Delana Harvick
DeLana Harvick’s racing roots run deep. After visiting a racetrack at the tender age of three weeks old, she was hooked for life. Growing up as a self-described ‘race brat,’ DeLana learned the ins and outs of the sport that would one day play an intricate role in her life and make her one of the most successful women in NASCAR.
DeLana’s father, John Paul Linville, was a driver in the Nationwide Series until 1995 and she often tagged along with him to races. “I was at the race track every weekend, so I didn’t really do a lot of kid things,” DeLana said. “I didn’t do soccer or brownies or anything like that. I was always with my dad at the track.”
Though she would have preferred to follow in her father’s footsteps, driving a racecar wasn’t in the cards for DeLana. Instead, she observed the sport from the sidelines, gaining valuable insight that she harnessed into a solid career.
DeLana began her professional career in racing as a public relations representative for two-time Nationwide Series champion Randy LaJoie, among others. Her strong work ethic and professionalism earned DeLana the respect of not only the media, but of the racing community as well.
It was during this time that she met husband Kevin, whom she married in February of 2001. When she walked down the aisle with Kevin, DeLana not only married the love of her life, but her best friend and business partner.
DeLana’s knowledge of - and Kevin’s passion for - racing created a power couple whose effect on the sport of NASCAR has only begun to be felt. The creation of Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) in 2001 was merely the opening chapter in what has promised to be a long and storied career.
Making its NASCAR debut in 2001 at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway, DeLana watched Kevin behind the wheel of KHI’s first truck. With a strong showing, KHI proved to be the real deal. Kevin ran in the top five most of the race and led one lap on his way to narrowly missing his first Truck Series victory, finishing second to veteran driver Jack Sprague.
The following year, continuing to build their team, the Harvick’s entered six races with Kevin piloting the No. 6 Chevrolet in five races and Rick Carelli, current KHI General Manager, for one race. In just his sixth career Truck Series start for KHI, Kevin was able to not only earn his first career Truck Series win, but the first NASCAR victory for their young company when he crossed the finish line at Phoenix International Raceway.
The next few years would be instrumental in the development of KHI. Slowly increasing the number of races it entered, KHI earned its second career Truck Series win in 2003 when Kevin defended his win at Phoenix International Raceway and the Harvick’s made the decision to go full-time Truck Series racing in 2004 with Matt Crafton. Deciding to expand from a one team operation, KHI entered a second truck for select races in 2004 with Kevin at the wheel and made the move from Truck Series racing to Nationwide Series racing that same year. Sprint Cup Series star Tony Stewart would debut KHI’s Nationwide Series program at Charlotte (N. C.) Motor Speedway where he started the race sixth, led 13 laps and finished fifth for the company’s first top-five finish in NASCAR’s second-tier series. Clint Bowyer and Tony Raines would also take to the wheel of the No. 33 car to make a total of five starts during the 2004 Nationwide Series season.
With a solid footing in both the Truck and Nationwide Series, KHI entered 2005 with newly hired veteran driver Ron Hornaday behind the wheel of the No. 6 Chevrolet Silverado in the Truck Series and Kevin and Burney Lamar in the driver’s seat of a second truck on a limited schedule. Getting acclimated to a new team, Hornaday won one race in his first season for KHI. On the Nationwide Series side, KHI burst on the scene with the full-time No. 33 car at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway where Stewart completed the job he left on the table the previous season in KHI’s debut. Stewart started the season opener from the 14th position and after leading 46 laps, crossed the finish-line in the top spot to claim KHI’s first career Nationwide Series victory. Three other drivers, Hornaday, Tony Raines and Lamar, would join Stewart behind the wheel of the No. 33 car and Stewart, Raines and Wally Dallenbach would also share seat time in a second KHI car on a limited schedule.
Spending a few years of growing their team into a winning organization, the Harvick’s entered 2006 with Hornaday in his second full season in the Truck Series, changing his truck number to the now flagship No. 33. Improving on his one win in 2005, Hornaday ended the season with two wins and seventh in the point’s standings. Stewart returned to Daytona to defend his season-opening win in the No. 33 car and Lamar would finish a close second in the No. 77 car to give KHI its first one-two finish in the Nationwide Series. The team would again see an array of drivers behind the wheel and with the momentum from the first full season of the No. 33 car, KHI expanded its Nationwide program to include a second full-time team.
Hornaday’s third full truck season with KHI proved to be a memorable one for DeLana and Kevin as they watched the organization they built from scratch flourish to win four Truck Series races with Hornaday and the 2007 Truck Series championship, making them first-time Truck Series championship owners. KHI also ran a second truck for a limited number of races with Kevin and a few friends behind the wheel. In the Nationwide Series, the team again ran two full-time cars with a variety of drivers. Continuing their dominance at superspeedways, Bobby Labonte won the Nationwide Series race at Talladega Superspeedway in the No. 77 car with Stewart close on his heels in the No. 33 car, another KHI one-two finish.
Thriving on the momentum from 2007, Hornaday made a bid in 2008 to repeat his championship season, winning six races and narrowly missing the Truck Series title by a mere seven points. Expanding the Truck Series program with a second full-time truck, DeLana would add two more wins to the list as owner when Ryan Newman made and won his first career Truck Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Kevin won at Phoenix International Raceway later that season. Scaling back the Nationwide program to one full-time team and a second car at select events, the team refocused and with Kevin only driving for KHI, in the Nationwide Series slowly began to see improvements on the track and consistency of running in the top 10 each week.
With determination from narrowly missing the 2008 Truck Series title, Hornaday and the No. 33 team entered the 2009 season with one goal in mind and would not settle for anything less. With a historical season, the team won six races including five straight , a first in Truck Series history, and won the 2009 Truck Series title, making Hornaday the first ever four-time champion in the series. The 2009 title also made Kevin and DeLana two-time Truck Series championship owners. In addition to the No. 33 truck, KHI ran the No. 4 truck for the entire season and the No. 2 truck on a limited basis. DeLana added Ricky Carmichael, the most successful motocross racer in American history, to her roster and watched as he began his transformation from two wheels to four wheels as he lead the driver line-up on the No. 4 team. With Kevin adding three more wins to the list, KHI earned a total of nine Truck Series wins in 2009.
While the Truck program continued to dominate the competition, 2009 also proved to be a pivotal year for the Nationwide program as the team won two races and finished a career best fourth in the Owner’s Point standings. As owner and wife, DeLana was able to be a part of Kevin earning his first career Nationwide Series win in a KHI-owned car at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway and again at Atlanta Motor Speedway where he won in dominating fashion. The team would finish the season with two wins, 17 top-five and 25 top-10 finishes as they became a contender in the top five every week.
Since its inception in 2001, DeLana and Kevin have no doubt built KHI into a premier organization competing full-time in the Truck and Nationwide Series. As a two-time Truck Series championship owner with over 30 victories in the Truck and Nationwide Series, DeLana’s story has only begun and continues to be one of the most watched in the sport.