4Ever Memories of Kevin Harvick

March 13, 2016 Phoenix Raceway Carol D'Agostino for Skirts and Scuffs

 

 

Every time a driver retires or leaves the sport, I get sentimental and reflect back on my memories and what I’ll miss most. Admittedly, it took me a long time to really get Kevin Harvick. Initially, I thought he wasn’t friendly, perhaps even a little prickly.

I first saw him in person in 2014 during the NASCAR Cup Series Media Tour when he joined Stewart-Haas Racing along with Kurt Busch, fellow driver and co-owner Tony Stewart, and Danica Patrick. Frankly, I thought that Stewart, Busch and Harvick together seemed a little combustible.

When I saw Harvick at the track for the first time later that same year I didn’t think he was warm to the fans. He just seemed so removed somehow and more than a little aloof. This initial impression started to change in 2017 when his radio program Happy Hours began airing on SiriusXM. The program ran through 2019, and then again briefly in 2020. The program opened my eyes to a lighter side of Kevin Harvick. I learned that he was definitely intense, but also funny and a bit of a prankster.

My most memorable Harvick race win was in March 13, 2016, at Phoenix Raceway, where I was covering race weekend for Skirts and Scuffs. Harvick took the checkered flag, narrowly beating Carl Edwards to the finish line. The margin of victory was 0.010 seconds, which still stands as one of the closest finishes in NASCAR history. It took incredible skill. Now, here was an athlete who mastered his craft.

As the years clicked off I began to slowly understand that the track was his office and in order to be that good, he had to be laser focused from the moment he left his motor coach. Harvick always wanted to get the most out of practice and qualifying and all the moments leading up to the race. He wasn’t aloof; he was simply one of the best of the best. And who could argue with his 60 NASCAR Cup victories and the 2014 NASCAR Cup title?

In recent years, I saw a more relaxed Kevin Harvick who shared a smile with fellow competitor Martin Truex Jr. in the back of the pickup truck during the drive around at Richmond Raceway on April 2, 2022, and most recently during the National Anthem with daughter Piper during pre-race for the Cook Out 400 this past summer at Richmond Raceway on July 30.

In the end, Kevin Harvick won me over. I will miss seeing him race in the No. 4 car. He will 4Ever be part of my NASCAR memories. The good news is that we’ll we’ll get to see more of that lighter side as Harvick joins Mike Joy and Clint Bowyer in the FOX Sports broadcast booth for NASCAR Cup Series races in 2024.

 

April 3, 2022 Richmond Raceway
Carol D'Agostino for Skirts and Scuffs

July 30, 2023 Richmond Raceway
Carol D'Agostino for Skirts and Scuffs