Kevin Harvick

Birthday: 12/08/1975
Hometown: Bakersfield, CA , United States

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

2011 -- Tied career-best third-place finish in series points. ... Made Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup field as second seed. ... Four wins, at Auto Club, Martinsville-1, Charlotte-1 and Richmond-2, best since 2006. ... Average finish of 11.5. ... Best start, fifth at Martinsville-2. ... Average start, 18.8. ... Completed 98.1 percent of laps attempted. ... 403 laps led best total since 2006; led laps in 17 races. ... Rated well in several Loop Data categories, including Percentage of Laps Run On Lead Lap (second) and Closers (third).

2010 -- Finished career-best third in series points. ... Made Chase for fourth time in past five seasons after missing in 2009. ... Broke 115-race winless streak (since 2007 Daytona 500) at Talladega in the spring, won twice more (Daytona-2 and Michigan-2). ... Bounced back to lead laps in 16 races. ... Broke long running-at-finish streak at Labor Day Atlanta. ... Led standings 21 of first 26 weeks, had 228-point lead when points were reset at start of Chase. .... Won second consecutive Budweiser Shootout to start season. ... Tripled number of top-fives from previous season with 16, led series in top-10s (26). ... Started first, twice (Martinsville-1, Daytona-2) due to

points lead. ... Ended season with eight consecutive top-10 finishes. ... Had second-highest point total in Chase, to five-time defending champion Jimmie Johnson.

2009 -- Finished 19th in series points. ... Had his worst points finish since 2002 (21st). ...Failed to win a race for a second consecutive year.... His 159 laps led were the fewest of his career.... Finished 30th or worse 10 times ... Failed to qualify for the Chase for the first time since 2005. ... Season appeared to start well as he won the Budweiser Shootout. ... Was second and in a strong position to win a second Daytona 500 when rain halted the race after 152 laps. ... Was fourth at Atlanta three weeks later, but did not crack the top five again until 21 races later, when he was runner-up at Atlanta. ... Long-time crew chief Todd Berrier was moved to Richard Childress Racing teammates Casey Mears and then Jeff Burton last season and former Clint Bowyer crew chief Gil Martin took over for Harvick. Martin returns this season.

2008 -- Finished fourth in series points, tying career-best points finish. ... 19 top-10 finishes tied for series' fifth-best total. ... Best race finishes were seconds at Bristol spring race and the season finale at Homestead. ... Led 80 laps at Richmond in September en route to seventh-place finish. ... Second consecutive season of having no DNFs.

2007 -- Finished 10th in series points. ... Started year in grand style, winning Daytona 500 by merely .020 seconds over Mark Martin. ... Qualified for Chase, but never got higher than fifth. ... Finished second in road-course race at Sonoma.

2006 -- Finished fourth in series points. ... Qualified for the Chase for the first time, and won second Busch Series crown. ... Victory at Watkins Glen was first road-course win in Cup. ... Won first Chase race, at New Hampshire, to take over the series points lead. Engine problem the following week at Dover led to 32nd-place finish and a drop to fifth in the Chase standings. ... Five victories included a sweep of the two Phoenix races.

2005 -- Finished 14th in series points. ... Sole victory came at Bristol spring race. ... Had poles at Talladega spring race and Richmond fall race. ... Season-high points position was sixth, after Bristol win. ... Fell out of contention for Chase with only one top-10 finish in the 10 races preceding cutoff race at Richmond.

2004 -- Finished 14th in series points. ... Scored career-best finish at Daytona 500 with a fourth-place finish. ... Posted five top-fives and 14 top-10s, his best a second-place effort at Talladega. ... First season without a win. ... Placed on probation in June and November for separate incidents.

2003 -- Finished fifth in series points. ... Season highlight was winning the pole and the race at Indianapolis. ... Crew chief Todd Berrier replaced Gil Martin beginning with Bristol event in March. ... Win at Indianapolis began a five-race streak of top-five finishes, solidifying him as a title contender. ... Improved to second in points after a fourth-place finish at Dover in September. ... Slid to sixth in the championship race after finishing 20th at Atlanta and 34th at Phoenix.

2002 -- Finished 21st in series points. ... Won at Chicagoland, his second in a row at the track. .... Finished season with five top-fives and eight top-10s. ... Started on the pole at Daytona for the Pepsi 400. ... Placed on probation in April for incident in Truck Series.

2001 -- Finished ninth in series points. ... Earned Raybestos Rookie of the Year honors in Cup and won the Busch Series championship. ... Competed in 35 races, taking over as driver of the Chevrolets owned by Richard Childress after the death of seven-time champion Dale Earnhardt in season-opening Daytona 500. ... Won in his third career start, edging Jeff Gordon at Atlanta by .006 seconds. ... Won inaugural race at Chicagoland. ...Counting one start in the Truck Series, ran 69 races in NASCAR's top three series.

PREVIOUS RACING HISTORY

In 2011, won four of 10 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts, with nine top-five and 10 top-10 finishes, in his own Kevin Harvick Inc. equipment. ... 2001 and 2006 NASCAR Nationwide Series champion. ... In 2009, named NASCAR Nationwide Series "Driver of the Decade," leading all series drivers with 34 victories in that period. ... In 2009, won first NASCAR Nationwide Series race in a car owned by Kevin Harvick Inc. ... ... In 2008, won first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race in a truck owned by Kevin Harvick Inc. ... Won rookie of the year honors in the NASCAR Nationwide Series in 2000, winning three races and two poles on his way to a third-place finish in points. ... 2002 International Race of Champions champion in rookie season. ... Won 1998 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West championship. ... Was NASCAR Southwest Series Rookie of the Year in 1995, winning at Tucson and finishing 11th in points. ... Won the 1993 late model championship at Mesa Marin Raceway in his hometown of Bakersfield, Calif. ... Began racing karts at age 5, winning seven national titles and two Grand National championships.

NOTEWORTHY

Has won races in all three NASCAR national touring series. ... Debuted Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) truck near end of 2001 season. Grew team to field multiple full-time entries in NASCAR Nationwide and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, earning NCWTS owners championships in 2007, 2009 and 2011. Closed KHI racing operation after 2011 season, transferring NASCAR Nationwide Series programs to Richard Childress Racing and selling NASCAR Camping World Truck Series programs. ... Married wife, DeLana Linville, in Las Vegas on Feb. 28, 2001, two days after he made his debut in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. ... Established the Kevin Harvick Foundation in 2010 to support programs that positively enrich the lives of children throughout the United States. ... Favorite track is Richmond International Raceway. ... Active on Twitter: @KevinHarvick.