Kevin Harvick — The Racer
Nicknamed “The Closer” and “Happy Harvick”, Kevin Michael Harvick is an American professional racing driver who began his NASCAR career in 1992. He is called “The Closer” as he has the ability to come back late in a race. Not just that, he also has shown his ability to come back late in a season. He was also called “Happy Harvick” due to his occasional temper outbursts.
Being the champion of the 2014 NASCAR Cup Series, he not just won the NASCAR Cup Series but also became the champion of the Xfinity Series in 2001 and 2006 along with winning Daytona 500 in 2007.
He has 47 career wins in Xfinity Series. He also has 14 career wins in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
Harvick’s current net worth is estimated to be around $70 million. Being the second richest NASCAR driver in the world. He earned $13.6 million in 2017 making him the five highest-paid driver in the world.
In 7 seasons at Stewart-Haas Racing, Kevin has won 35 races and 25 poles. His 11,139 laps led at that time nearly triples the 4,426 laps he led in the previous 13 seasons combined.
Being the veteran of stock car racing, he competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series and part-time in NASCAR Xfinity Series. In NASCAR Cup Series, he drives the №4 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing, and in NASCAR Xfinity Series, he drives the №5 Ford Mustang for B.J. McLeod Motorsports. He also competes part-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and drives the №17 Ford F-150 for David Gilliland Racing.
Kevin with nine wins holds the all-time record for Cup Series wins at Phoenix Raceaway. Currently, he ranks third all-time in the 119 combined national series wins of NASCAR history, behind Richard Petty and Kyle Busch and ninth most wins in 58 Cup series history.
After Kurt Busch, he is the second longest-tenured active driver in the Cup Series in terms of career stats. He is the third of only five drivers that have won a championship in both the Cup and Xfinity Series, and the fifth of only thirty-six drivers to win a race in each of NASCAR’s three national series.
Did you know? Kevin is the former owner of Kevin Harvick Incorporated, a race team that fielded cars in the Xfinity Series from 2004–2011 and the Truck Series from 2001–2011.
Many may not know that he in his high school during 1992, began racing late models part-time in the NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Series. His drive was set into motion at an age of 5 when he received a go-kart from his parents for his graduation from kindergarten. Post gaining experience, at the age of 7 he began racing at local tracks. He was a force on the karting circuit for 10 years and earned seven national championships and two Grand National championships.
He is also a dedicated philanthropist. He formed the Kevin Harvick Foundation in 2010 to support programs that will enrich the lives of children throughout the US.
The 2020 season was Harvick’s best, even if it did not end with a championship celebration. He was unbeatable during the season of 2020 leading the NASCAR Cup Series with 9 victories.
He made his 700th career Cup Series at the start of July,19 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. In the same race, he surpassed 2,00,000 laps completed in his Cup Series career.
From 2018–2019, he led the series in wins 2020, but he hasn’t visited the victory lane yet in 2021. He began the 2021 Cup Season with three consecutive top-ten finishes. Kevin finished 37th at the inaugural Circuit of the Americas race. In March, he returned to the Truck Series for the first time since 2015. He ended up in the #5 for BJ McLeod Motorsports in a collaboration with Stewart-Haas Racing.
