Stewart-Haas Racing

Owner(s)	Tony Stewart Gene Haas
Base	Kannapolis, North Carolina
Series	Sprint Cup Series
Race drivers	10. Danica Patrick/David Reutimann 14. Tony Stewart 39. Ryan Newman
Sponsors	10. GoDaddy.com 14. Office Depot/Mobil 1 39. U.S. Army/Quicken Loans/Outback Steak House/Tornados/Haas Automation
Manufacturer	Chevrolet
Career
Debut	2009 Daytona 500
Latest race	2012 Bojangles' Southern 500
Races competed	119
Drivers' Championships	1 (2011)
Race victories	16
Pole positions	9

Stewart-Haas Racing, formerly known as Haas CNC Racing, is a NASCAR racing team based in Kannapolis, North Carolina, which runs Chevrolet Impalas. The team is owned by Tony Stewart and Gene Haas, and runs the #14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet Impala driven by Stewart and the #39 United States Army/Haas Automation/Tornados/ Outback Steakhouse/Quicken Loans Chevrolet Impala driven by Ryan Newman. The team receives engine and technical support from Hendrick Motorsports.^[1] The team also fields the #10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet for Danica Patrick and David Reutimann in an alliance with Tommy Baldwin Racing.

Sprint Cup Series[link]

Car #10 history[link]

The #10 car will be run in a limited schedule in 2012. It will be sponsored by GoDaddy.com and driven by former IZOD IndyCar Series driver Danica Patrick. Similar to Stewart and Newman, the number 10 was selected as Patrick had raced the number during her karting days (Robby Gordon would not surrender the number 7, the number Patrick used in the IndyCar series and Nationwide series). On January 31, 2012, the team formed an alliance with Tommy Baldwin Racing, using the owner's points from the #36 entry to guarantee Patrick a spot in the Daytona 500. Patrick will drive in ten races with Hendrick support. In the remaining events, David Reutimann will drive, with Richard Childress Racing technical support.

Car #14 history[link]

The car which is now the #14 debuted in 2003 with driver David Green. The car was numbered 60 and was sponsored by Haas and co sponosrship from Netzero and Kellogg's. The car only tried out at the restrictor plate races. They only made 2 of the 4 races. The next race the 60 tried out was the 2003 Fall Charlotte race with Brian Vickers making his debut. He qualified 20th and finished 33rd. The car would not appear until the 2006 Coca-Cola 600 as the #70 with Johnny Sauter driving. He ran in the top-ten for most of the day before a blown tire caused him to wreck. The 70 made another attempt later in the season at the Brickyard 400, but did not qualify. It was announced that the 70 would race full-time in 2007, with Yellow Transportation moving up from the Busch Series and Johnny Sauter driving. Sauter and the team worked their way into the Top 35 in Owner's Points after the first five races (which guaranteed a spot in each race), but missed the Food City 500 at Bristol, yet still had top ten runs at Phoenix (9th) in the Subway Fresh Fit 500 and at Richmond (fifth) at the Chevy Rock & Roll 400. Jeremy Mayfield was chosen to be the 2008 driver. After the seventh race of the season, Jeremy Mayfield fell out of the top 35 in owner's points, so he and Haas CNC parted ways. Johnny Sauter, along with Jason Leffler, Tony Raines, and others finished out the 2008 season.

For the 2009 season, the team switched to the #14 with Tony Stewart driving. Office Depot, moving from the #99 Roush Fenway team, and Old Spice, brought by Stewart, came aboard as primary sponsors, with the number chosen in tribute to his racing hero, open wheel legend A. J. Foyt. Even though the #70 finished outside of the Top 35 exemption rule, Stewart had the past championship provisional to utilize for the first five races of 2009 if he needed it. After five races, the team was solidly in the Top Ten in owner points. Stewart won the 2009 Sprint All-Star Race, which was the first win for Gene Haas. A few weeks later, Stewart brought Stewart-Haas Racing its first points paying win at Pocono Raceway. At the 2009 Coke Zero 400 at Daytona, Stewart would win his second race under the Stewart-Haas banner with Burger King as the sponsor. Stewart continued his winning ways with wins at Watkins Glen and Kansas. He managed a 6th place finish in points.

The 2010 season, Stewart struggled for the early portion early which prompted Old Spice to leave Stewart-Haas for the 2011 season. Stewart recovered later in the year to win 2 races at Atlanta and Auto Club Speedway and managed to make the chase. He finished 7th in points. It was later announced that Mobil 1 would be the replacement sponsor for Old Spice.

Stewart started the 2011 season with a dominate run at Las Vegas but a speeding penalty put the team out of contention late. Stewart and his team made the 2011 chase. During the 10 race Chase, the team won 5 races at Chicagoland, New Hampshire, Martinsville, Texas and Homestead to win the team's first Sprint Cup championship, tying the #99 Roush Fenway Racing team in points, but winning the tiebreaker by virtue of most victories.

For the 2012 season, both Office Depot and Mobil 1 returned to sponsor Stewart as well as having a minor presence on Ryan Newman's 39 car's right left and right rear quarter panels. Burger King would leave the 14 car to form BK Racing. Stewart and his team got off to a quick start in 2012 after finishing second in the non-points Budweiser Shootout, winning the first Gatorade Duel, the 2012 Kobalt Tools 400, and the 2012 Auto Club 400.

Car #39 history[link]

2004 #0 NetZero Chevrolet

What is now the #39 car was Haas CNC Racing's original foray into NASCAR's top series. After being an associate sponsor of Hendrick Motorsports for a number of years, Gene Haas launched his own Winston Cup team for the 2003 season in partnership with Hendrick. Haas fielded Pontiacs for Jack Sprague, a former Hendrick driver, who brought sponsorship from NetZero with him to the team; to go along with the sponsorship, the cars carried #0. Sprague posted a career-best fourteenth place finish at the 2003 Daytona 500. Afterwards, however, the team began to struggle. After finishing 40th at Chicagoland, Haas released Sprague in favor of John Andretti, who finished 41st at Loudon, 33rd at Pocono, before qualifying 15th and finishing 19th at Watkins Glen International. Because Andretti had a prior commitment with DEI, Jason Leffler drove the car at Indy, finishing 33rd. Leffler lost his ride at Ultra Motorsports, where he drove the #2 truck for the team in the Craftsman Truck Series, because of his start at Indianapolis, but Haas hired him to drive the car on a more permanent basis shortly thereafter. Five-time Cup race winner Ward Burton was signed to drive the car toward the end of the season, as Leffler was reassigned to the Busch Series to drive Haas' 00 car. In the final four races, he finished 13th at Atlanta and 18th at Rockingham.

In the 2004 off-season, Pontiac announced it was leaving the sport, forcing the team to switch to Chevrolets. Burton began 2004 by finishing 17th at the Daytona 500 and then earned the team's first top-10 finish the next week with a 9th place finish at Rockingham. The team was also 9th place in points. Despite top-20 finishes in 2 of the next three weeks, the team began to slip in points. After a streak of bad races, the team re-emerged at California Speedway with a 10th place finish. The team racked up 5 straight top-20 finishes and Burton earned outside pole at Indianapolis, but made contact early in the race and finally crashed to a 39th place finish. In October, Burton finished again in 10th place, this time at Talladega Superspeedway. After Phoenix, and a 40th place finish, Burton was released by Haas and was replaced by Mike Bliss. The 2002 Craftsman Truck Series champion took over and immediately finished 10th at Darlington, signing him for the 2005 season.

Bliss began the 2005 season by finishing the 18th in each of the first four races. Despite a 9th at Pocono and 7th at Bristol, he was released from the ride at season's end. In the off-season, Jeff Green was signed to replace Bliss. Best Buy was signed on as sponsor as NetZero left, and the team began the 2006 season with a renumbered #66 Chevrolet. The new car number was in honor of the year the new primary sponsor opened its first store, 1966.^[2] Green finished 28th in the final point standings in 2006, and was signed to continue driving the 66 in 2007.

On October 22, 2007 it was announced that Jeremy Mayfield would take over the #66 car for Green for the final four races of 2007. During the off-season, Best Buy moved to Gillett Evernham Motorsports to sponsor Elliott Sadler's #19 Dodge. Former Evernham driver Scott Riggs took over the #66 in 2008 with State Water Heaters as the sponsor, coming over from Morgan-McClure Motorsports.

For the 2009 season, the car became the #39 with Ryan Newman driving (the #39 was Newman's midget car number), and received the owner points of the #66 car to stay in the top 35 for the first 5 races. The United States Army signed on to sponsor the car, which was announced prior to the October Charlotte race, for 23 races, with Haas Automation and others filling the remainder. In the 2009 season, Newman made the Chase for the Sprint Cup but failed to win a race. The team did score 15 top 10 finishes and managed to finish 9 in points.

The Army returned to Newman's car for the 2010 season as sponsor for 15 races. The team won their first race in the #39 at the Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix in 2010. The team failed to make the chase though and finished 15 in points.

In 2011 the team scored a second win at New Hampshire International Speedway. Teammate and owner Tony Stewart finished second making it the first 1-2 for Stewart-Haas Racing. The team made the chase and came home 10 in the final standings.

It was announced that Quicken Loans would be a sponsor on the 39 car for the 2012 season.

Nationwide / Busch Series[link]

The Haas Busch Team made its debut at Kansas in October 2003 as the #00 Haas CNC Chevy in the Busch Series. After starting 11th, Jason Leffler finished 16th despite wrecking during the race. After a pair of 11th at Charlotte and Phoenix, Leffler had his first top-five, starting 14th and finishing 4th.

The team would go full-time in 2004. After a slow start, Leffler would finish out of the top-15 twice: a 34th at California and a 17th at Bristol. Leffler also grabbed a pole at California, and a win at Nashville. It was both Leffler's first win and Haas' first win. Despite being third in points, Leffler was released after signing with Joe Gibbs Racing's Cup program for 2005. His immediate replacement was Blake Feese, who had 7th place start at Kansas. However, he struggled in that race and all 4 races he ran for Haas. With Feese struggling, Gene looked for another driver, even as he moved Bootie Barker to the NEXTEL Cup Series operation. After Tony Raines finished tenth at Phoenix, Justin Labonte, took over for the balance of the season. Haas merged with Labonte Motorsports for 2005.

Justin Labonte ran 2005 in the #44 United States Coast Guard Chevy. However, he had limited success. He was 7th at Talladega and 10th at Charlotte in the fall. Despite a 17th place finish in points, Labonte was released and once again Haas was searching for a new driver. Meanwhile, Sauter had a more eventful year, from being disqualified for an illegal carburetor following the O'Reilly 300 to getting a hometown victory in dominant fashion.

In 2006, Johnny Sauter drove the #00 Yellow Transportation Chevy were the team finished 8th in the final point standings. A late-season surge for Sauter resulted in the #00 Busch Series team moving up to the Cup series as the #70 team, and the team's Busch Series equipment were sold to Jay Robinson Racing.

Craftsman / Camping World Truck Series[link]

The team had an agreement for Camping World Truck Series team MRD Motorsports to be the driver development team for Haas CNC Racing which Blake Bjorklund was named the driver for the 2007 season . Bjorklund was originally scheduled to drive 12 races for MRD, but ran most of the schedule before being replaced by Chad McCumbee.

Sprint Cup Wins[link]

2009

• 07/07 Pocono 500 at Pocono, PA – Tony Stewart
• 07/04 Coke Zero 400 at Daytona Beach, FL – Tony Stewart
• 08/10 Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen at Watkins Glen, NY – Tony Stewart
• 10/04 Price Chopper 400 at Kansas City, KS – Tony Stewart

2010

• 04/10 Subway Fresh Fit 600 at Phoenix, AZ – Ryan Newman
• 09/05 Emory Healthcare 500 at Atlanta, GA – Tony Stewart
• 10/10 Pepsi Max 400 at Fontana, CA – Tony Stewart

2011

• 07/17 Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at Loudon, NH – Ryan Newman
• 09/19 GEICO 400 at Joliet, IL – Tony Stewart
• 09/25 Sylvania 300 at Loudon, NH – Tony Stewart
• 10/30 Tums Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville, VA – Tony Stewart
• 11/06 AAA Texas 500 at Fort Worth, TX – Tony Stewart
• 11/20 Ford 400 at Homestead, FL – Tony Stewart

2012

• 03/11 Kobalt Tools 400 at Las Vegas, NV – Tony Stewart
• 03/25 Auto Club 400 at Fontana, CA – Tony Stewart
• 04/01 Goody's Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville, VA – Ryan Newman

References[link]

External links[link]

• Stewart Haas Racing Homepage
• Haas Automation Homepage
• Haas Automation UK Homepage

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.

Kevin Harvick Foundation[link]

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.

Other racing[link]

American Canadian Tour and ARCA REMAX series[link]

On July 21, 2008, Harvick won $37,300 at the 35th annual Toronto-Dominion Bank 250 presented by New England Dodge Dealers in Oxford, Maine. Harvick defeated tour regulars; Glen Luce and Joey Polewarczyk Jr. The event is traditionally one of New England's major short track races. Since his 1998 West Series championship, he has competed in four races with one win. He also made two starts in the ARCA RE/MAX Series in 1999 for Childress in the #20 Invinca-Shields/Realtree Chevrolet, finishing in the top-five both times.

Personal life[link]

Harvick lives in Kernersville, North Carolina, where they have three dogs and two cats. The Harvicks also own a vacation home in Kiawah Island, South Carolina. His wife, Delana appeared in NASCAR Thunder 2003 in one of the opening cameo sequences.

Harvick has been on talk shows such as Late Show with David Letterman, Live with Regis and Kelly, Jim Rome is Burning, and The Tony Danza Show as a guest. 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.^[11] Harvick has also been on MTV Cribs. He is an avid fan of the Philadelphia Flyers of the NHL.^[12][13] He also stated during the ESPN broadcast of the 2011 5-hour Energy 500, while there was a rain delay, that he was a fan of the New York Yankees baseball team.

On Feb. 19, 2011, Harvick's new sponsor, Budweiser hosted "The Roast of Kevin Harvick," which had some of Kevin's opponents and teammates give their thoughts and opinions on the Sprint Cup driver.

On Aug. 10, 2011, Harvick threw out the ceremonial first pitch between the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Angels at Yankee Stadium.

On Jan. 25, 2012, it was announced that the Harvicks were expecting a baby, the first for the couple.

Nicknames[link]

Harvick was nicknamed "Happy Harvick" ironically due to his occasional temper outbursts and in fact his pit sign is a smiley face is a play on this nickname, yet happy attitude and the "Bakersfield Basher" in his early years for his aggressive driving style. Previously he was nicknamed "Big Bird" because his fire suit was yellow when he was sponsored by Shell/Pennzoil.

Because of his last-second passes to win many of his races and his ability to start deep in the field and finish towards the front, he was nicknamed "Mr. Where did he come from?" by NASCAR on Fox announcer Mike Joy. In the 2011 season, commentators began referring to Harvick as "The Closer" for his late-passing wins.

Career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series statistics[link]

* Qualifying Rained Out; set by Owner Standings

** 2012 Season in Progress

As of April 21, 2012

See also[link]

• Kevin Harvick Incorporated – A racing team owned by Kevin Harvick and his wife Delana.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Kevin Harvick at Racing Reference
• Kevin Harvick Foundation
• Richard Childress Racing's official web site
• Kevin Harvick Video on FoxSports Video Archive

Kurt Thomas Busch
Born	(1978-08-04) August 4, 1978 (age 33) Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Achievements	2003 IROC Champion 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Champion
Awards	2000 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Rookie of the Year
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career
412 race(s) run over 13 year(s)
Car no., team	No. 51 (Phoenix Racing)
2011 position	11th
Best finish	1st - 2004
First race	2000 MBNA.com 400 (Dover)
Last race	2012 Coca-Cola 600 (Charlotte)
First win	2002 Food City 500 (Bristol)
Last win	2011 AAA 400 (Dover)
Wins Top tens Poles 24 170 15
NASCAR Nationwide Series career
18 race(s) run over 4 year(s)
Car no., team	No. 1 (Phoenix Racing) No. 54 (Kyle Busch Motorsports)
2011 position	97th
Best finish	39th (2006)
First race	2008 Emerson Radio 250 (Richmond)
Last race	2012 Pioneer Hi-Bred 250 (Iowa)
First win	2006 O'Reilly 300 (Texas)
Last win	2012 Virginia 529 College Savings 250 (Richmond)
Wins Top tens Poles 4 15 3
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career
25 race(s) run over 2 year(s)
Best finish	2nd (2000)
First race	2000 Daytona 250 (Daytona)
Last race	2001 GNC Live Well 200 (Milwaukee)
First win	2000 Sears DieHard 200 (Milwaukee)
Last win	2000 Motorola 200 (California)
Wins Top tens Poles 4 17 4
Statistics current as of May 24, 2012.

Kurt Thomas Busch (born August 4, 1978) is an American NASCAR and NHRA driver. He drives the No. 51 TAG Heuer/Phoenix Construction Chevrolet Impala for Phoenix Racing in the Sprint Cup Series and drives the No. 1 Phoenix Construction Chevrolet Impala for Phoenix and the No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Camry for Kyle Busch Motorsports in the Nationwide Series.

Busch has also driven for Penske Racing and Roush Fenway Racing in his Sprint Cup career, which began in 2001.

Busch, winner of 24 Cup races and the 2004 championship, also races on an "opportunity permitting" basis in the Pro Stock division of NHRA. ^[1]

He is a second-generation race car driver, his father Tom won several NASCAR sanctioned events. He is the older brother of Kyle Busch, who is also a NASCAR driver.^[2]

Busch won the Cup Series Championship in 2004, the first ever season using the "Chase for the Cup" points format, finishing just eight points ahead of Jimmie Johnson. With a 2006 win in the Nationwide Series, Busch became one of only 23 drivers with a win in all three of NASCAR's top divisions: the Sprint Cup Series, the Nationwide Series, and the Camping World Truck Series.