(WOMR file photo)
The rumors here, at Phoenix International Raceway is that Kevin Harvick will leave Richard Childress Racing at the end of the 2013 season. That rumor has now been confirmed. Kevin Harvick will move to Stewart-Haas Racing for the 2014 race season.
For each of his 12 seasons in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Kevin Harvick has driven for Richard Childress Racing. That will change in 2014. Multiple NASCAR industry sources confirmed to ESPN.com Friday that Harvick has signed a multiyear agreement to drive for Stewart-Haas Racing beginning with the 2014 season.
Harvick will remain at RCR in the #29 Chevy for the 2013 campaign, sources said. “I’m looking forward to finishing out this season on a strong note with RCR and continuing to build our program going into the 2013 season with the ultimate goal of winning a championship,”
Harvick told ESPN.com Friday at Phoenix International Raceway, when he was asked about his future. “Anything beyond that, once I know what my future plans are set, I’ll let you know.”
Under Stewart-Haas’ current plan, sources said, Harvick will drive a fourth SHR Chevrolet, teaming with #14-Tony Stewart, #39-Ryan Newman, and #10-Danica Patrick to form a four-car stable.
“Stewart-Haas Racing’s driver lineup is all set for 2013, but if you’re talking about 2014, and if Kevin Harvick is available, that’s something the team would have to look at,” SHR team spokesman Mike Arning said. “Any team in this garage would do the same.
From the moment Stewart-Haas Racing was formed, becoming a four-car team is something it’s been striving for. They have the infrastructure to accommodate a fourth team, and if everything aligns properly, it’s something they’ll do. So, if a driver the caliber of Kevin Harvick is available, it’s something they would pursue.”(ESPN)
It appears that Kevin Harvick is the latest driver in the RCR stable to “see the writing on the wall’! Earlier in the week, Joey Coulter, an RCR Camping World Truck driver, signed a contract at Kyle Busch Motorsports for 2013. Additionally, last month Elliott Sadler stated that he will not be back driving a Nationwide Series car for RCR in 2013.
The underlying reason for many of the RCR stable of drivers bailing out of that organization could possibly be that Richard Childress will shortly have to make room in his sprint Cup teams for his two grandsons, as they gain racing experience! Harvick’s exit in 2014 would coincide with Childress giving his eldest grandson, Austin Dillon, a Sprint Cup ride in 2014.
This was the absolute best kept secret in the garage area in the last decade!
TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
