Kevin Harvick facts for kids

Kevin Harvick
Kevin Harvick
	Harvick at the 2015 Toyota/Save Mart 350
Born	Kevin Michael Harvick; December 8, 1975 (age 44); Bakersfield, California
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight	175 lb (79 kg)
Achievements	2014 Sprint Cup Series Champion; 2001, 2006 Busch Series Champion; 1998 Winston West Series Champion; 2002 IROC Champion; 2007 Daytona 500 Winner; 2003 Brickyard 400 Winner; 2011, 2013 Coca-Cola 600 Winner; 2007 NEXTEL All-Star Challenge Winner; 2009, 2010, 2013 Sprint Unlimited Winner; 2014 Bojangles' Southern 500 Winner; 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race Winner; All-time wins leader at Phoenix International Raceway (9)
Awards	2001 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Rookie of the Year; 2000 NASCAR Busch Series Rookie of the Year; 2001 NASCAR Busch Series Most Popular Driver; 1995 NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Series Rookie of the Year; 2015 ESPY Awards Best Driver
NASCAR Cup Series career
	657 races run over 19 years
Car no., team	No. 4 (Stewart-Haas Racing)
2018 position	3rd
Best finish	1st (2014)
First race	2001 Dura Lube 400 (Rockingham)
Last race	2020 FanShield 500 (Phoenix)
First win	2001 Cracker Barrel Old Country Store 500 (Atlanta)
Last win	2018 AAA Texas 500 (Texas)
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
	346 races run over 20 years
2018 position	86th
Best finish	1st (2001, 2006)
First race	1999 Kmart 200 (Rockingham)
Last race	2018 Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200 (Darlington)
First win	2000 Carquest Auto Parts 250 (Gateway)
Last win	2018 Rinnai 250 (Atlanta)
NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series career
	123 races run over 18 years
2015 position	88th
Best finish	12th (1999)
First race	1995 Spears Manufacturing 200 (Mesa Marin)
Last race	2015 Pocono Mountains 150 (Pocono)
First win	2002 Chevy Silverado 150 (Phoenix)
Last win	2012 Kroger 250 (Martinsville)
	Statistics current as of May 6, 2019.

Kevin Michael Harvick (born December 8, 1975), nicknamed "The Closer”, “The Bridesmaid”, and “Happy Harvick,” is an American professional stock car racing driver. He currently competes full-time in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 4 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing. Harvick is the former owner of Kevin Harvick Incorporated, a race team that fielded cars in the Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series between 2004 and 2011. He is the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion and a two-time Xfinity Series champion. Harvick holds the all-time record for Cup Series wins at Phoenix International Raceway with nine wins. Harvick is also the third winningest driver in Xfinity Series history with 47 wins.

Harvick, who began his NASCAR career in 1995, is the third of only five drivers that have won a championship in both the Sprint Cup Series and the Xfinity Series, and the fifth of only thirty-one drivers to win a race in each of NASCAR's three national series with over 100 race wins across three national divisions. Harvick also won the 1998 Winston West Series title with five wins that season.

Early life

Kevin Harvick at the Daytona 500 2015

Harvick was born in Bakersfield, California and has a younger sister. Harvick began kart racing at an early age, after his parents bought him a go-kart as a kindergarten graduation gift in 1980. Over the next decade Harvick achieved considerable success on the go-kart racing circuit, earning seven national championships and two Grand National championships. In 1992, he started racing late models part-time in the NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Series and he competed there while still in high school. While in 5th grade Harvick gave a glimpse of his future career plans when he completed a class project poster listing his goals as competing in NASCAR and racing at the Indy 500.

Harvick's father, a firefighter and fixture around the Bakersfield racing scene, built him his first car to compete in the lower NASCAR Series by using the money he earned to run his own garage, Harvick Motorsports. When Harvick could not race, such as in the winter, he competed on his high school wrestling team at North High School in Bakersfield winning a CIF Central Section title in his weight class his senior year. Growing up Harvick also participated in baseball, basketball, football, and soccer. Originally intending to attend college and major in architecture, Harvick took classes at Bakersfield College. However he found his heart was in racing and dropped out to continue his racing career full-time.

Harvick has stated countless times that his favorite driver growing up was 4-time Indy 500 champion Rick Mears who grew up at and was an idol of Bakersfield, California.

Early career

Harvick's 1997 Winston West car

Harvick made his Craftsman Truck Series (now known as Camping World 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. He drove four races in the No. 72 the next season, his best finish was 11th at Mesa Marin. In 1997, he signed to drive the No. 75 for Spears Motorsports mid-season, posting two eighth-place finishes.

Harvick's 1997 truck

He ran a full schedule the next season, posting 3 top-fives and finishing 17th in points. Harvick also moved up to the NASCAR Grand National Division, AutoZone West Series (now known as the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West) in 1997, and in 1998 Harvick won five races on his way to the Winston West Series championship while driving for Spears. He received his first real national exposure during the winter of 1997/1998 on ESPN2's coverage of the NASCAR Winter Heat Series at Tucson Raceway Park. In 1999, he drove the No. 98 Porter Cable Ford for Liberty Racing.

Personal life

DeLana Harvick at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May 2011

Harvick married wife DeLana (Linville) Harvick on February 28, 2001, in Las Vegas, Nevada, shortly after his Sprint Cup Series debut. They had met the previous year at Michigan International Speedway where at the time she was working in public relation, DeLana had even dabbled in race driving herself. Her father is former NASCAR Xfinity Series driver John Paul Linville.

The couple live in Charlotte, North Carolina with their son and daughter. His wife, DeLana is an active participant in Harvick's career, co-owning and working with KHI Management LLC a Sports Management Agency, as well as frequently appearing on Harvick's pit box during Sprint Cup races.

Other ventures

Kevin Harvick at the Bristol Motor Speedway 2015

Established in 2010 by Harvick and his wife, DeLana, the mission of the Kevin Harvick Foundation (KHF) is to support programs that enrich the lives of children throughout the United States. The foundation works to not only improve the quality of life, but to help underprivileged youth find and realize their dreams by supporting programs such as the Kevin Harvick Athletic Scholarship Fund at California State University, Bakersfield, a camper cabin at Victory Junction, Baptist Children's Homes of NC, Boys & Girls Clubs, and Kevin's Krew.

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.

Kevin Harvick during driver introductions at the 2015 Toyota/Save Mart 350

He was also on the first season of FX's NASCAR Drivers: 360. It took an in-depth look at NASCAR drivers outside the track and the preparation it takes to be a NASCAR driver.

Harvick has also been on MTV Cribs. He is an avid fan of the Philadelphia Flyers of the NHL.

He also stated during the ESPN broadcast of the 2011 5-hour Energy 500 that he was a fan of the New York Yankees baseball team. On August 10, 2011, Harvick threw out the ceremonial first pitch between the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Angels at Yankee Stadium.

Images for kids

Harvick (#21) during his 2006 Busch championship season, racing Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (#8) off pit road
Harvick competing in the 2013 STP Gas Booster 500 at Martinsville Speedway
Harvick's car at Texas in 2013
Harvick in victory lane after winning the 2014 The Profit on CNBC 500
Harvick awaiting Happy Hour prior to his win at Phoenix
2008 Sprint Cup car