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“SPEED Congratulates Ron Hornaday
and Kevin Harvick Inc., 2007 NASCAR Truck Series champions,”
said SPEED broadcaster Rick Allen. These were the words Kevin
and DeLana Harvick dreamed of hearing someday by a broadcaster
in the world of NASCAR racing. Growing up on opposite sides of
the country, with two vastly different backgrounds, the Harvicks
came together with one common passion: racing.
Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) began in 2001 by the Harvicks as a side
project. “We ran the first KHI entry back in 2001, a truck we
built in Ed Berrier’s garage,” said team co-owner, Kevin
Harvick. KHI has now become a 70,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art
facility housing two full-time NASCAR Truck Series teams and a
full time NASCAR Nationwide Series entry.
Kevin Harvick competed in his first Truck Series event for KHI
in 2001 at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway. In his first
run in the series Harvick lost a close battle to series veteran
Jack Sprague. Sprague and Harvick battled all race, but when
the checkered flag fell Harvick trailed Sprague by only .062
seconds. By achieving a second-place finish in his first
attempt, Harvick decided to continue competing in the Truck
Series on a limited basis with KHI the following season.
In 2002 KHI competed in five Truck Series events, scoring its
first victory on November 8 at Phoenix International Raceway
with team co-owner Kevin Harvick. By winning this event Harvick
became the fifth driver in history to win a race in all three of
NASCAR’s premier divisions.
KHI fielded an entry in six Truck Series events in 2003 with
drivers Kevin Harvick, Ed Berrier, Brandon Miller and Randy
LaJoie.
The following year KHI teamed with sponsor GM Goodwrench to
compete full time in the Truck Series with driver Matt Crafton
behind the wheel. The team had a successful year finishing sixth
in points earning six top-five and 17 top-10 finishes.
In May 2004, Tony Stewart drove the first KHI Nationwide Series
entry at Lowe’s (N.C.) Motor Speedway. He started sixth and
finished fifth, sending a message to the competition that KHI
was ready to compete in the Nationwide Series.
The 2005 season was a pivotal point in the history of KHI as
they fielded full time efforts in both the Nationwide Series and
Truck Series. Tony Stewart scored KHI’s first Nationwide Series
win in the season opener at Daytona (Fla.) International
Speedway, setting the precedent for a great season. The No. 33
Nationwide Series entry completed in all 35 events, recording
one win, five top-five and 13 top-10 finishes. The team also
finished 10th in the Owner’s Point standings.
Veteran driver Ron Hornaday joined KHI’s Truck Series program in
2005. Wasting no time he finished fifth in the year-end point
standings by recording one victory at the Atlanta Motor
Speedway, one pole, seven top-five and 13 top-10 finishes.
In 2006, KHI expanded to two full time Nationwide Series and one
full time Truck Series efforts. Rookie Burney Lamar joined KHI
to drive the newly formed No. 77 Chevrolet team in the
Nationwide Series, while Tony Stewart returned to KHI and
successfully defended his season-opening Nationwide Series
victory at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway in the No. 33
Chevrolet. Following that race the No. 33 team accumulated five
top-five and 13 top-10 finishes placing them 10th overall in the
final point standings.
The No. 77 team raced with rookie driver Burney Lamar for 29
events, Jeff Burton for one event and Bobby Labonte for five
events in 2006. The No. 77 team finished 24th in the Nationwide
Series Owner’s Point standings, earning one top-five and five
top-10 finishes.
In 2006, Hornaday wheeled KHI’s No. 33 Truck Series entry to a
seventh-place finish in the standings by earning two victories,
five top-five and 12 top-10 finishes.
With two seasons at KHI under his belt, Hornaday and the No. 33
Camping World Chevrolet team set their sights on the 2007 Truck
Series title. In an epic battle with Mike Skinner the title
chase came down to the last race at the Homestead-Miami (Fla.)
Speedway with Skinner 29 points ahead of Hornaday at the start
of the race. On lap 25 Skinner began to have tire trouble and
ultimately went 11 laps down to the field. Hornaday was able to
capitalize and wheel the No. 33 Camping World Chevrolet to a
seventh-place finish and the championship title, the first
series title ever recorded in KHI history.
The 2007 season was also a year of success in the Nationwide
Series. Sharing driving duties in the No. 33 Chevrolet were KHI
co-owner and two-time NASCAR Nationwide Series champion Kevin
Harvick, Sprint Cup drivers Tony Stewart and Tony Raines,
road-course specialist Ron Fellows and newcomer Cale Gale. Among
the five drivers, the team compiled a record of four top-five
and 14 top-10 finishes, landing the team sixth in the Owner’s
Point standings.
The No. 77 team also had success with drivers Kevin Harvick,
Bobby Labonte, Ron Hornaday, Scott Wimmer, Brandon Miller and
Kertus Davis. The team completed the season 15th in the Owner’s
Point standings recording one win, three top-five and eight
top-10 finishes.
The 2008 season will mark KHI’s fifth year of full-time
competition in NASCAR’s elite divisions, fielding two full time
Truck Series efforts with three-time Truck Series champions Jack
Sprague and Ron Hornaday. KHI will also field one full time
Nationwide Series effort with KHI co-owner and two-time
Nationwide Series champion Kevin Harvick, three-time Truck
Series champion Ron Hornaday, and Rookie of the Year contender
Cale Gale behind the wheel.
The first quarter of the 2008 was met with success for all of
KHI's teams, with the icing on the cake coming in the O'Reilly
Auto Parts 250 Truck Series race at Kansas Speedway on April 26.
In the event, Ron Hornaday and Jack Sprague captured KHI's first
one-two finish in the Truck Series as the No. 33 Camping World
Chevy Silverado took the checkers just ahead of Sprague's No. 2
ACL Chevy ride. It marked the third time that KHI has finished a
race one-two, with the first two events coming in the Nationwide
Series. The first came in Daytona with Tony Stewart and Burney
Lamar finishing one-two in 2006. The following year, Bobby
Labonte edged out Stewart at the line at Talladega for the
second one-two finish for KHI. |
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