Kevin Harvick has earned his creature comforts. Having spent decades living life in the fast lane, the 49-year-old has achieved all that he wanted at the highest level. A Cup Series title in 2014, a 2007 Daytona 500 triumph, and two Busch Series championships. The former Stewart-Haas Racing driver has been there and done that. Now, he’s enjoying his semi-retirement, driving late-model cars occasionally while also serving as a commentator for NASCAR on Fox.
However, the veteran is not feeling adventurous at this stage of his life. While Tony Stewart is making headlines in the NHRA, covering for his wife Leah Pruett, Harvick is not keen to compete in 12,000 horsepower dragsters anytime soon.
Kevin Harvick is steering clear of new challenges
Tony Stewart is well known for his versatility. Over the years, ‘Smoke’ has tested himself in various motorsports disciplines, from NASCAR to IndyCar, along with the USAC Triple Crown and Midget Series, achieving success across the board. Despite being 53 years old, the Indiana native is making waves in the NHRA world, recently securing his first Top Fuel win at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Meanwhile, Kevin Harvick, who competes in Super Late Models with his own team on the CARS Tour West series, is more than happy right where he is.
When asked about the possibility of competing in the NHRA, Kevin Harvick candidly told Kenney Sargent of SpeedFreaks, “Only if he just absolutely held me hostage. I don’t really like being out of my comfort zone. At this point in my life, I like to do the things I like to do and go to places that I like to go. I don’t like to learn new things. Probably not. I’ll drive my late model and that’s almost outside my comfort zone at this point. But I’ll do that for fun, but I don’t know if I would do the rest of it.”
Apart from his occasional appearance for Kevin Harvick Inc., the veteran is also working as an analyst for FOX Sports, spending time in the broadcasting booth since last season. He retired from NASCAR in 2023 and said, “It was the perfect time for me.” While he would have preferred to work for the network sooner, COVID-19 played a big role in delaying his decision, a choice he feels happy about in hindsight. “I fulfilled the end of my contract with Stewart-Haas so I wouldn’t put them in a bad spot,” he said.
Harvick hasn’t looked back, ever since he closed the curtains on his Cup Series career. While a one-off NASCAR appearance could potentially be on the cards in the future, competing in the NHRA is an entirely different challenge altogether, one that he doesn’t feel comfortable with. Top Fuel dragsters can exceed 330 mph in the blink of an eye, a prospect the California native isn’t attracted to, even though his former teammate is relishing it.
Harvick drops a bold take on Tony Stewart
There’s no doubt Tony Stewart is a motorsports legend. However, his Top Fuel win at the 4-Wide Nationals in the NHRA took him to a whole new level, highlighting his unparalleled versatility. Despite his age, he outperformed reigning World Champion Antron Brown, Justin Ashley, and Jasmine Salinas in the final run, clocking a 3.870-second run to win the coveted “Wally” trophy. This means he has secured wins across NASCAR’s three national series, along with various other disciplines.
Giving credit where it’s due, Kevin Harvick said on the ‘Happy Hour’ podcast, “We can’t even call him a race car driver. He’s now just a race driver. Tony’s a legendary race driver… but this is pretty obvious that he’s also a great leader. He is being able to build a team and put the right people in place, find sponsors, and get performance out of the car by being a leader. Tony Stewart is a winner, and when you’re a winner, you figure out how to lead.”
That’s some big praise from Harvick, but it’s also well deserved. Just four events in, and Stewart is already a serious contender for the NHRA championship. He’s 16 points behind the leader, Shawn Langdon, and it’s well within the realm of possibility that he’ll make up the deficit. ‘Smoke’ has redefined what it means to be a champion in the motorsports world, something not everyone can do, even if they’ve won the highest honors in the Cup Series.
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