's contract is up," Childress said Thursday. "I am sure they are going to make a run at him."

Harvick has been reluctant to negotiate with Childress, unsure of where the program is headed.

Once considered one of the elite teams in NASCAR, RCR has struggled of late, and Harvick has failed to qualify for the Chase for the Nextel Cup championship the past two seasons. He's coming off a one-win season in which his crew chief was suspended twice for allegedly cheating on car setups.

Since his breakout season in 2001, when he won in just his third career Cup start, Harvick has never fully taken off. He's got just four career wins - although one is the prestigious Brickyard 400 - and has never finished higher than fifth in the final standings.

So until he's sure that Childress can give him a team capable of winning a championship, Harvick doesn't want to commit to anything.

"We've kind of agreed to sit down in April and just kind of evaluate where things are," Harvick said. "I'm not going to rush into things and do things I don't want to do. I think right now we are in the same frame of mind about our goals, and our goals are to go out and get the season going out good and make the Chase.

"All the rest of it, the paper stuff, is something that's not high on the list right now."

But contracts are high on the list to Toyota, which announced Monday it will field Nextel Cup teams in 2007. The Japanese automaker will have at least three teams and anywhere from four to seven drivers, depending on sponsorship.

In just three years, Kevin Harvick Inc. has grown to an established operation with 65 employees, two Busch Series and a Truck Series team. It could be just the operation Toyota would like to support.

"I think there are a lot scenarios, but we just have to concentrate on what we are doing," Harvick said. "Right now, I don't have a whole lot of comment on that."