The news that all-time great driver Kevin Harvick will retire after the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season became official on Thursday morning — and the NASCAR world had a lot to say about it.
Fans and colleagues and NASCAR officials talked about his start: The 47-year-old Bakersfield, California, native was only 25 when he was thrust into the national spotlight after being asked to run in Dale Earnhardt’s stead after the NASCAR legend was tragically killed in the 2001 Daytona 500.
They talked about his wins: Harvick has notched 60 career Cup Series wins — which is tied for ninth all-time — and has a 2014 Cup Series championship and a Daytona 500 win to his name.
They talked about the mark he’d leave off the track, too — the ferocity he showed standing up to other veteran drivers in the garage when he was a young driver, and the fearlessness he showed when standing up to the sanctioning body as he stepped into a more veteran role.
They talked about a lot. Because when a figure of such sustenance in a sport announces he’s saying goodbye, there’s a lot to talk about.
“I’ve seen a lot, and I’ve done a lot, and I’m grateful for the opportunity,” Harvick said in a video Thursday morning. “I’m always ready for a new season. It presents new challenges, and it forces you to find new ways to outsmart and outrun the competition. But come November, when the checkered flag drops on the season finale in Phoenix, it will also be my final race as a NASCAR Cup Series driver.
“It’s time to call time, to enjoy all that we’ve achieved as a race team, and to savor it with the ones who have made this journey possible. The unbelievable became the believable thanks to the help and support of so many.”
Here is what others in the NASCAR world are saying of Harvick’s retirement news.
Tony Stewart
Tony Stewart is a longtime peer of Harvick on the Cup circuit who later convinced Harvick to join his Stewart-Haas Racing team when he became a co-owner.
“I competed against Kevin for a long time and I was so happy to finally have him a part of our race team,” Stewart, the three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, said in a press release. “He’s incredibly reliable – consistent and calculated on the track with a drive to always be better. That’s what you want in a teammate. He knows what he needs to be successful, and his will to win helped elevate our entire company.”
He added: “I want Kevin to savor every lap this season, to compete like hell and to take it all in. He’s made all of us at Stewart-Haas Racing incredibly proud and we want to make his last season his best season.”
He also shared thoughts in a video on Twitter: “Kevin, I remember my first impression of you — just another punk-racer with a fiery reputation. And damn, I’ve never been happier to be wrong.
“Like myself, I think you’re often misunderstood. You’ve done things your way and never apologized for it. When others misunderstood us, we understood each other. That mutual respect as a competitor grew into a friendship, and that friendship has let me get to know the man behind the visor — a man that is consistent, calculated, family-oriented and fierce.”
NASCAR president Steve Phelps
NASCAR president Steve Phelps also shared a statement about Harvick’s retirement.
Harvick grew into being one of the sport’s voices of reason, translating a fiery persona on-track into a fierce protector of the sport and its drivers off of it. That was particularly apparent in the 2022 season, when Harvick spoke out against some of the safety shortcomings of the Next Gen car and subsequently emboldened drivers across the garage to speak their minds, too, until the drivers and sanctioning body came together to make a change.
Phelps said that Harvick’s legacy as one of the all-time great drivers “is secure.”
“Beyond his success inside a race car, Kevin is a leader who truly cares about the health and the future of our sport — a passion that will continue long after his driving days are complete,” Phelps said in a statement. “On behalf of the France Family and all of NASCAR, I congratulate Kevin on a remarkable career and wish him the best of luck in his final season.”
Rodney Childers
Harvick’s crew chief Rodney Childers and the No. 4 driver have formed quite the partnership. The two made up one of the most successful pairings of the past decade and became the example of consistency in the sport — the two finished in the Top 5 of Cup races 44% of the time.
Childers shared some memories on Twitter on Thursday morning.
“In 2013, I was kinda lost at what I wanted to do with my life,” Childers said. “Then KH called and wanted me to start the 4 team with him. He looked me in the eyes and told me he believed in me and wanted to win races and championships with me. He, gave me the chance of a lifetime.
“In that chance our relationship has never wavered. It’s been easy, every day. We’ve talked every day for 9 years. Our passion and push to be the best has never changed. And isn’t going to change. We still want to win every single week that we show up.”
He said that the two became brothers and best friends over the past two decades working together.
“He taught me to be a better person, smarter, more intelligent,” Harvick said. “And most of all we learned what good people with the same goals can do if they really want it. Our team is our backbone, and they have believed from day one. So, I’m thankful for him giving me a chance. Believing in me and the guys on this team. And the diehard KH fans that have had my back thru good times and bad, thank you. This year is going to be fun, and we are going to race like hell.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. also congratulated the driver on an “incredible career” on Thursday. The two drivers are contemporaries, and they recently went into business together to help preserve and bolster the CARS (Championship Auto Racing Series) Tour — as both are passionate about late model racing.
“His path to becoming a champion wasn’t an easy one,” Earnhardt Jr. wrote in a tweet. “I always respected his talent and approach through the years. ... Imagine he will be fun to watch.”
