Kevin Harvick, 47, will make his 800th career Cup start when he takes the green flag for Sunday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega – just the 10th driver in NASCAR’s 75-year history to reach the mark.
He’ll join an elite list of NASCAR greats that includes seven-time champion Richard Petty (1,185 starts), Ricky Rudd (906), Terry Labonte (890), Dave Marcis (883), Mark Martin (882), Kyle Petty (829), Bill Elliott (828), Darrell Waltrip (809) and Jeff Gordon (805).
Should Harvick run every remaining race this season, he is on track to finish the year with 826 career starts, which would put him eighth all-time.
“When you think about 800 races and you try to put it into perspective, you really start adding the years up. It’s a really wide body of work, and I think that’s what I’m the most proud of,” said Harvick, who is currently third in the series standings.
“Through those 800 starts, it’s not like we started the year cashing checks and just riding around. We’ve been competitive, racing at the front of the pack, leading laps and having the chance to win races. That’s the part I’m most proud of, being able to do this at a high level for such a long time.
“But wrapping your arms around 800 of them is, for me, quite an honor, just because of the fact that you’ve been able to adapt and adjust to so many things and stick around so long. Getting to that number is great, but getting there and being competitive is better.”
If Harvick can earn his first win of the 2023 season on Sunday, he’ll be just the second driver to win in their 800th start. The only other was Petty, who won at Dover, Del., on Sept. 16, 1979, when Harvick was just three years old.
In his most recent race Sunday at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, Harvick led twice for 20 laps. If he should lead at least 36 more laps this Sunday at Talladega, he’ll hit another milestone – 16,000 laps led in his career, becoming just the 11th driver to do so.
“One thing I’ve been able to do well is figure out how to focus yourself when you really don’t want to do it, or you’re really frustrated,” Harvick explained, “And being able to, when the switch turns on, ‘OK, today I might have a chance to win – we don’t have the fastest car, but how can I do all the little things right? If we can win with this piece of crap, people are going to notice.’
“There are a lot of days when you wake up in the morning, and I’m sure a lot of people can relate to this, ‘I wish I didn’t have to go to work today,’ or ‘I don’t want to be here today,’ then having that ability to climb in that car, turn all that off, and turn the competitive switch on.
“It’s something that I think I was just brought up that way. I don’t care how your day’s been or what’s going on, you need to figure it out while you’re in there because, in the end, it’s how you put food on the table.”
Speaking out on important issues
While winning and remaining competitive rank high during his entire career ranks high for Harvick, he said he also treasures the voice he’s found willing to speak out on issues that are important to him and his fellow competitors.
That’s likely an important reason Fox Sports offered him the opportunity to join its NASCAR broadcast team fulltime beginning next season.
“There are a lot of things that, in the beginning of my career, where you didn’t push the correct way – you pushed and yelled and screamed,” he said. “Now, I’ve been here long enough that you have the respect of your competitors and the sanctioning body and things like that, and I think when you look at the safety stuff that’s happened over the last couple of years, just being involved in that.
“But I’m pro-driver, I love all the guys that I race against, I love the dynamic of the driver itself and being able to compete, but also being able to have a voice of who we are and what we do in our sport is something that I’ve always believed in and used.”
And Harvick has never shied away from using that took to his advantage.
“Even from the standpoint of sometimes it is a show and sometimes you have to cause a little bit of a stink to keep your team relevant, and knowing when to push those buttons and cause the show and a little bit of chaos, it doesn’t ever hurt to grab those headlines when things aren’t going your way or you need to push something in a different direction,” he said.
“Outside the car is just as important as inside the car and how it affects the things that you do. You learn as you go.”
