Empire building
Husband-and-wife team love being fully immersed in racing

Kevin Harvick does not play golf. And the guy nicknamed "Happy" hardly is a candidate for Dancing with the Stars.

"I have no rhythm," Harvick said on the occasion of his seventh wedding anniversary last month. "My wife won't even let me dance at home, so you can imagine what it would look like on TV."

Any dancing that Kevin and DeLana Harvick squeeze into their days from February to November typically takes place in Victory Lane at a NASCAR-sanctioned racetrack.

Kevin is best known as the man who replaced superstar Dale Earnhardt at Richard Childress Racing after the seven-time Sprint Cup Series champion was killed on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. But as co-owners of Kevin Harvick Inc., the Harvicks are fielding fulltime teams in both NASCAR's Craftsman Truck and Nationwide series. Included in their emerging empire is Ron Hornaday Jr.'s 2007 Craftsman Truck Series championship-winning team.

At 32, Harvick is a two-time champion of the Nationwide (formerly Busch) Series, the 2007 Daytona 500 winner and in the prime of his Cup career at RCR. For most Cup drivers, that would constitute a full plate. There are a combined 96 points-paying events among NASCAR's three touring series this year, and the Harvicks -- by choice -- will be fully vested in every one.

"I explain this to people a lot," said Harvick, who will compete in the Nationwide and Cup races during this weekend's Samsung 500 schedule at Texas Motor Speedway. "It's really not a burden. It's never a burden, even when it's at its worst times.

"I love the challenge of putting the people together, trying to put the sponsorship together, going out and getting the drivers and everything... to motivate them to win championships. That, to me, is my golf game. I like racing. I love being around the cars. I love being around the people. I like what I do."

Harvick reiterated that driving Childress' No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet Impala SS in Cup remains his priority. But the care and feeding of the 80 employees of KHI, winners of 12 NASCAR races since 2001, has allowed Kevin and DeLana to grow both individually and as a couple.

"We race because we love it, but we also race to have fun," said the former DeLana Linville, 34, who grew up around the Nationwide Series career of her father, John. "I went to college to be a high school English teacher but couldn't imagine being away from the racetrack.

"I just happened to meet Kevin... who happened to share the same passion for racing that I did."

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