Kevin Harvick received a go-kart for kindergarten graduation, and with aspirations of one day being a Cup Series champion, he achieved that goal in 2014 at the age of 38 and following a career spanning multiple decades, retired from full-time competition in 2023 at the age of 47.
Harvick’s passion for racing was set in motion at age five thanks to the go-kart he received from his parents, and after gaining experience, at local tracks Harvick began racing at the age of seven. For 10 years, he was a force on the karting circuit, earning seven national championships and two Grand National championships.
With an impressive resume of wins in the karting ranks, Harvick made the move to full-bodied stock cars in 1992. He competed at local racetracks in the Late Model division and, in 1993, won the Late Model championship at his hometown track, Mesa Marin Speedway, in Bakersfield, Calif.
When not wrestling a stock car, Harvick competed on the wrestling team at Bakersfield’s North High School, and credits his tenacity and discipline to lessons he learned on the wrestling mat. Upon graduation, the 18-year-old followed his dreams and pursued a professional racing career.
Harvick advanced to the NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Tour fulltime in 1995, earning Rookie of the Year and finishing 11th in the point standings. Harvick also made his first-career Truck Series start on October 15, 1995, at Mesa Marin Speedway, where he started and finished 27th in his family-owned No. 72 truck.
Harvick drove four more Truck Series races for his family-owned team in 1996, but in 1997 he took over the No. 75 Spears Motorsports entry in the Truck Series for the second half of the season, scoring two top-10 finishes.
In 1998, Harvick kept a busy racing schedule as he drove the Spears truck full-time while also competing fulltime in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West (today known as the ARCA West Series). Harvick’s commitment to his racing career paid off as he won five races en route to the K&N West championship.
Harvick moved to Jim Herrick Racing in 1999 and drove the No. 98 truck to 11 top-10 finishes and a 12th-place finish in the Truck Series standings.
Harvick’s hard-charging style and success behind the wheel caught the eye of NASCAR team owner Richard Childress and for the 2000 season, Childress selected Harvick to drive the team’s No. 2 entry in the Xfinity Series.
In his first full season with Richard Childress Racing (RCR), Harvick scored three wins and finished third in the championship standings and earned Rookie of the Year. Along the way, he gained a reputation for being aggressive on the track, but off the track his affable attitude and ever-present smile earned him the nickname “Happy.”
Harvick was set to compete fulltime in the Xfinity Series in 2001 while making select NASCAR Cup Series starts in RCR’s No. 30 team, but his career path was forever altered on February 18, 2001, when the legendary Dale Earnhardt lost his life in an accident on the final lap of the Daytona 500.
Days following the tragedy, Childress appointed Harvick to drive in place of Earnhardt, renumbering the famous No. 3 machine to the No. 29 in time for the second race of the season at North Carolina Speedway in Rockingham, N.C. This new role was in addition to Harvick’s full-time duties in the Xfinity Series, where he was competing for the championship.
Harvick proved he was up to the daunting task of paving his own path, and in just his third NASCAR Cup Series start, he won at Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 11, 2001. As the season continued, so did Harvick’s winning ways as he claimed the checkered flag in the inaugural race at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois on July 15. With his strong season, Harvick earned Cup Series Rookie of the Year and finished the season ninth in the championship point standings.
In addition to his success in the NASCAR Cup Series, Harvick scored five wins in the Xfinity Series to claim his first Xfinity Series championship. He became the first driver in NASCAR history to compete fulltime in the NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series in the same season. He also became the first driver to earn NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year while also claiming the Xfinity Series championship.
Harvick’s strong performance during his rookie season in the NASCAR Cup Series earned him a spot competing against all-star drivers from a variety of racing disciplines in the 2002 International Race of Champions (IROC) series, and the young driver did not disappoint. He scored a victory at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, and earned four top-10 finishes to win the championship in the prestigious four-race series.
Harvick’s second season in the NASCAR Cup Series produced his first-career pole in July 2002 at Daytona International Speedway and a second consecutive victory at Chicagoland Speedway.
While hitting his stride in the NASCAR Cup Series, Harvick started another racing venture. Alongside his wife DeLana, Harvick fielded his own team in five Truck Series races in 2002. Harvick’s team posted four top-10 finishes in five races and scored a victory in November at Phoenix Raceway. The win was Harvick’s first win in the Truck Series and his first in his own equipment. That successful stint in 2002 signaled the beginning of Kevin Harvick, Inc. (KHI).
In 2003, Harvick continued his winning ways and became the first driver to win the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway from the pole position. He posted 11 top-five and 18 top-10 finishes on his way to finishing the season fifth in the point standings. He also scored three Xfinity victories and one Truck Series win during the season.
While Harvick was winless in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2004, he went to victory lane twice in the Xfinity Series.
In 2005, Harvick earned one NASCAR Cup Series win at Bristol Motor Speedway and four Xfinity Series wins.
Harvick enjoyed a breakout year in 2006, winning five races and scoring 20 top-10 finishes en route to a fourth-place finish in the NASCAR Cup Series championship standings. That same season, Harvick was on fire in the Xfinity Series. He competed fulltime and earned his second Xfinity Series title with nine victories, 23 top-five and 32 top-10 finishes.
Picking up where he left off in 2006, Harvick kicked off 2007 by edging veteran Mark Martin by .020 of a second to win the season-opening Daytona 500. Later that year, he scored another huge victory as he won the non-points All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway and took home the $1 million prize. He finished the season 10th in the point standings.
Harvick also racked up six Xfinity Series victories in 2007, but it was Harvick the team owner who enjoyed the most success in 2007. With NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Ron Hornaday Jr. behind the wheel of the No. 33 truck, KHI earned its first championship.
While Harvick didn’t reach victory lane in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2008, he produced performances strong enough to make the playoffs before finishing fourth in the season-ending standings. He also earned a Truck Series win at Phoenix Raceway for KHI.
Harvick started the 2009 season with a win in the non-points paying Budweiser Shootout at Daytona International Speedway, but he didn’t get back to victory lane the rest of the year. He finished the season with nine top-10 finishes. While Harvick the driver didn’t have the best season on track, his Truck Series team scored its second championship with Hornaday.
The 2010 season began just like 2009 with Harvick victorious in the Budweiser Shootout, but that was the only similarity between the two seasons. Harvick led the 2010 NASCAR Cup Series standings for 20 weeks and battled for the series championship through the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He finished third in the standings with three victories, 16 top-five and 26 top-10 finishes.
Harvick finished third in the point standings for the second consecutive season in 2011 by scoring four wins, nine top-five and 19 top-10 finishes. He also celebrated his Truck Series team’s third owners’ title. It signaled the end of an era, however, as the team ceased operations following the 2011 season.
While Harvick’s 2012 season saw him score just a single NASCAR Cup Series victory, it was perhaps one of his most memorable years as he and wife DeLana welcomed their first child, Keelan Paul Harvick.
In 2013, Harvick announced he would leave RCR at the end of the year, but that did not deter him from his on-track goals. Throughout the season, Harvick earned four wins and contended for the series title before finishing third in the Cup Series point standings with nine top-five and 21 top-10 finishes.
With the move to Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) in 2014, Harvick proved to be more determined than ever. After starting the season with a dominating pre-season test, Harvick set sail on a championship season. With five wins, a career-high eight poles and a total of 2,137 laps led, Harvick earned the 2014 NASCAR Cup Series championship. Highlighted by the championship, Harvick became the third driver in NASCAR history to earn both the Cup Series and Xfinity Series championships, the third driver to lead more the 2,000 laps in a season and set six track qualifying records.
Harvick picked up in 2015 where he left off in 2014. He won three races, including back-to-back events at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Phoenix Raceway in March, and established a new single-season career best with 23 top-five finishes, including 16 top-two finishes and 28 top-10 finishes through the 36-race season. Harvick also led 2,294 laps to eclipse the 2,000 laps-led mark for a second consecutive season, becoming the first driver to lead more than 2,000 laps in back-to-back seasons since Jeff Gordon in 1995 and 1996. Harvick closed out the season with a runner up finish in the championship battle.
In addition to his on-track success in 2015, Harvick also had a career year off the track. He was honored as the 2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion by President Barack Obama on April 22 on the South Lawn of the White House, won an ESPY for “Best Driver,” appeared on NBC’s Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon, and was honored in his hometown of Bakersfield, California, with March 18, 2015, being named “Kevin Harvick Day.”
With momentum on his side, Harvick continued to see success in 2016 with four wins, two poles, 17 top-five and 27 top-10 finishes, and an average finish of 9.9. Harvick finished the season eighth in the Cup Series standings.
The 2017 season saw a change at SHR as the team switched manufacturers to Ford Performance, a change that reunited Harvick with Ford, a relationship established in 1999 when Harvick drove for Jim Herrick in the NASCAR Truck Series. While the team and driver started fresh with new Ford-powered Roush-Yates Engines, Harvick and the No. 4 team remained at the front of the field, securing a spot in the Championship 4 of the NASCAR Playoffs. Harvick ended the season third in the final standings with two wins, four poles, 14 top-five and 23 top-10 finishes. Off the track, the Harvick’s welcomed their second child, Piper Grace Harvick.
In 2018, Harvick won a career-high eight races, scored four pole starting positions and had 29 top-10 finishes on his way to a third-place finish in the point standings. He also won the prestigious non-points NASCAR All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway to become just the seventh driver to win multiple All-Star events.
Harvick kept on winning in 2019, scoring four victories and capturing a series-leading six poles. In the season finale at Homestead, Harvick led his 14,000th lap. For the second consecutive year, Harvick finished third in the point standings with 15 top-five and 26 top-10 finishes.
The 2020 season was arguably Harvick’s best, even if it did not end with a championship celebration. At the age of 44, Harvick won a series-best nine races, and his first of the year on May 17 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway was his milestone 50th NASCAR Cup Series victory. The nine-win tally was a new career high and, combined with his league-leading 20 top-five and 27 top-10 finishes, Harvick earned the regular-season title. He made his 700th-career Cup Series start on July 19 at Texas Motor Speedway, and in the same race surpassed 200,000 laps completed in his Cup Series career.
Following the incredible 2020 season, Harvick went winless in the 2021 season, breaking an 11-season winning streak. At the end of the 36-race season, Harvick walked away with 10 top-five finishes and 24 top-10 finishes. Despite no wins, the No. 4 teams strong on-track performance propelled Harvick to a fifth-place finish in the Championship Point standings.
For his 22nd season in the Cup Series, Harvick returned to victory lane with back-to-back victories starting in Ford’s backyard at Michigan International Speedway on August 7 and the following week at Richmond (Va.) Raceway. Harvick concluded the season with nine top-five finishes and 17 top-10 finishes and 15th in the Championship Point standings.
Deciding to make the 2023 season his final year of full-time competition, Harvick set out on a “4EVER” Tour, taking fans along for a look back at his 23-year career. Harvick ended his final season 13th in the point standings with six top-five and 14 top-10 finishes, including a close second-place finish at Darlington Raceway in his final Southern 500. While it was his final season of Cup Series competition, Harvick made it known he wasn’t going anywhere as he and wife DeLana relaunched KHI following a 12-year hiatus.
The 2024 season saw Harvick trade one suit for another as he transitioned to the FOX TV booth full time covering the NASCAR Cup Series and joined the podcast world with “Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour.” With KHI back in action, the team transitioned back to full-time racing with Late Model competition for the 2024 season.
With a career that spanned more than two decades, Harvick earned 60-career NASCAR Cup Series victories including all four of NASCAR’s crown-jewel events: the Daytona 500 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte (N.C) Motor Speedway, the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Southern 500 at Darlington (S.C) Raceway. The only other drivers in NASCAR history to accomplish this feat are Earnhardt, Gordon and Jimmie Johnson.
In addition to his impressive performance in the NASCAR Cup Series, Harvick has two Xfinity Series championships and 47 Xfinity Series wins, along with 14 Truck Series victories.
Focused on increasing his philanthropic presence, the Harvick’s created the Kevin Harvick Foundation in 2010 to support programs that positively enrich the lives of children throughout the United States. Since its inception, the Kevin Harvick Foundation has built multiple youth parks including the Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club in Greensboro, N.C., Boys & Girls Club in Bakersfield, Calif., Jake Owen Field in Vero Beach, Fla., Brooks Robinson Field and Reid Bird Park Field in Baltimore, Maryland and most recently the Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club Field in Charlotte, N.C. The foundation has also partnered with the various organizations to leave a lasting impact on communities around the country including the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department Police Activities League (PAL) Center in Charlotte, N.C., North High School Athletics in Bakersfield, Calif. and created the Kevin Harvick Athletic Scholarship to name a few.