Stewart-Haas Racing and Harvick introduced on Thursday that Harvick will drive a No. 29 Ford within the Might 21 inaugural NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway.
The automobile will characteristic a “throwback” paint scheme harking back to the design which adorned Harvick’s then-No. 29 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet when he gained his first Cup race on March 11, 2001 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
On the time, it was simply Harvick’s third sequence begin with RCR’s No. 3 workforce which had been rebranded because the No. 29 following driver Dale Earnhardt’s demise in a last-lap wreck within the season-opening Daytona 500 two weeks earlier.
On the ultimate lap, Harvick ended up racing side-by-side with Jeff Gordon exiting Flip 4 and to the checkered flag at Atlanta with the rookie edging the now Corridor of Famer by a scant 0.006 seconds.
“After I sat within the No. 29 for the primary time, it actually wasn’t by alternative, however I undoubtedly wouldn’t have performed it any in another way,” Harvick, 47, mentioned. “Dale’s passing modified our sport without end, and it modified my life without end and the path it took.
“Trying again on it now, I notice the significance of getting within the Cup automobile, after which I wound up profitable my first race at Atlanta within the No. 29 automobile after Dale’s demise. The importance and the significance of conserving that automobile on the race monitor and profitable that race early at Atlanta – realizing now what it meant to the game, and simply that second basically of with the ability to keep on – was so vital.”
Kevin Harvick, Stewart-Haas Racing, Busch Gentle Ford
Photograph by: Gavin Baker / NKP / Motorsport Images
The choice to make the most of the No. 29 in a race is a part of Harvick’s want spotlight lots of particular moments of his NASCAR profession.
“I had a fantastic 13 years at RCR and actually realized loads by way of the method due to being thrown into Dale’s automobile, the place my first press convention as a Cup Collection driver was the largest press convention I might ever have in my profession, the place my first moments had been my largest moments,” he mentioned.
“With the All-Star Race going to North Wilkesboro – a spot with a ton of historical past – we thought it made sense in a yr stuffed with milestones and moments to focus on the place it began.”
Harvick’s Ford for the All-Star Race can be white and have the pink stylized No. 29 that he drove all through 2001 when he completed ninth within the sequence standings.
Busch Gentle, the first accomplice for Harvick within the All-Star Race, will deliver again its logos from that period as properly.
Harvick has competed in each All-Star Race since becoming a member of the Cup Collection in 2001. In 38 begins, he has been on the beginning grid for 22 of them, profitable twice (2007 and 2018).
This yr’s All-Star Race returns to North Wilkesboro – a monitor that first appeared on the Cup Collection schedule in 1949 however has not hosted NASCAR nationwide sequence competitors since 1996.
“I don’t know the final time the All-Star Race was essentially the most anticipated occasion of the season,” Harvick mentioned. “Followers are going to point out up in droves.
“North Wilkesboro is a good quick monitor, the asphalt’s worn out, and I feel it’s going to be a unbelievable occasion.”
