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Kevin HarvickKevin Harvick (born December 8, 1975) is an American race car driver, competing in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series for Richard Childress, driving the #29 Goodwrench Chevrolet. He was born in Bakersfield, California. He is known for replacing the late Dale Earnhardt after Earnhardt was killed in Daytona in 2001, and for his aggressive driving style. Biography Harvick started racing the way most drivers nowadays do, in carting. For ten years until around 1992, Harvick was highly successful. He raced in NASCAR's Featherlite Southwest division part-time in 1992 and until 1995, while completing high school. He became a full-time driver in 1995, becoming "Rookie of the Year" in that series that year. He then moved up to NASCAR's Winston West division in 1997, and in 1998 became champion of that series. In 1999, he raced in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck series, and in 2000, joined the NASCAR Busch Series, driving for Richard Childress and winning three times. In 2001 Kevin became the Busch Series Champion while also driving full-time in the Winston Cup Series and finishing in the top 10, a First for any driver. Kevin also was the 2002 IROC Champion in his first try in the series, winning in dominating fashion at the California Speedway and finishing strong in the other 3 events. In 2001, Kevin's career was greatly accelerated, albeit under very tragic circumstances. On the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500, Dale Earnhardt was killed in an accident in turn four. Childress then had Harvick take over the car, renumbered to 29 from 3 and painted white instead of black. He did not disappoint. On March 11, 2001, in Hampton, Georgia, Harvick dueled with NASCAR icon Jeff Gordon. At the end, Harvick beat Gordon by only six one-thousandths of a second, one of the closest finishes in NASCAR history since 1993, when electronic timing was installed in the cars. It was Harvick's third career start. That year, Harvick went on to win at Chicago in July, won again the next year at Chicago, and in 2003 won the Brickyard 400 at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a race which is so far, behind his Atlanta win, the most famous. However, he also became known for aggressiveness and tough driving. Though he has had his share of run-ins with other drivers (who hasn't?), Kevin is not without his sense of humor and charity. This is perhaps best exemplified by his 2004 auctioning of the famous Matt Kenseth T-shirt, which Harvick wore the week after a on-track skirmish with the 2003 Winston Cup Champion at Pocono Raceway. Proceeds from the auction went to Kyle Petty's Victory Junction Gang Camp, a medical camp for children and their families living with chronic and/or life-threatening illnesses. Kevin did not have the year he would have liked in 2004, but is looking forward to the 2005 season. Besides driving for Richard Childress Racing in both the Cup and Busch series, Kevin and his wife, DeLana, have ventured into ownership of their own racing operation, starting their own Busch series team with 2002 Winston Cup Champion Tony Stewart and Tony Raines sharing the driving duties. After a very successful season in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck series in 2004 with the #6 GM Goodwrench Silverado, Kevin has also hired fellow Californian Ron Hornaday to pilot the number 6 GM Goodwrench Chevrolet Silverado for 2005. Ron, a 2-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck series champion is favored by most analysts to win the 2005 Title once more. Interesting Facts Kevin is among an elite group of drivers to have won a race in all three of NASCAR's premier racing series: Truck, Busch and Cup Kevin finished third in the most popular driver voting last year, with only Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. having more votes Harvick was the cover driver for Electronic Arts' video game "NASCAR 2005:Chase for the Cup". He is sometimes known as "Happy Harvick" and "Harvey". He became the first driver to win Rookie of the Year in the NASCAR Winston Cup(Now Nextel Cup) and win the Busch Series title in the same year. His first win in Atlanta in 2001 could be considered one of the Greatest moments in NASCAR history by winning in only his third race for a team and sport that just lost Dale Earnhardt. Harvick still races in the Busch Series and occasionally in the Craftsman Truck series. Wins in NASCAR Winston/Nextel Cup Competition 2001 March 11, Hampton, GA, in the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store 500 July 15, in Joliet, IL, in the Tropicana 400 2002 July 14, in Joliet, IL, in the Tropicana 400 2003 August 3, in Speedway, IN, in the Brickyard 400 Harvick, Kevin Harvick, Kevin
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