Charles Robert Hamilton, Sr.
Born	(1957-05-29)May 29, 1957 Nashville, Tennessee
Died	January 7, 2007(2007-01-07) (aged 49)
Cause of death	Head and neck cancer
Achievements	2004 Truck Series Champion
Awards	1991 Winston Cup Rookie of the Year
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career
371 race(s) run over 15 year(s)
Best finish	9th - 1996 Winston Cup Series season
First race	1989 Autoworks 500 (Phoenix)
Last race	2005 Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 (Atlanta)
First win	1996 Dura Lube 500 (Phoenix)
Last win	2001 Talladega 500 (Talladega)
Wins Top tens Poles 4 67 5
NASCAR Nationwide Series career
86 race(s) run over 12 year(s)
Best finish	11th - 1989 and 1990 Busch Series seasons
First race	1988 All Pro 300 (Charlotte)
Last race	2005 Federated Auto Parts 300 (Nashville)
First win	1989 Commonwealth 200 (Richmond)
Last win	1989 Commonwealth 200 (Richmond)
Wins Top tens Poles 1 22
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career
102 race(s) run over 11 year(s)
Best finish	1st - 2004 Craftsman Truck Series season
First race	1996 Hanes 250 (Martinsville)
Last race	2006 John Deere 200 (Atlanta)
First win	2000 NAPA 250 (Martinsville)
Last win	2005 UAW-GM Ohio 250 (Mansfield)
Wins Top tens Poles 10 54 5

Charles Robert Hamilton, Sr. (May 29, 1957 – January 7, 2007) was a driver and owner in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series circuit and the winner of the 2004 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (now Camping World Truck Series) championship. Hamilton owned Bobby Hamilton Racing, which fielded three entries in each NCWTS event. Hamilton's son, Bobby Hamilton, Jr., is currently a driver in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, and owns Bobby Hamilton Racing, yet he has disavowed his relationship with the team.^[1] Bobby's team shut down after the 2008 season due to the slumping economy.

Hamilton may be best remembered for two of his Winston Cup wins. His first career victory at the 1996 Dura Lube 500 at Phoenix was the first win for the #43 Petty car since Richard Petty's last win in 1984.^[2] He also had a memorable win at the Talladega 500 in April 2001 driving the #55 car for owner Andy Petree. The entire 500-mile race was run caution-free and was under intense scrutiny from both NASCAR and the media at large, being the first superspeedway race run since the death of Dale Earnhardt at the 2001 Daytona 500 two months earlier. A physically and mentally exhausted Hamilton slumped to the ground after exiting his car and was given oxygen from a tank before giving the standard post-race Victory Lane interview while sitting on the ground, leaning against the drivers door.

Short track roots[link]

Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Hamilton quit school at the age of thirteen^[3] and began his racing career at Nashville Speedway USA, now Music City Motorplex, racing on the weekly circuit at the legendary track, where he won the track championship in 1987. Hamilton began to be noticed within the NASCAR ranks after racing in a special four-car "Superstar Showdown" at Nashville in 1988 against Winston Cup drivers Sterling Marlin, Darrell Waltrip, and Bill Elliott.

NASCAR career[link]

[edit] Days of Thunder

Hamilton broke into the Winston Cup ranks in a very unusual way. He was asked to drive one of the "movie cars" for the 1990 film Days of Thunder, qualifying fifth in a movie car at the 1989 Autoworks 500 in Phoenix, in a car that was not intended to be competitive. The car was the #51 Exxon-sponsored machine, portrayed in the movie as being driven by the character Rowdy Burns.

In 2006, Kyle Busch, at the time a driver for Hendrick Motorsports, which fielded the movie cars, drove a Billy Ballew Motorsports truck in the Craftsman Truck Series featuring a "throwback" paint scheme visually echoing Hamilton's car from that movie. It was raced at Lowe's Motor Speedway in 2006, in support of Hamilton, who was undergoing cancer treatment. The name on top of the door on Busch's truck was listed by the nickname "Rowdy Busch" (clearly referencing the Rowdy Burns name on the original car), and won the event.

After Busch departed the team, BBM has kept the paint scheme, uniform design, and #51 for their Camping World Truck Series campaign as the reverse number to their regular #15.

1988-1994[link]

Hamilton made his NASCAR debut in the Busch Series in 1988 at Charlotte Motor Speedway driving his own #16 Chevrolet, finishing 14th. He ran the next race at North Carolina Speedway, finishing 20th. He drove full-time in 1989 driving the #8 Lighting & Fans Buick for FILMAR Racing. He finished 11th in points and won his only career Busch race at Richmond International Raceway. He also made his Winston Cup debut in a "Days of Thunder" car owned by Hendrick Motorsports. He led five laps but finished 32nd after an engine failure. He matched his 11th place points finish in 1990 with FILMAR, when he was promoted to Winston Cup full-time. He drove the #68 Country Time Lemonade Oldsmobile for Tri-Star Motorsports, posting four top-ten finishes and narrowly defeating Ted Musgrave for Rookie of the Year.

In 1992, he only had two top-tens and dropped to 25th in points. He began 1993 with Tri-Star but was released early in the season. He spent the rest of the season in the Cup and Busch Series, posting two top-tens for Akins-Sutton Motorsports. Hamilton also made 5 Busch series starts in the #05 Key Motorsports Chevrolet. In 1994, he joined SABCO Racing, driving the #40 Kendall Motor Oil Pontiac Grand Prix. He had just one top-ten finish and left at the end of the season.

1995-2002[link]

1997 racecar

For the 1995 season, Hamilton moved to Petty Enterprises to drive the #43 STP Pontiac. He posted ten top-tens and moved up to fourteenth in the final standings. The next season, he finished a career-best 9th in the standings and won his first race at Phoenix. He also formed his own Craftsman Truck Series team and began competing in the series part-time. He won in 1997 at Rockingham, but departed the team after falling to 16th in points.

He signed with Morgan-McClure Motorsports in 1998, and in their eighth race together, he won from the pole at Martinsville Speedway. He ended the season tenth in the points. He had another ten top-ten finishes the following season, but after falling to 30th in points in 2000, he left for Andy Petree Racing, drive the #55 Square D Chevy. He won his final career race at Talladega and finished 18th in the standings. He posted three top-tens in 2002, but suffered a broken shoulder late in the season, causing him to miss several races.

Craftsman Truck Series[link]

Due to the injury as well as an unstable financial situation at Petree Racing, Hamilton left the Winston Cup Series for the Truck Series driving for his own team, taking the Square D sponsorship with him. Driving the #4 Dana Dodge Ram Hamilton picked up two wins in his first year on the circuit and finished sixth in points. The following season, he picked up four wins and clinched the championship, marking the first time since Alan Kulwicki's championship in 1992 that an owner-driver won a NASCAR championship. He switched to the #04 in 2005 and won an additional two races on his way to another sixth-place points finish.

He drove the #18 Fastenal Dodge for three races in 2006, but was diagnosed with cancer and never raced again, with his son finishing out the season.

Illness and death[link]

On March 17, 2006, Hamilton announced that he had been diagnosed with neck cancer.^[4] He took part in the Craftsman Truck Series race that night, before starting therapy the following Monday.

Kyle Busch paid tribute to Hamilton two months later for the Truck race at Lowe's Motor Speedway by driving a truck painted to resemble the Rowdy Burns car in Days of Thunder, complete with the #51 and "Rowdy" decals, a tribute that Busch continues today in late model and truck racing.

Hamilton returned to the track for the race at Kentucky Speedway, overseeing his team's operations. Knowing he would not be well enough to drive in 2007, he hired Ken Schrader to drive his #18 Fastenal Dodge for the full 2007 schedule while Hamilton was to continue his cancer treatment. Hamilton died of neck cancer on January 7, 2007, at his home in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee with his family by his side. He also died the day before his son's 29th birthday.^[5]

References[link]

• Bobby Hamilton at racing-reference.info
• Even with cancer battle, Hamilton still has grit
• Hamilton Racing To Recovery

External links[link]

• Official Website
• Fastenal Racing Official Website

Benjamin Stewart Parsons
Born	(1941-07-12)July 12, 1941 Wilkes County, North Carolina
Died	January 16, 2007(2007-01-16) (aged 65)
Cause of death	Complications resulting from lung cancer
Awards	1973 Winston Cup Champion 1968 and 1969 ARCA champion Named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers (1998) inducted in the International Motorsports Hall of Fame (1994) inducted into the Court of Legends at Lowe's Motor Speedway (1994) inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (2005) ESPN Emmy (1996) ACE Award (1989)
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career
526 race(s) run over 21 year(s)
Best finish	1st - 1973 (Winston Cup)
First race	1963 (Mt. Clemens Speedway)
Last race	1988 Atlanta Journal 500 (Atlanta)
First win	1971 Halifax County 100 (South Boston)
Last win	1984 Atlanta 500 (Atlanta)
Wins Top tens Poles 21 283 20

Benjamin Stewart Parsons (July 12, 1941 – January 16, 2007) was an American NASCAR driver, and later an announcer/analyst on TBS, ESPN, NBC and TNT. He became famous as the 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup (now Sprint Cup) champion.

He was nicknamed BP and The Professor, the latter in part because of his popular remarks and relaxed demeanor.

He was the founder of Rendezvous Ridge, a winery in North Carolina, which opened shortly after his death.

Before NASCAR[link]

Parsons spent his childhood years in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina and played football for Millers Creek High School (now known as West Wilkes High School) in Wilkes County. Following high school, he moved to Detroit, Michigan where his father operated a taxicab company. Parsons worked at a gas station and drove cabs in Detroit before beginning his racing career. While working at the gas station one day, a couple of customers towing a race car invited him to a local race track. The driver of the car never showed up for that evening's race, and Parsons drove the car in a race for the first time later that night.^[1]

Driving career[link]

1960s[link]

Parsons began his NASCAR career by running one race in 1964 for Holman-Moody with a young Cale Yarborough.

Parsons won the 1968 and 1969 ARCA championships.

Parsons had three top-10 finishes in four NASCAR races in 1969.

1970s[link]

He joined the NASCAR circuit full-time in 1970 with Crew Chief, John Hill. He had 23 top-10 finishes in 45 races, a pole at Langley Field Speedway, and finished eighth in the points. He raced in the #72 L.G. DeWitt/DeWitt Racing car.

Parsons had 18 top-10 finishes in 35 starts in 1971, including his first win at South Boston Speedway. He finished eleventh in the points.

In 1972 he had 19 top-10 finishes in 31 races. He finished fifth in the final points standings.

In 1973 he won the NASCAR Championship with only one win, even though David Pearson won eleven races (but Pearson only entered eighteen events). Parsons' consistency likely won him the championship: he had 21 top-10 and 15 top-5 finishes in the 28 events. His improbable return to the track after an early crash cemented his championship at Rockingham, North Carolina. He saw his championship hopes start to fade as he was involved in a lap 13 crash and his car was heavily damaged. He took to the pits to muster whatever he could out of the car and hope for a top five finish in the final standings. The rest of the garage was hoping to see the underdog unseat the mighty Richard Petty and joined in to help Parsons' crew put the car back together. Parsons miraculously got back on the track 136 laps later and completed enough laps to finish 25th and take the 1973 championship. Richard Petty, with the championship in his sights after winning the pole and seeing Parsons' accident, had engine trouble and was relegated to a 35th place finish. The poor performance dropped Petty all the way to fifth in the final standings, as Cale Yarborough took the runner up spot on the season with his third place effort. He finished 67 points behind the champion.

1973 is considered the start of the modern era in NASCAR, so Parsons is considered the first modern era champion. Parsons also became the only person to win both ARCA and NASCAR championships.

Parsons finished between third and fifth in the final points from 1974 to 1980. He won the 1975 Daytona 500. He switched to the #27 car for M.C. Anderson starting in 1979.

In 1979 at North Wilkesboro Speedway Bobby Allison led most of the race but in the final 150 laps, Darrell Waltrip caught Allison. The two hit together hard and Darrell nailed the front stretch wall. Waltrip began crowding off Allison under the caution and got black flagged for the crowding. Benny Parsons would win the race, but it would be his only win at the North Wilkesboro Speedway, a track which his wife Terri (married from 1992 until his death in 2007) would become an investor two years after his death.^[2]

1980s[link]

He won the 1980 World 600 at Charlotte and finished 3rd in points.

In 1981 he starting racing in the #15 Bud Moore car. He had a win at Nashville Speedway USA and he won the final race at Texas World Speedway. He received his final top-ten points place finish, finishing tenth that year.

Parsons qualified for the 1982 Winston 500 at Talladega Superspeedway at 200.175 miles per hour (mph), which was the first NASCAR qualification run over 200 mph (322 km/h).

1983 racecar

Parsons raced in about half of the races between 1983 and 1986 for owner Johnny Hayes. Parsons final career victory came in 1984 at the Coca-Cola 500 at Atlanta.

He appeared in the 1983 Burt Reynolds movie Stroker Ace.

Parsons returned to Hendrick Motorsports in 1987 as a substitute for driver Tim Richmond, who was stricken with AIDS and would succumb in 1989. During the first lap of a race at Darlington Raceway, Parsons hit the wall and badly damaged his race car. He was able to continue, but had to make several pit stops for repairs. At one point, his crew chief, Harry Hyde refused to allow Parsons to pit because he and the crew were on an ice cream break. This incident was alluded to in the film, Days of Thunder. Another scene in the film was inspired by a real-life incident at Martinsville Speedway involving Parsons and the notoriously cantankerous Hyde: Hyde sarcastically told Parsons to hit the pace car on a restart because it was the only thing on the track Parsons had not hit.^[3]

Parsons raced in the #90 Bulls Eye Ford for Junie Donlavey in his final NASCAR season in 1988 and then moved to the broadcast booth, a position where he would remain until his death.

Parsons did climb into a race car a couple of other times, the first during the 2003 Old Dominion 500 as part of Wally's World segment and he drove a ceremonial victory lap at the last fall race at Rockingham in 2003 in a car similar to the one he won the championship with.

He is also credited for discovering current NASCAR Driver Greg Biffle at a "Gong Show" held in Tucson, Arizona.

Awards and statistics[link]

• Inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1994.
• Named as one of the NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998.
• Inducted into the Court of Legends at Lowe's Motor Speedway in 1994.
• Inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2005.
• Had 283 top 10 finishes, led at least one lap in 192 races, and finished no lower than fifth in points between 1972 and 1980.^[4]

NASCAR announcer[link]

He began announcing as a pit reporter in the 1980s on ESPN and TBS while he was still racing part-time. After permanently retiring from racing in 1988, Parsons became a broadcaster – first on ESPN, and then with NBC and TNT in 2001. He received an ESPN Emmy in 1996, and the ACE Award in 1989. He appears in the videogame NASCAR '99, NASCAR 2000 & NASCAR 2001 as a commentator as well as an unlockable legend (He was only featured in NASCAR 2001 as an announcer). He later appeared in NASCAR Rumble as a legend in the game as well as NASCAR Thunder 2002, NASCAR Thunder 2003 & NASCAR Thunder 2004 as an unlockable driver and featured the game in NBC and TNT telecasts where Parsons did EA Sports Thunder Motion where he took viewers on a virtual ride of each track.

Parsons co-hosted coverage of Winston Cup Qualifying on North Carolina radio station WFMX with Mark Garrow in the early '90s. He continued to co-host a radio program called "Fast Talk" on Performance Racing Network (PRN) with Doug Rice until his death (he was replaced by an alternating host). He also had a podcast available on iTunes, in conjunction with CNN called "The CNN Radio Racing Report with Benny Parsons," who talks about NASCAR with CNNRadio's Michael Jones.

In 2005, Parsons made a cameo appearance as himself in the movie Herbie: Fully Loaded. In 2006, he again appeared as himself in Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.

Illness and death[link]

Parsons began having trouble breathing in the summer of 2006. He was diagnosed with lung cancer. He announced later that the treatment had been successful, and that he had a clean bill of health. Parsons had stopped smoking in 1978.

His health prevented him from attending a ceremony in November 2006 where he was to be presented with the Myers Brothers Award, honoring his contributions to racing.

On December 26, 2006, Parsons was readmitted to the hospital and placed in intensive care because of complications relating to lung cancer.^[5]

On January 16, 2007, Parsons died of complications from lung cancer treatment in the intensive care unit of the Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.^[6] He is buried near his childhood home in Purlear, North Carolina, which is now the site of Benny Parsons' Rendezvous Ridge, which is also Terri's residence in addition to a racing museum and winery.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Benny Parsons at Racing Reference
• Rendezvous Ridge, a Benny Parsons Vineyard (owned by his widow)
• Benny Parsons at NASCAR.com
• Benny Parsons at the International Motorsports Hall of Fame
• "Fast Talk with Benny Parsons" radio show
• "Talking with legends" USA WEEKEND, Feb. 19, 2006.

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (May 2009)

Kevin Michael Harvick
Born	(1975-12-08) December 8, 1975 (age 36) Bakersfield, California, United States
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight	175 lb (79 kg)
Achievements	1998 NASCAR Winston West Series Champion 2001, 2006 NASCAR Busch Series Champion 2002 IROC Champion 2003 Brickyard 400 Winner 2007 Daytona 500 Winner 2007 Sprint All-Star Race XXIII Winner 2009, 2010 Budweiser Shootout Winner
Awards	1995 NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Series Rookie of the Year 2000 NASCAR Busch Series Rookie of the Year 2001 NASCAR Busch Series Most Popular Driver 2001 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Rookie of the Year
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career
406 race(s) run over 12 year(s)
Car no., team	No. 29 (Richard Childress Racing)
2011 position	3rd
Best finish	3rd – 2010, 2011
First race	2001 Dura Lube 400 (Rockingham)
Last race	2012 Coca-Cola 600 (Charlotte)
First win	2001 Cracker Barrel Old Country Store 500 (Atlanta)
Last win	2011 Wonderful Pistachios 400 (Richmond)
Wins Top tens Poles 18 180 5
NASCAR Nationwide Series career
282 race(s) run over 14 year(s)
Car no., team	No. 33 (Richard Childress Racing)
2011 position	99
Best finish	1st – 2001, 2006
First race	1999 Kmart 200 (Rockingham)
Last race	2012 History 300 (Charlotte)
First win	2000 Carquest Auto Parts 250 (Gateway)
Last win	2010 Virginia 529 College Savings 250 (Richmond)
Wins Top tens Poles 37 205 24
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career
119 race(s) run over 16 year(s)
Truck no., team	No. 2 (Richard Childress Racing)
2011 position	82nd
Best finish	12th – 1999
First race	1995 Spears Manufacturing 200 (Mesa Marin)
Last race	2012 Lucas Oil 200 (Dover)
First win	2002 Chevy Silverado 150 (Phoenix)
Last win	2012 Kroger 250 (Martinsville)
Wins Top tens Poles 14 61 4
Statistics current as of June 1, 2012.

Kevin Michael Harvick (born December 8, 1975) is an American NASCAR driver. He drives the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet Impala for Richard Childress Racing in the Sprint Cup Series. Harvick, until 2011, also owned a race team, Kevin Harvick Incorporated, that ran in the Nationwide Series and the Camping World Truck Series.

Early life[link]

Harvick began kart racing after his parents Mike and JoNell bought him a go-kart as a kindergarten graduation gift in 1980. For the next 10 years, Harvick became a highly successful driver on the go-kart circuit. He earned 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. Harvick's father 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, California. He won a section title in his weight class his senior year. He then graduated and became a full-time driver and earned the honor of Rookie of the Year in 1995.

NASCAR career[link]

Early career[link]

Harvick made his Camping World Truck Series (was Craftsman Truck Series) debut in 1995 at Mesa Marin Raceway, in his hometown of Bakersfield, where he started and finished 27th in his family-owned #72. He drove four races in the #72 the next season, his best finish was 11th at Mesa Marin. In 1997, he signed to drive the #75 for Spears Motorsports mid-season, posting two eight-place finishes. 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 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 real first 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 #98 Porter Cable Ford for Liberty Racing, finishing 12th in points with six top-fives.

1999–2000: NASCAR Busch Series[link]

On October 23, 1999, Harvick made his first NASCAR Busch Series (now Nationwide Series) start in the Kmart 200 at the Rockingham Speedway in the #2 Invica Chevrolet. He would start 24th and finish 42nd due to engine failure. The race would be his only start in 1999. In 2000, Harvick would sign with Richard Childress Racing to drive the #2 AC Delco Chevrolet for his first full Busch Series season. Despite failing to qualify the second race of the season at Rockingham, Harvick would go on to win the NASCAR Busch Series Rookie of the Year with 3 wins, 8 top-five finishes and 16 top-tens as well as garnering a third place points finish.

2001: Replacing a Legend[link]

For 2001, Childress planned to run Harvick in the #2 Chevy in the Busch Series full-time again, while developing him into the Winston Cup Series (now Sprint Cup Series) with up to seven races in the #30 AOL Chevy. He planned to race Harvick for a full schedule in 2002. Childress' plans changed when Dale Earnhardt was killed during the 2001 Daytona 500 and tapped Harvick to be Earnhardt's replacement. For Harvick's first two races the car ran an inverted color scheme, the number changed from 3 to 29, and the pit crew wore generic uniforms. In the third race of the season, the car was painted white and red, while Harvick wore a white-and-red uniform. His pit crew continued to wear the traditional GM Goodwrench Service Plus uniforms.

On March 11, 2001 at the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store 500, only three weeks after Earnhardt's death, Harvick won his first career Winston Cup victory in just his third start by narrowly edging Jeff Gordon at Atlanta Motor Speedway, reinvigorating not only his team, the fans, but NASCAR as well. He won the race by only six one-thousandths of a second (.006), proving to be one of the closest finishes in NASCAR history since the introduction of electronic scoring in 1993. After the win, Harvick performed a tire-smoking burnout on the front stretch. Remembering Dale Earnhardt, with three fingers held aloft outside the driver's window, he ran the track backwards as a show of honor and respect.^[1] He recorded his second Cup win of his career at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois. At the end of the season, he finished with 2 victories, 6 top-fives, and 16 top-tens. Harvick was awarded with the NASCAR Rookie of the Year Award, and secured a ninth-place finish in the 2001 points standings. He also won the Busch Series championship, becoming the first driver to win the Busch Series championship while also driving full-time in the Winston Cup Series with a top-ten finish. Harvick would end the season winning 6 pole positions, and driving in 70 races: 35 Cup Series, The Winston, 33 Busch races, and 1 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (at Richmond International Raceway) for Rick Carelli.

2002–2006: The GM Goodwrench Era[link]

In 2002, Kevin Harvick would spend the season concentrating on running the Cup Series and would only start four races in the Busch Series. He would only have 1 top-ten in those four starts. Harvick began the 2002 season with a fine for a post race incident with Greg Biffle at Bristol Motor Speedway. Later, he was suspended for rough driving following a Truck race at Martinsville, Virginia. Harvick scored his first career Winston Cup pole position; this coming at the Daytona International Speedway. Later in the season, he scored his third Winston Cup Victory, finishing first at the Chicagoland Speedway. He finished 21st in the 2002 points standings with 1 win, 5 top-fives, and 8 top-tens. Harvick became the 2002 IROC Champion in his first season in the Series, winning at the California Speedway. In Trucks, Harvick began fielding his own #6 truck, driving himself in five races and winning at Phoenix.

In the 2003 season, Harvick teamed with now former crew chief Todd Berrier in the Cup Series, whom he had won the Busch championship with in 2001. Together, they won the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis in August. Harvick and his team jumped from 21st in the final 2002 points standings, to fifth in the 2003 standings, coming within 252 points of first place Matt Kenseth. In the Busch Series, Harvick was teamed with Johnny Sauter, driving the #21 Hershey's-sponsored PayDay car. The two would combine for 3 wins, 16 top-fives and 24 top-tens, with Harvick posting all 3 wins. They would give Childress the NASCAR Busch Series owner's championship that season, with the driver's championship going to Brian Vickers. It would be the first time that the championship would be split between two teams. Harvick drove in 19 of the 34 races, and Sauter drove in the other 15. Harvick also scored 8 pole positions and finished 16th in the driver's standings.

While winless in the 2004 season, Harvick placed third in the most popular driver voting. He had fourteen top-ten finishes and finished fourteenth in points. In 2004, Harvick was again paired with another driver in the Busch Series, rookie Clint Bowyer. They combined for 1 win, 13 top-fives and 20 top-tens in the #21 Hershey's-sponsored car, with Reese's Peanut Butter Cups being promoted. Harvick drove the #29 ESGR/Coast Guard Busch car in the final race of the season at Homestead-Miami Speedway in the Ford 300, which he would claim his second win of the season. He finished 20th in the driver's standings. The #21 car finished fourth in the owner's standings.

In the 2005 season, Harvick's only Cup win came at the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway, despite starting towards the rear of the field. He won without the assistance of Crew Chief Todd Berrier, who was serving a four-week suspension for a rules violation. The following year, he continued driving the #29 car for Childress in the Sprint Cup Series. With General Motors' financial situation, GM Goodwrench cut back sponsorship, and was joined as primary sponsor for one-third (1/3) of the schedule by Hershey's, with various brands (primarily Reese's) on the car. In the Busch Series, Harvick was paired with Brandon Miller. Harvick and Miller combined for 3 wins, 15 top-fives and 19 top-tens to give the #21 its second fourth-place finish in the owner's standings. Harvick would also drive the #29 Reese's Chocolate Lovers Cup car to Victory Lane in the first "sweep" of his career on Monday, April 4, 2005 in the Rain-Delayed Food City 250 at Bristol Motor Speedway to go along with the Food City 500 win the day before, to give him a record fourth Busch Series win at the track (tying with Morgan Shepherd). Harvick finished 18th in the driver's standings.

Kevin Harvick awaiting Happy Hour prior to his win at Phoenix

In 2006, Harvick decided to run both of NASCAR's top two series full-time. He won his first Busch Series race of the 2006 season. He followed the win with a weekend sweep of the Busch Series and Sprint Cup races at Phoenix International Raceway. Later in the season, Harvick won the Sprint Cup race at Watkins Glen International.

On September 9, 2006, Harvick, only needing to finish 40th or better to clinch a spot in the chase, did better by slipping by Kyle Busch in turn four going into the final lap and holding onto the lead to win the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway. This was his third win of the season, and his second "sweep" of the season, having won the Emerson Radio 250 the night before. This allowed Harvick, along with teammate, Jeff Burton, their First berth, and First for Richard Childress Racing, in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. On September 17, 2006, Starting from the Pole, Harvick won the first race of the chase at New Hampshire International Speedway, in the Sylvania 300. He dominated the race and by winning, was able to take the lead in the point standings for the first time in his career.

Harvick (#21) during his 2006 Busch championship season

Harvick would have a substandard Chase run, falling to sixth in the point standings, until finishing third in Texas and following that up with another dominating performance in the Checker Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix International Raceway on November 12, 2006, winning the race, and moving into 3rd place in the point standings. At the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Harvick would finish fifth in the race and slip to fourth in the final standings to eventual 2006 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson. In the Busch Series, Harvick would be scheduled to run all 35 races, with three different cars (#21, #33, #29) and two different teams, Richard Childress Racing and his own team, Kevin Harvick Incorporated. Harvick had 9 wins, 23 top-fives and 32 top-tens. He clinched the 2006 NASCAR Busch Series championship on October 13, 2006 at Lowe's Motor Speedway in the Dollar General 300. It was the earliest clinch of the championship ever in the Busch Series, locking up the title with four races to go. He ended the season with a record 824-point margin in the final standings.

2007–2010: The Shell/Pennzoil era[link]

In 2007, his Cup team again split primary sponsors, with Hershey's being joined by new primary sponsor Shell Oil Company and their Pennzoil brand.^[2] On Sunday, February 18, 2007 in the season-opening Daytona 500, Harvick claimed his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory in a restrictor plate race with a dramatic final lap pass over Mark Martin by .020 seconds in a green-white-checkered finish, the closest margin at the 500 since electronic scoring started in 1993. The race was on the sixth anniversary of the death of his predecessor at Richard Childress Racing, Dale Earnhardt. He would become only the fourth NASCAR driver to sweep both the Nationwide and Cup races in the opening weekend at Daytona (along with Bobby Allison (1988), Darrell Waltrip (1989), and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2004)). Harvick also tied Benny Parsons for the fewest number of laps led by a Daytona 500 winner, who did it in 1975 (the year Harvick was born) with four laps. He started 34th (lowest ever by a winner at the track), and became the first Nationwide Series champion to win the Daytona 500 the following year. With the win, Harvick also became the sixth of seven drivers to win both the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400 joining Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, Dale Jarrett, Bill Elliott, Jimmie Johnson, and Jamie McMurray.^[3][4] Four days after Harvick won the Daytona 500 in his inaugural race with Shell-Pennzoil as a primary sponsor, Harvick's team owner, Richard Childress, was asked by NASCAR to downsize the Shell logo on his fire suit and to have Harvick wear a more prominent Pennzoil logo, in an effort to play down any perceived competition with Sunoco. Sunoco asked NASCAR to talk with Richard Childress after Harvick won both the Nationwide Series and Sprint Cup Series races wearing a prominent Shell logo on his fire suit.^[5] For the rest of the season, Harvick won the Sprint All-Star Race and finished tenth in points.

In 2007, 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 Nationwide Series competition. He also took the Checkers at New Hampshire International Speedway, winning the Camping World 200 presented by RVs.com. He also won the inaugural NAPA Auto Parts 200 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Harvick would end his partial Nationwide Series season fourth in points.

2008 Sprint Cup car

Harvick went winless in 2008, but he was still able to post a fourth-place in the 2008 Chase for the Sprint Cup. The fourth-place finish in the 2008 standings tied 2006 for his highest points position at the end of the season. Harvick also went the entire season without a single DNF for the second straight year. In the Nationwide Series, he ran twenty-two races for his own team with sponsorship from Camping World, Rheem, and RoadLoans. He did not win a race in this series either. His lone win came in a Truck race at Phoenix.

2009 Sprint Cup car following a crash

Harvick started the 2009 season by winning the Budweiser Shootout with a last-lap pass on Jamie McMurray, reminiscent of his win in the 2007 Daytona 500. He also launched a new social networking site, Fan Central, for his fans.^[6] A few days later Harvick damaged his primary car for the 2009 Daytona 500. The team decided to switch to the car he drove in the shootout. Harvick went on to finish second in the second shortest Daytona 500 in NASCAR history.

At the Auto Club Speedway in California, Harvick blew his engine and it forced him to not finish the race, which resulted in his first DNF in 82 starts. Harvick won the first 2009 Nationwide Series race at Bristol, his first win in his own car. In addition, he won the Camping World Truck Series race at Martinsville Speedway. During the season, Gil Martin became the new crew chief for Harvick as Childress decided to switch all team members of the #07 and #29 except the drivers and spotters, thus giving Casey Mears Harvick's crew chief Todd Berrier.^[7] In the first five races following the switch, Harvick finished with an average of 25.4, finishing 34th, 11th, 41st, 17th, and 24th respectively. A short time later, reports surfaced stating that Harvick had asked a release of his contract at the end of the 2009 season to secure a ride at Stewart Haas Racing for the 2010 season with intentions of bringing Shell-Pennzoil sponsorship with him. When asked about the request, Childress stated that Harvick and Shell-Pennzoil will stay with RCR in 2010.^[8] Harvick did not comment publicly on the subject of where he would be driving in 2010. The first race after the story broke, Kevin finished 6th at the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. His best race came at the Pep Boys Auto 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, where Harvick had the best car in a long run and led for most of the race, but was denied victory after a late race caution from which later eventual race winner Kasey Kahne took advantage of when he went past Harvick on the restart; he finished 2nd.

Harvick started 2010 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 seconds before an incident behind them, resulting then in a caution that automatically ended the race. Harvick placed 2nd in his Gatorade Duel by inches to Jimmie Johnson. He led the most laps in the Daytona 500, but ended up finishing 7th. He followed up his 7th at Daytona with a 2nd at Fontana, California's Auto Club Speedway again to Jimmie Johnson; after the race, Harvick told media members that the #48 team (Jimmie Johnson) "had a golden horseshoe stuck up their ass". Following the race, Harvick followed up with another 2nd place finish to Johnson at Las Vegas Motor Speedway as well as a Nationwide Series win. He won the Aaron's 499 in a crazy Lap 200 (third green-white-checker finish situation) pass of Jamie McMurray that was the 88th lead change of the race, setting a new NASCAR record. It was speculated by McMurray's team owner Felix Sabates that Harvick was below the yellow line when he made the pass, but this was denied by NASCAR at track. On July 3, Harvick captured his second win of the year by winning the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona. On August 15, Harvick captured his third win of the year by winning the Carfax 400 at Michigan. His win at Michigan locked him into the Chase for the Sprint Cup for the fourth time. He finished the regular season first place in points, but started the Chase in third after the points were adjusted. During the 10-race Chase, Harvick scored 5 top-fives and 9 top-tens. Despite scoring an average finish of 5.8 (best in the 2010 Chase and third best all-time in the Chase), Harvick finished third overall, 41 points behind 2010 Champion Jimmie Johnson. It was still the best overall finish of his career in the Sprint Cup standings.

Harvick also won his first career Pole in the Camping World Truck Series at Gateway International Raceway in his own #2 Chevrolet Silverado. This added Harvick to the short list of NASCAR drivers who have won a pole award and a race in each of NASCAR's three major series.

2011–present: The Budweiser era[link]

With the departure of Royal Dutch Shell at the end of 2010 (moves to Penske Racing) announced in the spring, the #29 team was searching for a new sponsor. In August, it was announced that, for 2011, the car's primary sponsor will be with Belgian brewery InBev's Budweiser brand for 20 races.^[9] Adding to Harvick's new sponsorship, on January 25, 2011, Jimmy John's and Richard Childress Racing reached a multi-year agreement to sponsor the #29 Sprint Cup team for 6 races in 2011. On March 27, 2011, Kevin won his 15th career Sprint Cup race at Auto Club Speedway after passing defending series champion, Jimmie Johnson, in the final turn. Harvick took his second consecutive win at Martinsville Speedway, beating Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in the final 10 laps. Following on-track incidents both during and immediately after the Showtime 500 (Darlington) with Kyle Busch, Harvick was placed on probation for 4 races (plus the NASCAR All-Star Race) and fined $25,000. Harvick then won the Coca-Cola 600 after Dale Earnhardt Jr. ran out of fuel in the last turn on Lap 402, finishing off a career accomplishment of winning all three current majors and the Brickyard 400, but is not eligible for a Career Grand Slam because of the Ferko lawsuit that wiped out his chance at the mark only eight drivers have scored since the lawsuit eliminated the fall race at Darlington, which was required for the Career Grand Slam.^[10]. Kevin announced that he will shut down his NASCAR Nationwide/Camping World Truck Series time because he wants some personal time with his wife. In 2012 at Phoenix, Kevin led part of the race, battling rival, Kyle Busch, but Denny Hamlin, Busch's teammate led the rest of the race on the last pit stop. Kevin tried to close on Denny Hamlin, but scored a second place finish after he ran out of gas with two laps to go leaving Hamlin the race winner. He managed to cross the finish line holding off the pack for second place.