BANGOR – He was relaxed and easygoing. He smiled a lot and talked about how he enjoys his time in the Northeast.

Kevin Harvick was a far cry from the man who took exception to being spun out by Ricky Rudd with nine laps remaining in the Chevy Monte Carlo 400 at Richmond International Raceway Saturday night.

Harvick, who was running second at the time and finished 16th, followed Rudd into the pit area after the race, bumped Rudd’s car, and confronted Rudd while standing on the roof of his car as members of both crews exchanged unpleasantries.

Harvick’s crew members pounded on Rudd’s car until NASCAR officials intervened and cooler heads prevailed.

Harvick and several of his crew members were fined and either suspended or put on probation. Harvick received a $35,000 fine and was placed on probation for the rest of the season.

“I felt like it was a pretty cheap shot. When you get wrecked going down a straightaway, it’s something that tends to make you mad,” said Harvick Thursday afternoon before signing autographs at Quirk Auto Park.

“It is what it is. You just take it for what it is. I can either dwell on it or just brush it off and go on and we’ll just brush it off and go on,” said Harvick, who had been suspended for one race for rough driving in April 2002 and learned from his mistake to keep his nose clean ever since.

Harvick’s decision to put the Rudd incident behind him is probably wise because Harvick is in the midst of his best season so far among his three in Winston Cup. He has been the model of consistency, especially of late.

He is third in points and was en route to his sixth consecutive top-five finish when Rudd got into the back of his GM Goodwrench Chevy Monte Carlo.

Harvick began the streak by winning the Brickyard 400, was fifth in the Sirius at the (Watkins) Glen, and posted three straight seconds before the Richmond race.

He probably isn’t going to catch points leader Matt Kenseth, who is 418 points ahead of second-place Dale Earnhardt Jr. and 441 ahead of Harvick, but there’s still plenty to race for.

“There’s a lot at stake. We’ve had a great season up to this point. So we just have to keep it going, keep everything that we’ve been doing. Keep it up and make it through the last 10 races,” said Harvick, who has nine top-fives and 12 top-10 finishes in 26 races.

The 27-year-old native of Bakersfield, Calif., was the Winston Cup Rookie of the Year in 2001 when he finished ninth in points. He slipped to 21st a year ago.

The member of the Richard Childress Racing Team said he enjoys the “trees, the weather, the fresh air, and just hanging out” in the Northeast.

He is a firm supporter of the current points system in Winston Cup, although there is a strong sentiment that there should be more emphasis on winning races via more bonus points or a bigger point spread between the winners and runners-up.

“Anyone who understands the points system thinks it’s right. We race 36 times a year and consistency is what wins the championship. We don’t want the guy who wins 18 races and doesn’t finish the other 18 races to win championships. That’s not what it’s all about,” said Harvick.

Harvick is looking forward to Sunday’s Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway in Loudon. He finished second in the New England 300 in July at Loudon.

“The track was great in July,” said Harvick. “They brought the new asphalt in and the groove was probably three, 31/2 grooves up off the bottom lane. That makes it a lot of fun from the driver’s standpoint, to be able to make a mistake and not have all the sealer built up on the outside of the groove.”

“Last year, when they built in the progressive banking, that made it better, but the new asphalt was really nice last time. You didn’t have a bunch of rubber buildup on the racing groove,” added Harvick.

Despite the tremendous popularity of NASCAR, Harvick feels, “We haven’t reached our peak” popularity-wise and believes Nextel, which will replace Winston Cup as the primary sponsor next year, will “take us to a lot of different roads we haven’t really been down.”

He likes the schedule and its minor changes for next season but said racing on 20 consecutive weekends is a “little bit much.”

“Everybody has to deal with the same thing and the way I look at things is if everybody is under the same circumstances, it’s the person who handles it the best that succeeds the most,” said Harvick.

He enjoys spending his down time relaxing at one of his homes with wife DeLana and their German shepherd. He has a home in North Carolina and one in Daytona, Fla.

“People say ‘Why not go on vacation or do this and that?’ We travel so much. I do 80-90 appearances in addition to 36 race weekends. Just to be at home relaxing is the biggest thing,” said Harvick.