177 Facts About Kevin Harvick

1.

Kevin Michael Harvick was born on December 8,1975 and is an American professional stock car racing driver.

2.

Kevin Harvick competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No 4 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing.

3.

Kevin Harvick holds the all-time record for Cup Series wins at Phoenix Raceway with nine wins.

4.

Kevin Harvick's 121 combined national series wins currently rank him third all-time in NASCAR history, behind Richard Petty and Kyle Busch, respectively, while his 60 Cup wins are tenth in series history.

5.

Kevin Harvick is currently the longest-tenured active driver in the Cup Series.

6.

Kevin Harvick began his NASCAR career in 1992, is the third of only six drivers that have won a championship in both the Cup Series and the Xfinity Series, and the fifth of only 36 drivers to win a race in each of NASCAR's three national series.

7.

Kevin Harvick began racing in NASCAR'S top series in 2001, replacing the legendary Dale Earnhardt following his tragic death in a last lap crash in the season's first race.

8.

Harvick is the former owner of Kevin Harvick Incorporated, a race team that fielded cars in the Xfinity Series from 2004 to 2011 and the Truck Series between 2001 and 2011.

9.

Kevin Harvick was born in 1975 in Bakersfield, California, to parents Mike and JoNell Kevin Harvick, and has a younger sister, Amber.

10.

Kevin Harvick began kart racing at an early age, after his parents bought him a go-kart as a kindergarten graduation gift.

11.

Kevin Harvick grew up a fan of IndyCar driver and fellow Bakersfield native Rick Mears, and raced go-karts with Mears' son Clint.

12.

Kevin Harvick achieved considerable success on the go-kart racing circuit, earning seven national championships and two Grand National championships.

13.

Kevin Harvick made his Craftsman Truck Series debut in 1995 at the Mesa Marin Raceway, in his hometown of Bakersfield, where he started and finished 27th in his family-owned No 72.

14.

Kevin Harvick drove four races in the No 72 the next season, his best finish was 11th at Mesa Marin.

15.

Kevin Harvick ran a full schedule the next season, posting 3 top-fives and finishing 17th in points.

16.

Kevin Harvick moved up to the NASCAR Grand National Division, AutoZone West Series in 1997, and in 1998 Kevin Harvick won five races on his way to the Winston West Series championship while driving for Spears.

17.

On October 23,1999, Kevin Harvick made his first NASCAR Busch Series start in the Kmart 200 at the Rockingham Speedway in the No 2 Chevrolet.

18.

Kevin Harvick would start 24th and finish 42nd due to engine failure.

19.

Kevin Harvick planned to race Harvick for a full schedule in 2002.

20.

The death of Dale Earnhardt on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500 changed Childress's plans, and Kevin Harvick began his first Cup race the following week in the Dura Lube 400 at Rockingham, filling the seat vacated by Earnhardt's passing in the renumbered No 29 Chevrolet.

21.

On March 11,2001, in the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, only three weeks after Earnhardt's death, Kevin Harvick won his first career Winston Cup race in just his third start by narrowly edging Jeff Gordon.

22.

Kevin Harvick won his second career Cup race at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois.

23.

Kevin Harvick was awarded the NASCAR Rookie of the Year Award and secured a ninth-place finish in the 2001 points standings.

24.

Kevin Harvick won the Busch Series championship, becoming the first driver to win the Busch Series championship while driving full-time in the Winston Cup Series with a Top 10 finish.

25.

In 2002, Kevin Harvick spent the season concentrating on running the Cup Series and would only start four races in the Busch Series.

26.

Kevin Harvick began the 2002 season making his first Daytona 500 start on the outside pole next to Jimmie Johnson, but his day ended after triggering an 18-car crash on lap 148 while running second to Jeff Gordon, relegating him to a 36th-place finish.

27.

Kevin Harvick was suspended for rough driving in a Truck race at Martinsville, in which he announced on his radio that he intentionally spun out driver Coy Gibbs, prompting NASCAR to immediately take him out of the race.

28.

Kevin Harvick was banned from the Cup Series race the next day, with Kenny Wallace replacing him.

29.

Kevin Harvick rebounded and scored his first career Winston Cup pole position in the Pepsi 400 at Daytona.

30.

Kevin Harvick became the 2002 IROC Champion in his first season in the Series, winning at California Speedway.

31.

In Trucks, Kevin Harvick began fielding his own No 6 truck, driving himself in five races and winning at Phoenix.

32.

Kevin Harvick competed in 19 of the 34 races, and Sauter competed in the other 15.

33.

Kevin Harvick scored eight pole positions and finished 16th in the final drivers' standings.

34.

On lap 323, Kevin Harvick radioed to his crew that his right arm had fallen asleep on him and had gone numb which made it difficult for him to operate his race car properly and needed a backup driver.

35.

The caution came out 5 laps later and Kevin Harvick made his way onto pit road and was pulled out of the car.

36.

Kevin Harvick was replaced by Kyle Petty, who was involved in an earlier wreck in the same race.

37.

Kevin Harvick was still able to stay 8th in points but in the last 2 regular season races at California and Richmond, Kevin Harvick would fall from 8th to 15th in the standings missing out on the inaugural Chase for the Cup.

38.

Kevin Harvick's season was known for his conflicts with Matt Kenseth at Pocono and rookie Kasey Kahne at Phoenix.

39.

Kevin Harvick had fourteen Top 10 finishes and finished 14th in points.

40.

Kevin Harvick was paired with another driver in the Busch Series, rookie Clint Bowyer.

41.

Kevin Harvick won without the assistance of crew chief Todd Berrier, who was serving a four-week suspension for a rules violation.

42.

Kevin Harvick finished 14th in the Cup series standings and 18th in the Busch series driver's standings.

43.

In 2006, Kevin Harvick decided to run both of NASCAR's Top 2 series full-time driving for Richard Childress.

44.

Kevin Harvick ran four races for his team in the No 33, the season opener at Daytona in Childress' No 29, and the remaining 30 races for RCR's No 21.

45.

Kevin Harvick won his first Busch Series race of the 2006 season at Nashville Superspeedway.

46.

Kevin Harvick followed the win with a weekend sweep of the Busch Series and Sprint Cup races at Phoenix International Raceway.

47.

Kevin Harvick had nine wins, 23 Top 5s, and 32 Top 10s in the Busch Series.

48.

Kevin Harvick clinched the 2006 NASCAR Busch Series championship on October 13,2006, at Lowe's Motor Speedway in the Dollar General 300.

49.

Kevin Harvick ended the season with a record 824-point margin in the final standings.

50.

Kevin Harvick would have 3 wins, 11 top-5's and 14 top-10s going into the chase.

51.

Kevin Harvick fell to sixth place in the point standings until he finished third at Texas.

52.

Kevin Harvick opened the 2007 Sprint Cup series with a dramatic final lap pass in the Daytona 500, beating Mark Martin by.

53.

Kevin Harvick would become only the fourth NASCAR driver to sweep both the Nationwide and Cup races in the opening weekend at Daytona.

54.

Kevin Harvick would be quiet for the remainder of the season, his only other win coming in the Sprint All-Star Race and finishing 10th in points.

55.

In 2007, Kevin Harvick started the Nationwide Series 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's Nationwide Series.

56.

Kevin Harvick won at New Hampshire International Speedway, winning the Camping World 200 presented by RVs com.

57.

The win was considered a bit of an upset as many expected the road course ringers to dominate and Kevin Harvick had started 43rd in the race due to a driver change.

58.

Kevin Harvick went winless in 2008, but he was still able to post a fourth-place ranking in the 2008 Chase for the Sprint Cup.

59.

Kevin Harvick went the entire season without a single DNF for the second straight year.

60.

Kevin Harvick did not win a race in this series either.

61.

Kevin Harvick started the 2009 season by winning the Budweiser Shootout with a last-lap pass on Jamie McMurray.

62.

Kevin Harvick didn't get a single win in the cup series this year knowing that he was successful in the Nationwide series and the truck series, having a total of 5 wins this season.

63.

Auto Club in California, Kevin Harvick blew his engine and suffered his first DNF in 82 starts.

64.

Kevin Harvick won the first 2009 Nationwide Series race at Bristol, his first win in his car.

65.

Kevin Harvick refused to comment publicly on the subject of where he would be driving in 2010.

66.

Kevin Harvick started the same way he did in 2009 by winning the Budweiser Shootout with a pass in the penultimate lap in a green-white-checkered situation.

67.

Kevin Harvick placed second in his Gatorade Duel by inches to Jimmie Johnson.

68.

Kevin Harvick led the most laps in the Daytona 500 but ended up finishing seventh.

69.

Kevin Harvick followed up his seventh at Daytona with a second at Auto Club Speedway again to Jimmie Johnson.

70.

Kevin Harvick won the Aaron's 499 after three green-white-checkered situations, passing Jamie McMurray in what was the 88th lead change of the race, setting a new NASCAR record.

71.

Kevin Harvick finished the regular season first place in points but started the Chase in third after the points were adjusted.

72.

Kevin Harvick won his first career Pole in the Camping World Truck Series at Gateway International Raceway in his own No 2 Chevrolet Silverado.

73.

Kevin Harvick won his 15th career Cup race at Auto Club Speedway after passing defending series champion, Jimmie Johnson in the final turn in a finish resembling the previous race in 2010.

74.

Kevin Harvick was able to finish well in all three series, finishing 3rd in points in Cup, and clenching the 2011 Truck Series Owner's Championship in his final season as a team owner.

75.

Kevin Harvick admitted that his original goal in forming KHI was to achieve the success in the Truck Series that he wasn't able to get before driving in Winston Cup, and it blossomed into a venture to build drivers' careers.

76.

At Phoenix, Kevin Harvick avoided a chaos-filled race to collect his only win of the season and the 19th of his career.

77.

In 2013 at Daytona, Kevin Harvick dodged a practice wreck in the last session of practice, and the same in the Sprint Unlimited.

78.

Kevin Harvick was caught up in a crash on lap 35 of the Daytona 500 and finished 41st.

79.

Kevin Harvick won his first race of the season at the 2013 Toyota Owners 400, which ended Kyle Busch's four-year winning streak in the spring Richmond race.

80.

At the Coca-Cola 600, Kevin Harvick took the lead on the last cycle of pit stops and held off Kasey Kahne to win his 2nd 600.

81.

Kevin Harvick won his first pole position since September 2006 in qualifying for the 2013 Hollywood Casino 400.

82.

Kevin Harvick dominated the race, leading 138 laps, and survived a wreck-filled event to take his third win of the season.

83.

Kevin Harvick won his fourth race of the year at the Phoenix race, taking the lead at the white flag when Carl Edwards ran out of gas.

84.

Kevin Harvick finished the season third in points again, with four wins, nine Top 5s, 21 Top 10 finishes, and one pole position.

85.

Stewart-Haas Racing did not confirm what sponsor or number Kevin Harvick would be given.

86.

On July 12,2013, it was confirmed that Kevin Harvick would drive the No 4 Chevrolet, and would replace Ryan Newman, who parted ways with Stewart-Haas Racing at the end of the season.

87.

Kevin Harvick retained Budweiser as his primary sponsor for 21 races, with Jimmy John's sponsoring the remaining races for the 2014 season.

88.

In October, it was announced that Kevin Harvick would run a partial schedule in the Nationwide Series in 2014, competing in a minimum of 12 races for JR Motorsports.

89.

Kevin Harvick ran upfront during the Daytona 500, but was caught up in a last-lap crash leaving turn 4, and was scored in the 13th position.

90.

At Darlington, Kevin Harvick dominated the Bojangles' Southern 500 and overtook Dale Earnhardt Jr.

91.

Kevin Harvick almost won the Coca-Cola 600 for the third time in four years, but a poor pit stop with 250 laps left cost him the race.

92.

Kevin Harvick recovered to score a second-place finish but finished 5.55 seconds behind Jimmie Johnson.

93.

Kevin Harvick's race turned for the worse when Harvick was later penalized by NASCAR for speeding on pit road, ensuring an 11th-place finish.

94.

At Texas Motor Speedway, Kevin Harvick got a second-place finish but started controversy after instigating a fight between Jeff Gordon and Brad Keselowski on pit road immediately following the race.

95.

At Phoenix, Kevin Harvick won the race and swept both 2014 races Phoenix, allowing him to transfer into the final round of the Chase at Homestead.

96.

Kevin Harvick took the lead away from Denny Hamlin, and in the end, held off fellow championship contender Ryan Newman to win the Ford Ecoboost 400 and the Sprint Cup Championship by one position over Newman.

97.

Kevin Harvick started the season by finishing second in the Daytona 500.

98.

Kevin Harvick won again the next week for his fourth straight win at Phoenix and a record seventh win at the track overall.

99.

At Auto Club, Kevin Harvick managed to finish second, this time to Brad Keselowski.

100.

Kevin Harvick then went on to collect four straight Top 10 finishes at Daytona, Kentucky, New Hampshire, and Indianapolis.

101.

Kevin Harvick dominated next week at Loudon, leading 216 of 300 laps.

102.

Kevin Harvick finished 21st, putting him in danger of being eliminated from the Chase.

103.

That win allowed Kevin Harvick to clinch a spot into the next round of the Chase, after narrowly avoiding being eliminated.

104.

Kevin Harvick managed to avoid the wreck, and finished 15th, advancing him to the next round in the Chase.

105.

Trevor Bayne, who was hit in the quarter panel by Kevin Harvick which triggered the wreck, accused him of intentionally spinning him out to secure a spot in the next round.

106.

At Homestead, Kevin Harvick came up one spot short of the championship, finishing 2nd in the race and the championship to Kyle Busch.

107.

Kevin Harvick then fell to 15th after the Chicagoland race as Matt Kenseth took over the points lead.

108.

Kevin Harvick would earn his first win of the season at Phoenix by beating Carl Edwards in a photo finish by a margin of 0.10, the closest finish in the track's history.

109.

Kevin Harvick would be put a lap down due to an untimely caution while Harvick was on pit road because he did not beat the leader, Martin Truex Jr.

110.

Kevin Harvick never got back on the lead lap for the remainder of the race, and ultimately finished 20th.

111.

Kevin Harvick would wrap up his 2016 season by winning the pole and finishing 3rd at Homestead-Miami.

112.

Kevin Harvick went on to win Stage 2 and lead the most laps in the 2017 Daytona 500.

113.

Once the green flag waved, Kevin Harvick held the lead and didn't look back.

114.

Kevin Harvick would go on to lead 292 out of 325 laps, a race-high for him, and he would sweep both race stages.

115.

The field would pit, and Kevin Harvick would receive a devastating pit road penalty.

116.

Kevin Harvick took the lead from Michael Self on lap 42 to win the race.

117.

Kevin Harvick finished 5th at Martinsville after sliding to the finish after last-lap contact.

118.

Kevin Harvick finished 4th in the race and 3rd in the final standings.

119.

Kevin Harvick would start the 2018 season with a DNF at the Daytona 500, after being involved in a crash just halfway through the race finishing 31st, but would earn dominant back-to-back wins at Atlanta and Las Vegas.

120.

Kevin Harvick has docked 20 points, crew chief Childers fined $50,000 and car chief Robert Smith suspended for the next two races.

121.

Kevin Harvick finished fifth at Martinsville, second at Texas, seventh at Bristol, fifth at Richmond, and fourth at Talladega.

122.

At Dover, Kevin Harvick dominated by leading the most laps and scoring his fourth win of the year.

123.

Kevin Harvick was the first driver to win five of the first 13 races since Jeff Gordon in 1997.

124.

At New Hampshire, Kevin Harvick stayed in the top 10 for most of the race and with less than 15 to go, Kevin Harvick used the bump and run on Kyle Busch and held onto the lead to get his sixth win of the year, the best in his career.

125.

Kevin Harvick finished fourth at Pocono and 10th at Watkins Glen.

126.

Kevin Harvick won both stages and led 108 laps en route to his seventh win of the season.

127.

Kevin Harvick overcame a flat tire during the Phoenix race to secure enough points to make the Championship 4 at Homestead.

128.

Kevin Harvick found himself in a position to win the race after pit strategy got him the lead in the final stage of the race but an ill-timed caution cost him the win.

129.

Kevin Harvick battled for the lead on the final restart but got overtaken by eventual winner Joey Logano.

130.

Kevin Harvick stated "We just got beat tonight" after the race.

131.

Kevin Harvick finished the season third in the points standings, winning a career-high eight races and tying Kyle Busch for the most wins of the year.

132.

Kevin Harvick started his 2019 season by winning Duel 1 of the 2019 Gander RV Duels at Daytona.

133.

Kevin Harvick finished 26th at the 2019 Daytona 500 after a late crash.

134.

Kevin Harvick got the pole at Kansas and looked as if he was going to win but a poor stop by his crew members regulated him to finish 13th instead.

135.

Kevin Harvick almost won the All-Star race but finished second behind Kyle Larson.

136.

Kevin Harvick then finished outside the top 10 in the next three races.

137.

At Chicagoland, Kevin Harvick did well in both stages but a loose wheel got him to finish a mediocre 14th-place finish.

138.

Kevin Harvick added this great momentum with wins at New Hampshire, Michigan, and Indianapolis.

139.

Kevin Harvick's Playoffs was consistent as in the Round of 16, he finished 2nd at Las Vegas, 7th at Richmond, and finished third at the Charlotte Roval to advance to the Round of 12 and his average finish during those three races in the Round of 16 was an insane 4.0 during that stretch.

140.

At Talladega, Kevin Harvick made his 677th career start in the Cup Series, one more than the total career starts of Dale Earnhardt.

141.

Kevin Harvick scored his fourth win of the season at Texas to make his fifth appearance in the Championship 4 in the last six years.

142.

Kevin Harvick went on to finish third in the standings for the third year in a row after finishing fourth at Homestead.

143.

Kevin Harvick stayed consistently in the top 10 at Las Vegas, Fontana, and Phoenix before the season was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

144.

Kevin Harvick finished fifth in the points standings, and went the entire season without a DNF for only the fourth time in his career.

145.

Kevin Harvick began the 2021 Cup season with three consecutive top-ten finishes and was one of two drivers to do that, the other being Michael McDowell.

146.

Kevin Harvick's streak ended in the fourth race at Las Vegas when he finished 20th after starting on the pole.

147.

Kevin Harvick finished 37th at the inaugural Circuit of the Americas race after Bubba Wallace collided with him under rainy conditions, sustaining his first DNF since the 2019 Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race.

148.

Stewart-Haas brought back their second Xfinity car for Kevin Harvick to run three road course races at Circuit of the Americas, Road America, and the Indianapolis Road Course, all of which were new to the Cup Series schedule that year.

149.

Kevin Harvick led the race on the closing laps, but a lapped Elliott created enough traffic to slow down Kevin Harvick, allowing Kyle Larson to overtake him for the win.

150.

Kevin Harvick later experienced brake failure and crashed head-on to the turn 1 wall.

151.

Kevin Harvick began the 2022 season with a 30th place finish at the 2022 Daytona 500.

152.

Kevin Harvick then scored his 60th career victory at Richmond a week later.

153.

At the Southern 500, Kevin Harvick finished 33rd after his car caught fire, which resulted in being relegated to 16th and last in the Playoff standings.

154.

Kevin Harvick was eliminated in the Round of 16 after finishing 10th and being in a must-win situation at the Bristol night race.

155.

Kevin Harvick finished the season 15th in the points standings, his first points finish outside the top 10 since 2009.

156.

On January 12,2023, Kevin Harvick announced he will retire at the end of the 2023 season.

157.

Kevin Harvick started the season with a 12th place finish at the 2023 Daytona 500.

158.

On July 21,2008, Kevin Harvick won $37,300 at the 35th annual TD Bank 250 presented by New England Dodge Dealers in Oxford, Maine.

159.

Kevin Harvick defeated tour regulars; Glen Luce and Joey Polewarczyk Jr to become the first active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver to win the 250.

160.

On January 9,2023, a consortium consisting of Kevin Harvick Incorporated, DEJ Management, Jeff Burton Autosports, Inc.

161.

Kevin Harvick was the first of the four to commentate, starting at Daytona; he worked at Las Vegas, Dover, and the Truck Series race at Talladega.

162.

In June 2017, Kevin Harvick was the play-by-play commentator for the Fox NASCAR broadcast of the Xfinity race at Pocono as part of a Cup drivers-only coverage, he worked alongside Joey Logano and Clint Bowyer in the broadcast booth.

163.

Kevin Harvick was not one of Fox's guest analysts in 2020, and "Drivers Only" was not done that year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

164.

However, in 2021, Kevin Harvick was included in the lineup of guest analysts, and he served as a color commentator at Darlington in May.

165.

Kevin Harvick married DeLana Kevin Harvick on February 28,2001, in Las Vegas, Nevada, shortly after his Cup Series debut.

166.

DeLana is an active participant in Kevin Harvick's career, co-owning and working with KHI Management LLC, as well as frequently appearing on Kevin Harvick's pit box during Cup races.

167.

The couple live in Charlotte, North Carolina with their son Keelan, who was born on July 8,2012, and daughter Piper Kevin Harvick, born on December 28,2017.

168.

Kevin Harvick is an avid fan of the Philadelphia Flyers of the NHL.

169.

Kevin Harvick stated during the ESPN broadcast of the 2011 5-hour Energy 500, while there was a rain delay, that he was a fan of the New York Yankees baseball team.

170.

Kevin Harvick has made several TV talk show appearances during his career on shows such as Late Show with David Letterman, Live with Regis and Kelly, Jim Rome is Burning, and The Tony Danza Show.

171.

Kevin Harvick was on the first season of FX's NASCAR Drivers: 360.

172.

In early 2003 Kevin Harvick is featured on the cover NASCAR Racing 2003 Season alongside Jimmie Johnson.

173.

In 2004, game show Family Feud hosted a NASCAR special involving Kevin Harvick, with help from fellow Californian and then-host Richard Karn.

174.

On February 19,2011, Harvick's sponsor, Budweiser hosted "The Roast of Kevin Harvick", which had some of Harvick's opponents and teammates give their thoughts and opinions on the Sprint Cup driver.

175.

Kevin Harvick was nicknamed "Happy Kevin Harvick" ironically due to his occasional temper outbursts.

176.

Kevin Harvick's pit sign, which is a smiley face, is a play on the nickname.

177.

Kevin Harvick received the nickname "The Closer" for his ability to make late passes for the win.