· Earning It Since 2014: Harvick is in his 17th Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season and his fourth at Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) with crew chief Rodney Childers at the helm. Since joining forces in 2014, Harvick and Childers combined to produce 13 victories, 14 poles, 65 top-five finishes and 95 top-10s; led 6,627 laps; won the 2014 Cup Series title; finished runner-up in 2015 to champion Kyle Busch and eighth in 2016.
· Points Position: Harvick arrives to Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth for the AAA Texas 500 ranked fourth in the driver standings with 4,053 points after his fifth-place finish Sunday at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. Harvick holds a three-point advantage over the fifth-place driver with two races remaining in the Round of 8.
· Playoff Qualifier: Harvick clinched his position in the 2017 playoffs when he scored his first Cup Series win of the season at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway in June. He started 12th, led 24 laps and had more than a five-second cushion when the final yellow flag waved to end the race under caution.Harvick and the No. 4 team scored one race win and three stage wins to account for eight playoff points. They finished fourth in regular-season points to pick up an additional seven points to earn the sixth seed for the 2017 playoffs. The No. 4 team scored two additional stage wins at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway in October for two playoff points.
· 11,000 Laps Led: Harvick led 149 laps at Charlotte to become just the 17th driver in Cup Series history to surpass 11,000 laps led for his career. Jimmie Johnson, Kurt Busch and Matt Kenseth are the only active drivers to also accomplish the feat. After leading 37 laps two weekends ago at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Harvick now sits at 11,053 laps led for his Cup Series career.
· Missing From The Trophy Case: Harvick has reached victory lane at 20 of the 23 stops on the NASCAR Cup Series circuit. The three tracks where he has yet to visit victory lane in the NASCAR Cup Series are Texas, Pocono (Pa.) Raceway and Kentucky Speedway in Sparta.
· Harvick in the NASCAR Cup Series at Texas: The AAA Texas 500 will mark Harvick’s 30th career NASCAR Cup Series start at Texas. He has one pole, seven top-five finishes and 17 top-10s at the 1.5-mile oval. The 41-year-old driver has led 193 laps, has an average starting position of 17.3, an average finish of 11.7, and has completed 96.6 percent (9,343 of 9,669) of the laps he’s contested there.Harvick won his lone pole at Texas in April with a lap of 27.217 seconds at 198.405 mph in the final round of qualifying.
· Harvick in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Texas: Harvick has made 20 starts in the Xfinity Series at Texas. He has five wins (March 2001, and November 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2012), two poles (April 2008 and 2014), 11 top-five finishes and 17 top-10s. He has led 779 laps, has an average starting position of 7.4, an average finish of 7.3, and has completed 99.3 percent (3,900 of 3,927) of the laps he’s contested there.
· Harvick in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at Texas: Harvick has made four starts in the Truck Series at Texas. He has one win (November 2011), two top-five finishes and two top-10s. He has led 64 laps, has an average starting position of 16.8, an average finish of 12.2, and has completed 92.6 percent (573 of 619) of the laps he’s contested there.
· On The Pole: Harvick has scored four Cup Series pole awards in 2017 – three coming on 1.5-mile racetracks. He scored his first of the season at Atlanta Motor Speedway with a lap of 29.118 seconds at 190.398 mph. His second of the season came at Texas, when he made a lap at 27.217 seconds at 198.405 mph. His third came at Charlotte for the Coca-Cola 600 with a lap of 27.918 seconds at 193.424 mph. The most recent came at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, where he posted a lap of 27.669 seconds at 177.730 mph.
· All-Time Wins List: Harvick’s win at Sonoma in June was the 36th of his Cup Series career, which ranks him 22nd on the all-time wins list. His next Cup Series win will move him into a tie with Bobby Isaac for 21st on the all-time list. Among active drivers, Harvick ranks fourth behind leader Johnson’s 83 career wins, Busch’s 43 and Kenseth’s 38 wins.
· Career NASCAR Cup Series Totals: Harvick has 36 wins, 165 top-fives, 304 top-10s and 21 poles in 607 career Cup Series starts heading into Sunday’s race at Texas.
· Personal Announcement: On Tuesday, July 11, Harvick kicked off his SiriusXM Radio show “Happy Hours” by announcing that he and wife DeLana are expecting to add a daughter to their family around the first of the year.
· Harvick’s Happy Hours on SiriusXM Radio: On March 14, Harvick announced that he will hostHappy Hours on SiriusXM Radio. The show debuted March 28 and airs on Tuesdays from 7 to 9 p.m. ET, featuring Harvick’s distinctive perspective on his sport and life outside the track. Harvick and co-host Matt Yocum take calls from listeners and give NASCAR fans a unique view on the driver’s life and interests when he is away from the racecar.
TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK! |