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CO-OWNER and
COMPETITOR...
Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) team co-owner and driver, Kevin
Harvick, will climb behind the wheel of the No. 33 Chevrolet
Monte Carlo for
22 races in the 2008 Nationwide Series season.
The two-time NASCAR Nationwide Series Champion (2006 and 2001)
will bring his knowledge and experience to assist with returning
Nationwide Series driver, Cale Gale.
For kindergarten graduation in 1980, Kevin received a go-kart
and began his racing career. In the ten years that he competed
on the go-kart circuit, Kevin earned seven National
Championships and two Grand National Championships. During that
time, he also learned the value of dedication and discovered the
joy of success that would transform to fierce determination that
defines Kevin Harvick.
Kevin left the go-kart circuit to begin competing in the local
Late Model Series before moving on to the Featherlite Southwest
Series – a regional touring division of NASCAR – in 1992. While
completing high school, Harvick ran a limited schedule for two
seasons and then in 1995 was back on track competing in a full
season and earning Rookie of the Year honors.
Deciding to pursue a career in racing rather than study
architecture in college, Kevin progressed to the Winston West
Series. Two years later, Kevin won five races on his way to the
1998 Winston West Series championship.
A brief stint in the Truck Series introduced Kevin to acclaimed
car owner Richard Childress. Childress, having seen potential in
Kevin’s hard-charging driving style and offered him a ride in
the Nationwide Series. Harvick accepted the offer.
In February of 2000, the blue-and-white ACDelco Monte Carlo
pulled out of the garage area at Daytona (Fla.) International
Speedway with rookie Kevin Harvick behind the wheel. A
remarkable two-year campaign in the Nationwide Series had begun.
Kevin won three races and finished third in the points on his
way to the Rookie of the Year title. On the track, he was known
for his aggressive driving but off the track, his affable
attitude and ever-present smile earned him the nickname “Happy.”
Kevin began 2001 as the favorite for the Nationwide Series
title, and completed the year a Sprint Cup Series superstar.
After losing Dale Earnhardt in a wreck on the final lap of the
Daytona 500, car owner Richard Childress asked Kevin to assume
driving duties for the GM Goodwrench Service Plus Monte Carlo on
the Sprint Cup circuit. Despite the intense schedule and
difficulty of driving full-time in two series, Kevin agreed and
began the most incredible year of his life.
For having started on such a terrible note, the 2001 racing
season was one of the most memorable of Kevin’s career – both
personally and professionally. On February 28, 2001, Kevin
married DeLana Linville, whom he calls his “best friend,” in a
beautiful Las Vegas ceremony. Despite not having time for a
honeymoon, Kevin and DeLana’s first year of marriage was filled
with incredible moments that DeLana called “wedding presents.”
Those “wedding presents” included two Sprint Cup wins – the
first coming in Kevin’s third start – and a Nationwide Series
championship, which Kevin earned on the strength of 20 top-five
finishes and five wins. Kevin also earned Rookie of the Year
honors on the Sprint Cup circuit, finishing ninth in the point
standings.
Kevin became the first driver in NASCAR history to run full-time
on both the Nationwide and Sprint Cup series – a total of 70
races – in one season, and the first to be named Sprint Cup
Rookie of the Year the same season that he earned the Nationwide
Series championship.
In the fall of that same year, Kevin and DeLana ran their first
KHI entry in the NASCAR Truck Series. The truck, built in a
friend’s garage, set the stage for what is now a full-fledge
racing operation. In August of 2004, Kevin and DeLana opened a
70,000 square foot facility in Kernersville, N.C., that became
the home of KHI. The next year, KHI fielded its first full-time
Nationwide Series team, winning the season-opener at Daytona
(Fla.) International Speedway. The 2005 season was also
successful for KHI’s truck team, as they finished fourth in
points, winning an event at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Since his start in NASCAR’s premier racing series seven years
ago, Kevin has had many memorable career moments. He is
currently one of only seventeen drivers who have won a race in
each of the National Series (Truck, Nationwide and Sprint Cup)
and is one of only two drivers who has won at least two races in
each series.
Kevin went on to win his second Nationwide Series championship
in 2006, competing in all 35 events. He recorded nine victories,
23 top-five and 32 top-10 finishes, holding an average finish of
4.6, all the while competing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. He
earned five victories, 15 top-five and 20 top-10 finishes, and
finished fourth in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
Adding to his career highlights, Kevin finished the 2007
Nationwide Series fourth in the Owner’s Point standings after
visiting victory lane six times and earning 11 top-five and 20
top-10 finishes in only 26 starts. At the same time, Kevin
competed full-time in the Sprint Cup Series, finishing the
season 10th in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Topping off the
year, Kevin and wife DeLana became Championship Owners as Ron
Hornaday and the No. 33 Camping World team claimed the 2007
NASCAR Truck Series championship.
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