Kinder, gentler Harvick
FORT WORTH, Texas – Kevin Harvick hasn’t won a Sprint Cup race since last year’s Daytona 500.
Three years ago, such a drought would be cause for blasting teammates, bosses, NASCAR officials and anyone else who dared cross him. These days, he’s quietly finishing in the top five most weeks and settling in at No. 2 in the points as he pursues an elusive series championship.
The difference? His time as a team owner is certainly part of the answer.
“I think you can see a more mature Kevin on the track. I do,” said DeLana Harvick, his wife and co-owner of Kevin Harvick Inc. “I can see a more mature Kevin when he relates to other drivers.”
The man who stepped into Dale Earnhardt’s ride after his death struggled with the role of replacing a NASCAR legend.
He had an early handle on the winning part, getting three of his 11 career victories as a rookie in the top series. He wasn’t quite so smooth off the track, where his feuds were frequent, messy, public affairs.
Harvick has been an owner for seven years – about as long as he’s been a Sprint Cup driver. He and DeLana Harvick started their partnership as a side business in 2001, the year of the devastating Earnhardt death and the year they got married.
He finished second in his only Craftsman Truck series race, good enough to decide to continue with a limited schedule in 2002. Building gradually since, the Harvicks won the truck series title with Ron Hornaday Jr. last year, and they have a 70,000-square-foot facility in Kernersville, N.C.
During a recent media session in Texas, most of the questions were about ownership, and temperament. He smiled a lot, was quick to call himself a “grouch” and said he’s grown to accept everything that comes with being a NASCAR star.
“Over the past couple of years I really learned that I really like what I do and everything is not a burden,” Harvick said. “These events are not a burden. I learned to like those things and not be as grumpy.”
Harvick understands he’s a driver for Richard Childress Racing first and an owner second. Plus, the Childress operation helps Harvick’s outfit, with the clear understanding that Harvick knows the source of plenty of funding for his company.
He’s acting more like he enjoys it, too.