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Kevin Harvick through the years
By Staff report | Sunday, May 17, 2020
Jonathan Ferrey | ALLSPORT
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With Kevin Harvick notching his 50th career NASCAR Cup Series win on Sunday at Darlington Raceway, let’s look back at the top highlights in his career.
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Harvick made his NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series debut in 1995. His first win in the series, however, didn't come until 2002 at Phoenix Raceway's Chevy Silverado 150, in which he led 77 laps.
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Four years after his Gander Trucks debut, Harvick started his first NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Rockingham Speedway. His first trip to Victory Lane in the series came a year later in 2000 with a dominating performance at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway. Harvick earned two other wins for the season -- at Bristol Motor Speedway and Memphis International Raceway.
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Harvick moved up suddenly in the ranks with Richard Childress Racing after the untimely passing of Dale Earnhardt in 2001. With Harvick moving into Earnhardt's ride, the organization changed the car number from Earnhardt's iconic No. 3 to No. 29.
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During his 2001 rookie year in NASCAR's premier series, Harvick racked up two wins, six top fives, 16 top 10s and 374 laps led. It was good enough to finish the season ninth in the standings and win the Rookie of the Year Award.
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"Happy" is in an elite field of drivers with two Xfinity Series titles to his name -- 2001 and 2006. In his 2001 season Harvick earned five wins, 20 top fives, 24 top 10s and four poles. In 2006 he topped those numbers with nine wins, 23 top fives and 32 top 10s.
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The Daytona 500 is NASCAR's most iconic race. Harvick joined the exclusive club of winners in 2007 after making a thrilling comeback from starting the race 34th.
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Despite Harvick's lengthy -- and impressive -- list of on-track accolades, in the 2004, 2008 and 2009 NASCAR Cup Series seasons, the California native never did any burnouts in Victory Lane. These winless seasons have been his only ones to date. In 2010 he bounced back nicely with three first-place results and four of them in 2011.
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In 2011, Harvick found himself in the midst of a rivalry with Kyle Busch. After Busch made contact with Harvick at the end of the race at Darlington Raceway, the two got into an altercation after the on-track action. Harvick attempted to punch "Rowdy" through his car window after the race. This then led to a season filled with multiple incidents between the two future champions.
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In 2012 Kevin and DeLana's son, Keelan, was born. Since then, Keelan has been a frequent fixture in the garage and has captured the hearts of racing fans. It helps that DeLana's tweets about the youngster are hilarious.
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The 2013 AdvoCare 500 at Phoenix marked Harvick's final win with Richard Childress Racing -- for whom he had driven since the start of his career. His trip to Victory Lane was also the beginning of Harvick's dominance at the Phoenix track. The next three races at the 1-mile track were also wins, making him the undisputed "King of the Desert."
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The 2014 season was a game changer for Harvick. After 13 seasons with Richard Childress Racing in NASCAR's premier series, Harvick left the organization and joined Stewart-Haas Racing. The wheelman for the No. 4 also paired up with crew chief Rodney Childers.
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The move to SHR proved to be a positive change. With five wins, 14 top fives, 20 tops 10s, eight poles and 2,137 laps led, Harvick won his first Cup Series championship in 2014.
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After being cornered into a must-win situation, Harvick bounced back with a win at Dover International Speedway in the 2015 playoffs and kept his title hopes alive. His first-place finish allowed him to advance to the next round.
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Harvick lived up to the hype and expectations throughout the 2015 season. He again advanced to the Championship 4. After falling short in the finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, he ended the season second in the final standings -- behind champion Busch. Harvick did, however, manage to make plenty of headlines and a slice of racing history. With 2,294 total laps led overall, he led 22 percent of all laps run in 2015. With 13 runner-up results to his name for 2015, Harvick broke Bobby Allison's modern-era record for the most second-place finishes in a season.
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Harvick finished his 2016 season in the throes of transition. The veteran won four races but, for the first time in his career, did not advance to the Championship 4 round of the postseason. He also saw off teammate Tony Stewart, who retired from full-time NASCAR driving at the end of the year, and braced for SHR's transition to Ford from Chevrolet.
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The 2017 season saw Harvick post two wins and make the Championship 4 for the third time in four years. Wins at Sonoma Raceway and Texas Motor Speedway left the SHR driver winless at just two tracks on the circuit (Pocono Raceway and Kentucky Speedway -- later, Charlotte Motor Speedway's Roval).
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Harvick kicked off the 2018 season in remarkable fashion, winning three of the first four races of the year -- including a three-race string from Atlanta Motor Speedway to ISM.
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The Harvick clan all took on Talladega Superspeedway in 2018, as daughter Piper was born at the end of 2017.
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For his seventh win of 2018 (at Michigan International Speedway in August), Harvick celebrated with son Keelan in the car after the race.
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While he came up short of a second championship, Harvick finished third in the standings in 2018. He set new season-best marks in wins (eight) and top 10s (29).
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Although he was still seeking his first Victory Lane celebration of 2019 after 15 starts, the No. 4 car had still been solid. Harvick had five top fives, 10 top 10s and three Busch Pole Awards.
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During the 2019 All-Star Race at Charlotte, Harvick showed off the new Busch Beer millennial car, which highlighted millennial-inspired trends.
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Harvick entered the 2019 season finale in Miami with four wins, 14 top fives and 25 top 10s to his name. He was the only Championship 4 driver who didn't race for Joe Gibbs Racing. He was with Stewart-Haas Racing and ultimately finished the season third.
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In NASCAR's return following a 71-day stoppage due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Kevin Harvick won The Real Heroes 400 at Darlington Raceway. It was his 50th career NASCAR Cup Series win, tying Junior Johnson and Ned Jarrett for 12th on the all-time wins list.
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