NASCAR: Harvick pleased with new-look pit crew after Richmond

It's a small sample size but Kevin Harvick was pleased with the early returns from his new-look pit crew on Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway.

Harvick had lost several races on pit road during the course of the summer and it boiled over at Darlington Raceway (pictured) when the 2014 Sprint Cup champion essentially said he lost patience with his over-the-wall crew approaching the Chase for the Championship.

Stewart Haas Racing announced Wednesday that it was replacing front tire changer Tim Sheets and front tire carrier Todd Drakulich with Eric Maycroft and Matt Holzbaur – their counterparts from the team's No. 10 car driven by Danica Patrick.

The altered team performed well on Saturday night, drawing praise from Harvick.

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"They make me want to hug you right now," an elated Harvick said when asked about their pit stops at Richmond. "Every time you came out, you just get really happy with the way that they stepped up. That's what this is all about.

"This is the highest level that you can compete at in racing, and to see those guys step up do what they did tonight just shows how good they are. Now they know that and they don't have to worry about it anymore knowing that they can do it. I'm just really, really happy about it. I know it's been a little bit of a chaotic week, but this is all about a championship and doing what you've got to do."

In fact, the only mistake the No. 4 team made on pit road was actually by Harvick himself, as the driver got caught speeding during a Lap 247 caution. He eventually finished fifth and was generally pleased with the overall performance of his team.

Harvick has enjoyed the most overall success with the current championship format having won it in 2014 and finished second to Kyle Busch a year later. He believes his mentality just lends itself to success in a winner-to-take elimination series.

"You just have to be selfish," Harvick said. "You have to do what's best for your team and worry about the consequences when all the dust settles. You have to be narrow minded and not listen to anything to do whatever it takes to figure out how to make the best performance on that particular day.

"Every point matters and this is a minute-by-minute battle."