Kevin Harvick
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| Born: | December 8, 1975 (age 31) | |
| Birthplace: |  Bakersfield, California |
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| Awards: | 1995 NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Series Rookie of the Year
1998 NASCAR Winston West Series champion 2000 NASCAR Busch Series Rookie of the Year 2001 Busch Series Champion 2001 NASCAR Winston Cup Rookie of the Year 2002 IROC champion 2003 Brickyard 400 winner 2006 Busch Series champion 2007 Daytona 500 winner |
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| NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Statistics | ||
| Car #, Team | #29 - Richard Childress Racing | |
| 2006 NEXTEL Cup Position: | 4th | |
| Best Cup Position: | 4th - 2006 (NEXTEL Cup) | |
| First Race: | 2001 Dura Lube 400 (North Carolina) | |
| First Win: | 2001 Cracker Barrel Old Country Store 500 (Atlanta) | |
| Last Win: | 2007 Daytona 500 (Daytona) | |
| Wins | Top Tens | Poles |
| 11 | 88 | 5 |
| NASCAR Busch Series Statistics | ||
| Car #, Team | #21 - Richard Childress Racing #33/#77 - Kevin Harvick Incorporated |
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| First Race: | 1999 Kmart 200 (North Carolina) | |
| First Win: | 2000 Carquest Auto Parts 250 (Gateway) | |
| Last Win: | 2007 Orbitz 300 (Daytona) | |
| Wins | Top Tens | Poles |
| 27 | 125 | 15 |
| NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Statistics | ||
| Car #, Team | #2 - Kevin Harvick Incorporated | |
| First Race: | 1995 Spears Manufacturing 200 (Mesa Marin) | |
| First Win: | 2002 Chevy Silverado 150 Phoenix) | |
| Last Win: | 2003 Chevy Silverado 150 Phoenix) | |
| Wins | Top Tens | Poles |
| 2 | 33 | 0 |
| All stats current as of March 25, 2007. | ||
Kevin Harvick (born December 8, 1975 in Bakersfield, California) is an American race car driver and car owner, competing in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup and Busch Series for Richard Childress Racing, driving the #29 Shell/Pennzoil/Reese's Chevrolet in Cup racing full-time and the #21 Autozone Chevrolet part-time in the Busch Series, and in the Busch Series and Craftsman Truck Series, where he drives cars and trucks that his own team fields. Harvick is the owner of the #33 Allstates Employer Services Chevrolet Silverado in the Craftsman Truck Series, and the #33 Old Spice / The Outdoor Channel and #77 Dollar General Chevrolet in the Busch Series. He is known for replacing the late Dale Earnhardt in the GM Goodwrench car after Earnhardt was killed in the Daytona 500 in 2001, for his aggressive driving style, and for being the 2007 Daytona 500 winner in one of NASCAR's greatest Daytona finishes ever.[1]
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[edit] Beginnings
Harvick began racing in karting after his parents Mike and JoNell bought him a go-kart as a kindergarten graduation gift in 1980. Harvick became a highly successful driver on the go-kart circuit. He started part-time racing in the NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division, Southwest Series in 1992 and competed while completing high school. Always the competitor, when not racing in the winter months Harvick comepeted on his high school wrestling team at North High School in Oildale. He won a section title in his weight class his senior year. He then graduated and became a full-time driver and earned the honor of Rookie of the Year in 1995.[2]
He then moved up to the NASCAR Grand National Division, AutoZone West Series in 1997, and in 1998 became champion of that series while driving for Spears Motorsports. He received his first national exposure during the winter of 1997/1998 on ESPN2's coverage of the NASCAR Winter Heat series at Tucson Raceway Park.[2]
[edit] NASCAR career
Harvick made his Craftsman Truck Series debut in 1995 at Mesa Marin Raceway that also happenned to be the first ever Truck Series race in NASCAR history, in his hometown of Bakersfield, where he started and finished 27th in his family-owned #72. He drove four races in the 72 the next season, his best finish an 11th at Mesa Marin. In 1997, he signed to drive the 75 for Spears mid-season, posting two eighth-place finishes. He ran the full schedule the next season, posting three top-fives and finishing seventeenth in points. In 1999 he drove for Liberty Racing, finishing 12th in points.
In 2000 he joined the NASCAR Busch Series, driving for Richard Childress and winning three times and the Rookie of the Year award.
[edit] Entry to Busch series
On October 23, 1999, Harvick made his first Busch Series start in the Kmart 200 at the now defunct North Carolina Speedway. He would start 24th and finished 42nd due to an engine failure. The race would be his only start that year. The following season, Harvick would sign with Richard Childress Racing to drive the #2 AC Delco Chevrolet for his first full Busch Series season. Despite missing the second race of the season at North Carolina Speedway, due to the team being new and not being in the top 35 of the previous seasons owners standings, Kevin would go on to win the NASCAR Busch Series Rookie of the Year with three wins, eight top five finishes and 16 top ten finishes. On July 29, 2000, he would gain his first win in the Carquest Auto Parts 250 at Gateway International Raceway. He would also post wins at Bristol Motor Speedway in the Food City 250 on August 25, and at Memphis Motorsports Park in the Sam's Town 250 on October 29. He also scored two pole positions and finished third in the Driver's Standings.
In 2001, Kevin Harvick would begin to start a precedent that would be followed to this day, running both the NASCAR Winston Cup and Busch Series in the same season. Harvick posted five wins, twenty top five finishes and 24 top ten finishes. Ironically, he would claim the NASCAR Busch Series Championship at the same racetrack that he would fail to qualify at the beginning of the 2000 season, North Carolina Speedway.
[edit] Entry to the Winston Cup series
For 2001, Childress planned to develop Harvick into the Winston Cup Series (now NEXTEL Cup) with up to seven races in an America Online sponsored third car, number 30. He planned to race Harvick for a full schedule in 2002. Chidress's plans changed when Dale Earnhardt was killed during the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. Childress tabbed Harvick as Earnhardt's replacement.
For the first two races afterwards, the cars ran a reverse white and black scheme (what was black became white, and what was white became black), the number changed from 3 to 29, and the pit crew wore generic uniforms. In the third race of the season, the car was painted white and red, while Harvick wore a white and red uniform. His pit crew continued to wear the traditional GM Goodwrench Service Plus uniforms.
On March 11, 2001 at the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store 500, only three weeks after Earnhardt's death, Harvick won his first career Winston/NEXTEL Cup victory in just his third start by narrowly edging Jeff Gordon at Atlanta Motor Speedway. He won the race by only six one-thousandths of a second (.006), proving to be one of the closest finishes in NASCAR history since the introduction of electronic scoring in 1993. After the win, Harvick performed a tire-smoking burnout on the frontstretch with three fingers held aloft outside the driver's window.[1]
Harvick recorded his second Winston Cup win of his career on July 15, 2001 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois. At the end of the season, he finished with two victories, six top five finishes, and 16 top ten finishes. Harvick was awarded with the NASCAR Rookie of the Year award, and secured a ninth place finish in the 2001 points standings. He also won the Busch Series championship, becoming the first driver to win the Busch Series Champion, while also driving full-time in the Winston Cup Series with a top ten finish. Harvick would end the season winning six pole positions, and driving in 70 races: 35 Cup Series, 1 NASCAR Nextel Cup All-Star Challenge Event, 33 Busch Series races, and one NASCAR Craftsman Series (at Richmond International Raceway).
Harvick began the 2002 season with a fine for a post race incident with Greg Biffle at Bristol Motor Speedway. Later, he was suspended for rough driving following a Craftsman Truck race at Martinsville, Virginia. Harvick scored his first career Nextel Cup pole position; this coming at the Daytona International Speedway. Later in the season, he scored his third NEXTEL Cup victory, finishing first at the Chicagoland Speedway. He finished 21st in the 2002 points standings with one victory, five top five finishes, and eight top ten finishes. Harvick became the 2002 IROC Champion in his first season in the series, winning at the California Speedway.
[edit] Racing the NEXTEL Cup
In the 2003 season, Harvick teamed with crew chief Todd Berrier and won the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis in August. Harvick and his team jumped from 21st in the final 2002 points standings, to 5th in the 2003 standings, coming within 252 points of first place Matt Kenseth. While winless in the 2004 season, Harvick placed third in the most popular driver voting, behind Jeff Gordon and winner Dale Earnhardt Jr.
In the 2005 season, Harvick won the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway, despite starting towards the rear of the field. Harvick won without the assistance of crew chief Todd Berrier, who was serving a four-week suspension for a rules violation. The following year, he continued driving the #29 car for Childress in the NEXTEL Cup Series. With General Motors' financial situation, GM Goodwrench cut back sponsorship, and was joined as primary sponsor for one-third of the schedule by Hershey's, with various brands (primarily Reese's) on the car.
[edit] Battling for the 2006 championship
On April 15, 2006 Harvick won his first Busch Series race of the 2006 season. He followed the win with a weekend sweep of the Busch Series and NEXTEL Cup races at Phoenix International Raceway. Later in the season, Harvick won the NEXTEL Cup race at Watkins Glen International.
On September 9, 2006, Harvick, only needing to finish 40th or better to clinch a spot in the Chase, did better by slipping by Kyle Busch in turn four going into the final lap and holding onto the lead to win the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway. This was his third win of the season, and his second "sweep" of the season, having won the Emerson Radio 250 the night before. This allowed Harvick, along with teammate, Jeff Burton, their first berth, and first for Richard Childress Racing, in the Chase for the Nextel Cup. On September 17, 2006, starting from the pole, Kevin won the first race of the chase at New Hampshire International Speedway, in the Sylvania 300. He dominated the race and by winning, was able to take the lead in the point standings for the first time in his career.
Harvick would have a substandard chase run, falling to sixth in the points standings, until finishing third in Texas and following that up with another dominating performance in the Checker Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix International Raceway on November 12, 2006, winning the race, and moving into third place in the point standings. At the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Kevin would finish 5th in the race and slip to fourth in the final standings to eventual 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series champion, Jimmie Johnson.
[edit] 2007 Daytona 500
In 2007, the team again split primary sponsors, with Hershey's and GM Goodwrench, being joined by new primary sponsor Shell and their Pennzoil brand.[1] [2]. On Sunday, February 18, 2007 in the season opening Daytona 500, Harvick claimed his first NASCAR Nextel Cup Series victory in a restrictor plate race with a dramatic final lap pass over Mark Martin by .020 seconds in a green-white-checkered finish, the closest margin at the 500 since electronic scoring started in 1993. The race was on the sixth anniversary of the death of his predecessor at Richard Childress Racing, Dale Earnhardt. He would become only the fourth NASCAR driver to sweep both the Busch and Cup races in the opening weekend at Daytona (along with Bobby Allison (1988), Darrell Waltrip (1989), and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2004) ). Harvick also tied Benny Parsons for the fewest number of laps led by a Daytona 500 winner, who did it in 1975 (the year Harvick was born) with four laps. He started 34th (lowest ever by a winner at the track), and became the first Busch Series Champion to win the Daytona 500 the following year. With the win, Harvick also became only the sixth driver to win both the Daytona 500 and the prestigous Brickyard 400 joining Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, Dale Jarrett, Bill Elliott and Jimmie Johnson.[3][4]
On February 22nd, 2007, four days after Kevin won the Daytona 500 in his inaugural race with Shell-Pennzoil as a primary sponser, Harvick's team was asked by NASCAR to downsize the Shell logo on his fire suit and wear a more prominent Pennzoil logo. This is an effort to play down any perceived competition with SUNOCO. SUNOCO asked NASCAR to talk with Harvick's team after he won both the Busch Series and Nextel Cup Series races wearing a prominent Shell logo on his fire suite.[5]
[edit] Busch Series competition during his NEXTEL Cup career
- In 2002, Kevin Harvick would spend this season concentrating on running the Cup Series and would only start 4 races. He would only have one top ten in those 4 starts, being at Texas Motor Speedway. He finished 64th in the Driver's Standings.
- In 2003, Richard Childress would team up both Kevin Harvick and Johnny Sauter, whom Richard had moved over from the #2 car in favor of Ron Hornaday, Jr. driving the #21 Hershey's sponsored PayDay car. The two would combine for 3 wins, 16 top 5's and 24 top 10's, with Kevin posting all three wins. They would give Richard the NASCAR Busch Series Owner's Championship that season, with the Driver's Championsip going to Brian Vickers. It would be the first time that the championship would be split between two teams, and to date, the last. Kevin would drive in 19 of the 34 races and Johnny would drive in the other 15. Both drove a Payday sponsored car in the final race of the season at Homestead-Miami Speedway in the Ford 300, with Kevin driving the #21 and Johnny driving the #29, a gift by Richard Childress thanking them both for the Owner's Championsip. Kevin also scored 8 pole positions and finished 16th in the Driver's Standings.
- In 2004, Kevin would again be paired with another driver, rookie Clint Bowyer, as Johnny Sauter would take over the #30 America Online Nextel Cup Series car for Richard Childress. They would combine for 1 win, 13 top 5's and 20 top 10's in the #21 Hershey's sponsored Reese's Peanut Butter Cup car. Kevin would drive the #29 EGSR/Coast Guard Busch Series car in the final race of the season at Homestead-Miami Speedway in the Ford 300, which he would claim his second win of the season. He finished 20th in the Driver's Standings. The #21 car finished 4th in the Owner's Standings.
- In 2005, Kevin, paired this time with rookie Brandon Miller, as Clint Bowyer would take over the #2 AC Delco Busch series car from Ron Hornaday, Jr. Kevin and Brandon would combine for 3 wins, 15 top 5's and 19 top 10's to give the #21 its second 4th place finish in the Owner's Standings. Kevin would also drive the #29 Reese's Chocolate Lovers car to victory in the first "sweep" of his career on Monday, April 4, 2005 in the rain-delayed Food City 250 at Bristol Motor Speedway to go along with the Food City 500 win the day before, to give him a record tying 4th Busch Series win at the track (with Morgan Shepard). Kevin finished 18th in the Driver's Standings.
- In 2006, Kevin decided to run both of NASCAR's top two series full time. In the Busch Series, Kevin would be scheduled to run 35 races, with three different cars (#21, #33, #29) and two different teams, Richard Childress Racing and his own team, Kevin Harvick, Incorporated. Harvick had 9 wins, 23 top 5's and 32 top 10's. He clinched the 2006 NASCAR Busch Series Championship on October 13, 2006 at Lowe's Motor Speedway. It was the earliest clinch ever in the Busch Series, locking up the title with four races still to be run. He would end the season with a record 824 point margin in the final standings.
- In 2007 Kevin Harvick began the season by winning the Orbitz 300 at Daytona, claiming his first win in a restrictor plate race, as well as the first win for new sponsor Autozone in NASCAR Busch Series competition.
[edit] See also
- Kevin Harvick Incorporated- A racing team owned by Kevin Harvick and his wife Delana.
[edit] References
- ^ a b JokBio: Kevin Harvick Biography Retrieved on February 19, 2007
- ^ a b Harvick's Biography Retrieved on February 18, 2007
- ^ Cross' Words: Daytona Retrieved February 18, 2007
- ^ Fryer, Jenna (2007-02-19). Harvick edges Martin for Daytona 500 title. Associated Press. Retrieved on February 19, 2007.
- ^ Harvick's Shell logos called into question SCENEDAILY (2007-02-22). Retrieved on February 23, 2007.
[edit] External links
- Kevin Harvick's official web site
- Richard Childress Racing's official web site
- Kevin Harvick's MySpace profile
- Coca-Cola Racing Family's Kevin Harvick profile
- Kevin Harvick - Bio, Stats, Images, Charts
| Preceded by Jeff Green |
NASCAR Busch Series Champion 2001 |
Succeeded by Greg Biffle |
| Preceded by Matt Kenseth |
NASCAR Rookie of the Year 2001 |
Succeeded by Ryan Newman |
| Preceded by Bobby Labonte |
IROC Champion IROC XXVI (2002) |
Succeeded by Kurt Busch |
| Preceded by Martin Truex Jr. |
NASCAR Busch Series Champion 2006 |
Succeeded by current |
| Preceded by Jimmie Johnson |
Daytona 500 winner 2007 |
Succeeded by Current holder |
| Richard Childress Racing | |
| NEXTEL Cup Drivers | Clint Bowyer (#07) | Kevin Harvick (#29) | Jeff Burton (#31) |
| Busch Series Drivers | Timothy Peters (#21) | Scott Wimmer (#29) |
| Driver development program Drivers | Ryan Foster | Jessica Helberg | Tim McCreadie | Brandon Miller |
| Partnerships and Affiliations | Kevin Harvick Incorporated | JR Motorsports | Marsh Racing | Morgan-Dollar Motorsports |
| Other | Richard Childress | Dale Earnhardt |
