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Tag: Keelan Harvick

  • The Final Word – Kevin Harvick dominated the race at Michigan, Keelan dominated after that

    The Final Word – Kevin Harvick dominated the race at Michigan, Keelan dominated after that

    Domination and elimination was the story from Michigan on Sunday afternoon. Kevin Harvick dominated and eliminated everyone else from view. He dominated the opening stage. He overcame another pit road miscue that cost him five spots between stages, but he eliminated the danger to come back to claim that, too. As for the money run, he cashed in big time to eliminate everyone else from the storyline. Well, everyone but one. I’ll get to him in a moment.

    Denny Hamlin started on the pole, but he was eliminated from our consciousness despite finishing eighth. Kyle Busch was beside him at the start, but he did not matter for the most part despite finishing third. Harvick at least was gracious enough to allow both of his main rivals some cameo time up front. Martin Truex Jr. seemed eliminated only to rise again and then get stomped right back down. William Byron spun him out in the opening stage. Truex came back, led a bit but ran out of fuel near the end of the second. He came in while the pits were closed for a penalty. A tire was left unattended, and he got tagged with another. Truex finished 14th.

    In the middle frame, Chase Elliott was eliminated from contention when he had to come in early due to a loose tire. He finished ninth. Kyle Larson also had a tire issue and he also had to pit early. That helped eliminate him from contention, wrapping up the day in 17th. For Erik Jones, it was one damn thing after another. A spin early in the opening stage, only to get spun by Ryan Blaney in the second, and he came home in 13th.

    Brad Keselowski finished second, but few noticed. Austin Dillon did get noticed, having his first quality result since winning the Daytona 500. He picked up a flat tire on the final lap, yet still brought the car across the line in fourth. At least somebody other than someone named Harvick had a notable day.

    Harvick won his seventh of the season, the 44th of his career to tie Bill Elliott on the all-time list, yet even he got eliminated from consideration as the most talked about Harvick out there. When it came to post-race activities, it was six-year-old Keelan Harvick who dominated.

    Dad might have tons of charisma, but the son won in that category walking away. Literally. With the winning car parked on the finish line, Keelan was brought out to walk across the track to fetch the checkered flag. Then Dad put the lad on the passenger side of the car and, with the boy waving the checkers out the window, they drove together to Victory Lane. When the suds were done being splashed, Keelan was taken out of the car and handed a bottle of water to celebrate. He did, splashing dad’s public relations guy Josh Jones from stem to stern, much to the delight of Kevin’s crew chief Rodney Childers and all those watching, including young Keelan himself. Dad won the race, the son continued to win our hearts.

    It was a race to watch, again thanks to NBC. The commentary, the chemistry, the insight, and the pure entertainment value kept us watching the action. It was a single groove track, with the outside lane dominating the inside except for those rare moments when a bit of side drafting before diving down in the corners allowed for a pass. It was a single car event, with a few cameos to at least give the false hope the others might compete against the most dominant car on the day. It ended with a father and a son sharing some life-long memories and sharing those moments with us.

    On a day when outside my window it poured rain all day, Kevin and Keelan Harvick and NBC provided some much-appreciated sunshine. It was a broadcast that made my Sunday all that more joyful for having just been a part of it.

    Now, off to Bristol for a Saturday night of bumping and banging under the lights. There is no question as to what my plans will be.

  • Harvick Takes Seventh Win of MENCS Season at Michigan

    Harvick Takes Seventh Win of MENCS Season at Michigan

    Kevin Harvick took his seventh Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series win of the season at Michigan International Speedway in Sunday’s Consumers Energy 400, leading 108 laps and sweeping all three stages for the third time in 2018. The win gave Stewart-Haas Racing a season sweep at Michigan, as Clint Bowyer took the win there in June.

    It was his 44th Cup Series win which ties him with NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott for 17th on the all-time wins list.

    Harvick took the checkered flag 3.23 seconds ahead of second-place Brad Keselowski.

    “We kind of clawed all day and had some good restarts with the Discount Tire Ford and got all we could get out of it but just ended up one spot short and that is so frustrating,” Keselowski said after the race.

    Kyle Busch, Austin Dillon, and Ryan Blaney rounded out the top-five with Kurt Busch, Aric Almirola, Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott, and Joey Logano rounding out the top-10.

    The race was slowed by eight cautions for 37 laps, while there were 15 lead changes among nine drivers.

    “What a car,” Harvick said. “The most important thing is winning races right now and positioning yourself for Homestead. And that’s all we want to do. We don’t want to learn anything, we don’t want to work on anything, we want to win.”

    Harvick was met on the start-finish line by his son Keelan, who walked up the track and retrieved the checkered flag from the starter’s stand before riding along with his father on the way to Victory Lane.

    “He told me before the race, ‘Dad, if you win, I want to go out and wave the checkered flag.’ And I said, ‘Well if you do that, you’ve got to take the victory lap with me,’” Harvick said of Keelan’s post-race antics.

    He went on to describe the importance of sharing the experience with his son.

    “For him to be here and able to do that and be a part of NASCAR and bring your son to work and do all the things that we get to do with our kids, I have had him with me by myself the last three weeks and we have had a ball. I couldn’t be happier to be a dad and be a part of NASCAR where they let your family come to the race track and be a part of it.”

    There are three races left before the championship Playoffs begin in Las Vegas next month. The MENCS tour goes under the lights at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday, Aug. 18, on NBC Sports.

    Unofficial Race Results for the Consumers Energy 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Race

    1. Kevin Harvick
    2. Brad Keselowski
    3. Kyle Busch
    4. Austin Dillon
    5. Ryan Blaney
    6. Kurt Busch
    7. Aric Almirola
    8. Denny Hamlin
    9. Chase Elliott
    10. Joey Logano
    11. Daniel Suarez
    12. Clint Bowyer
    13. Erik Jones
    14. Martin Truex Jr.
    15. Ryan Newman
    16. Paul Menard
    17. Kyle Larson
    18. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
    19. Alex Bowman
    20. Chris Buescher
    21. Jamie McMurray
    22. AJ Allmendinger
    23. Bubba Wallace
    24. Matt DiBendetto
    25. Michael McDowell
    26. Kasey Kahne
    27. David Ragan
    28. Jimmie Johnson
    29. Landon Cassill
    30. Blake Jones
    31. BJ McLeod
    32. Garrett Smithley
    33. Gray Gaulding
    34. Trevor Bayne
    35. Ross Chastain
    36. William Byron
    37. Timmy Hill
    38. Ty Dillon
    39. Jeffrey Earnhardt
    40. Corey LaJoie
  • The Final Word – It was over when Harvick said it was over at Dover

    The Final Word – It was over when Harvick said it was over at Dover

    It is now official. Kevin Harvick is the most generous driver in NASCAR. No one shared like Harvick did Sunday at Dover.

    Harvick started up front after inspection issues removed Kyle Larson from starting at point. After leading the first 21 laps, he turned it over to Alex Bowman before Brad Keselowski took over for the next 60. Nearing the end of the opening segment, Harvick returned to wrap it up. Segment two, Harvick shared with Keselowski. Until the final 40 laps, when it was again all Harvick.

    As for the final frame, Harvick remained happy sharing the lead. He allowed Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Clint Bowyer to run in clean air. He even allowed Joey Logano a single lap up front. However, when he got tired of just fooling around, Harvick regained control over the final 63 laps to beat Bowyer by seven seconds. It was his fourth win of the season (one of which is encumbered), 41st of his career, and his second ever at Dover. Hopefully, this time young Keelan Harvick does not bust the arm of this Miles the Monster Trophy.

    As for the likes of Harvick, who picked up maximum points, Bowyer, third place finisher Daniel Suarez, and Keselowski in sixth, it was the best of times. The worst of times were experienced by Paul Menard and Ryan Newman. Both went back to the garage with wheel related mechanical issues and returned many, many laps down for single-digit points runs. Austin Dillon and Bowman were not much better finishing outside the best 20. In fact, if not for that Daytona win, Marshal Dillon would be hanging his hat on 19th place in the standings.

    Kyle Busch was good. So good that he quit talking about that vibration he had. The one that got worse and worse as the day went on. In a steady Top Five ride, something finally broke in the drive train and his worries were realized. He finished 35th, but he did collect 17 bonus points to soften the blow somewhat.

    Busch remains atop the leader ladder in points and tied with Harvick for “unencumbered” wins. Bowman and Jimmie Johnson came into Dover 13th and 15th in the standings, respectively, but swapped spots as Johnson came home in 9th. Stenhouse finished 15th, but he lost the 16th and final Chase place to Chase Elliott who was 12th on the day. His bonus points vault him into that final playoff berth. Suarez was outside the Top 20 coming in but now sits just seven points behind Elliott as Menard falls outside the Top 20, nine points behind Newman.

    Next up is Kansas, where Martin Truex Jr. swept 2017. He comes in after finishing fourth in Delaware. Do not count out Johnson. Even if he fails to win his fourth on that track, he has failed to make the Top Ten just six out of 23 attempts. Ole Seven Time won’t move up on the standings after this race in points, but it is funny what a single win could do. Maybe Harvick will be willing to share.

  • The Final Word – Pocono proved a great place to be, whether you be 4 or 24 years old

    The Final Word – Pocono proved a great place to be, whether you be 4 or 24 years old

    NASCAR’s most popular driver had his problems this past weekend. He was taken out of his ride by his car owner over some behavioral issues, then later got into hot water by getting into cool water. Barefoot and with his sneakers laying nearby half submerged, four-year-old Keelan Harvick was having a great time. After seeing the little lad sprawled right out in a puddle of water, so were a few of the other drivers. Action for most might have been put off to Monday at Pocono, but for one fellow, a rainy Sunday is a good day.

    Monday. Well, Monday was a great day for Chris Buescher. With the fog rolling in at the Pennsylvania 400, he stayed out while others pitted to have the fuel to run the final 22 laps that never were as the race was red flagged. With impending stormy weather ensuring things would not be re-started, the 24-year old claimed his first win in his 27th Cup start. Team owner Bob Jenkins took his second career victory, to go with David Ragan’s 2013 win at Talladega. The win does not put Buescher automatically into the Chase, but he has just six points to make up over the next five races to move into the Top 30 in points to do just that. The man he needs to catch? B.K. Racing’s David Ragan.

    Brad Keselowski, Regan Smith, and Keelan’s dad, Kevin Harvick were next, with Tony Stewart rounding out the Top Five. Martin Truex Jr. looked real good for about 20 laps. After his fresh right front went down to send him into the fence, it went all bad. Joey Logano looked real good, too, at least until Chase Elliott drifted up and they both drifted the wall a good one. None of this trio finished among the Top 30.

    Kyle Larson went in seeking to at least finish ahead of the law firm of Kahne, Bayne, and Blaney to keep his Chase position well secured. He did, finishing sixth on the day, while Ryan Blaney was 11th, Kasey Kahne 15th, and Trevor Bayne was 19th. That means Kahne sits 20 points out, with Bayne and Blaney 28 away. However, if Buescher moves into the Top 30 and thus, among the 16 Chasers, Jamie McMurray becomes the new target and he sits nine points ahead of Larson.

    Jeff Gordon was 27th in his 799th career race. As for the man he replaced, Dale Earnhardt Jr., he falls 47 points out as he recovers from his concussion issue, and out of the conversation for the present. Gordon, by the way, was one of seven drivers at Pocono who were 40 years of age or older. McMurray, Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, Stewart, and Greg Biffle were the others. Only Elliott and Blaney were younger than the race winner.

    But the kids are coming. In Iowa, 20-year old Erik Jones won the XFINITY race, his third victory of the season. The lone Cup representative, Keselowski, finished eighth. I bet he feels like a loser. As for the Camping World truck event in Pocono, 19-year old William Byron claimed his fifth race of the season. The kid has taken four of the last six contests. Would it not be nice to talk about those boys on their way up, and a bit less about Keselowski and Kyle Busch when it comes to these series? Of course, it would. One day, maybe the seven-race cut off for rookie eligibility might be used as a cut-off for the number of races one can run outside of their registered division in a season. Maybe.

    Talking about kids, check out this weekend’s CARS Late Model Stock Tour at Orange County in North Carolina on YouTube. Sixteen-year-old Chase Purdy was racing hard and turned 24-year old Ryan Wilson. Wilson was not happy, got out of his car and stood on the track to stop Purdy under caution. He then took down the window net and punched the young man a few times. Something tells me they run under different rules than NASCAR. Oh, by the way, Purdy finished the 100 lap race in seventh, while Wilson’s best car in his stable is now junk.

    Meanwhile, where was Keelan on Monday? Maybe dad took his car off of the blocks and let our new favorite return to racing. As for the young Harvick’s favorite driver? Well, that would be Kyle Busch, of course.

  • Kevin Harvick Doubles Down as Race Winner and NASCAR Champ

    Kevin Harvick Doubles Down as Race Winner and NASCAR Champ

    It’s not often that a driver can double down in NASCAR but Kevin Harvick did just that, winning the Ford EcoBoost 400 as well as the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship. This was Harvick’s 28th victory in 502 Cup races, his fifth victory of the season and his first victory at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

    “Well, I just really don’t know what to even say about how much I appreciate this,” champion Harvick said in Victory Lane. “I’m just really excited. It’s really special for everybody.”

    “Been trying for 13 years,” Harvick continued. “I just have to thank Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson for helping me through this week. Jimmie was in my trailer as much as many of my teammates – doing all the things that it takes to tell me what I needed to do today.”

    For Harvick, the win and championship was indeed a family affair with wife DeLana and son Keelan in Victory Lane.

    “It is surreal,” DeLana Harvick said emotionally. “To come fight for this championship with one of the best group of guys I have ever been around…they did this. They deserve it. They are champions.”

    Harvick, a veteran of all three of NASCAR’s national series, is the third driver to win the Cup and Nationwide crowns, joining Bobby Labonte and Brad Keselowski in that achievement. He is also the 30th champion in the 66-year history of the Cup Series.

    Team owner Tony Stewart was also celebrating his driver’s win, especially significant after the difficult year personally that he has been through. While this was also the second championship for Stewart-Haas Racing, both Kevin Harvick and his crew chief Rodney Childers won championships for the first time ever.

    “It’s great,” Smoke said on ESPN SportsCenter. “That’s why we have a four-car team to make sure we have every opportunity we can to come to Homestead and have a chance to race for a Sprint Cup championship.”

    “This is an awesome night for our whole organization and Gene Haas and Kevin and Rodney Childers and everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing.”

    “This is an unbelievable evening.”

    Ryan Newman, who worked his way into the championship contender round with a last lap pass, finished the race in the runner-up position. This was Newman’s fifth top-10 finish at Homestead and his 16th top-10 finish in 2014, again confirming his consistency throughout the season.

    “These guys did a really good job,” Newman said. “We had a couple pit stops that kind of put us back, but the guys stepped it up the last couple pit stops and we gained a few spots; gave ourselves a shot.”

    “Luke (Lambert, crew chief), I thought made a great call on the two-tire stop, and we got some track position,” Newman continued. “And then when Jeff (Gordon) pitted, that kind of caught me by surprise and gave us the front row.”

    “In the end, I’m just so proud of our team. It is disappointing, don’t’ get me wrong, but there’s no point in being a sore loser.”

    Brad Keselowski, who had such a strong season, finished third in his self-proclaimed white deuce. This was his second top-10 finish in seven races at Homestead.

    “Yeah, it was a heck of a season, not just for me but for all of Team Penske,” Keselowski said. “Certainly a year that we’ll look back on with a lot of pride.”

    “I’m kind of wishing it wasn’t over, but we still have some work to do to continue to work and get better. We have to go back and work a little bit harder and find a little more speed and try to keep up with that.”

    Kyle Larson officially claimed the Sunoco Rookie of the Year title, having been in that position most of the season. He finished 13th in the race finale and was yet again the highest finishing rookie of the race.

    “We were really competitive all season long with the Target team and came really, really close to winning a couple of them,” Larson said. “There was a lot of room on the Kyle Larson bandwagon to start the season. I think a lot of people chose Austin Dillon to win it and I was pretty confident in myself and in my team that we could do it.”

    “I knew there would be some ups and downs but I felt like we would be the top contender once we got halfway through the season and we definitely were,” Larson continued. “Really proud of that, proud of the effort everybody has put in on these race cars. We’ve gotten better throughout the season and just is a huge honor to win this title with all the other names that have won it.”

    For Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano, who were also contending for the championship in addition to Harvick and Newman, it was all about the difficulties on the restarts and in the pits that led to their respective downfall.

    Hamlin finished seventh and Logano finished fourth, both unable to claim the championship crown.

    “I thought we had a better car than those guys, just I had a bad restart and lost position to the No. 4,” Hamlin said. “Darian (Grubb, crew chief) made the decision to leave us out there on tires trying to do something to get that track position back that I lost on the restart and it just didn’t work out for us.”

    “With all of those cautions, it just allowed all of those guys to close back up and it was kind of all she wrote for us,” Hamlin continued. “Sometimes the cautions fall your way and sometimes they don’t. We definitely gave ourselves a shot and things were looking really good for us, but those cautions just really, really hurt us.”

    “It was a heck of a race up there,” Logano said. “I screwed up and hit the wall early and we were able to recover then had the mistake on pit road, which didn’t give us enough time to recover from that.”

    “It is unfortunate,” Logano continued. “Execution was our strong point all year and we just didn’t do it tonight. For that reason, we finished fourth after I think we scored the most points this whole Chase.”

    Congratulations are also due to Chevrolet, who secured yet another manufacturer’s championship. This was their 12th consecutive championship and the 38th time overall that they have won it.

    “Winning the Manufacturers’ championship is one of the goals we set at the beginning of every season,” said Jim Campbell, U.S. Vice President, Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. “This championship is the result of great teamwork by the owners, drivers, crew chiefs, crews and technical partners. Special thanks to the Chevrolet powertrain team, along with the engine shops at Hendrick Motorsports and Earnhardt-Childress Racing for delivering the right combination of power, fuel economy, and reliability throughout the entire season.”

    “Congratulations to everyone who has made this special achievement possible for Chevrolet.”

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: The Daytona 500

    Surprising and Not Surprising: The Daytona 500

    In spite of the unusual happenings that perpetually occur at Daytona, this year a six hour plus rain delay with tornado warnings, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 56th running of the Great American Race.

    Surprising:  With so much focus pre-race on the return of the No. 3, formerly driven by Dale Earnhardt Sr. and now by rookie Austin Dillon, the son of the Intimidator and NASCAR’s most popular driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. instead stole the show with his second Daytona 500 victory.

    This was Junior’s 20th victory in the Cup Series and, with the win, he joined Bill Elliott, Michael Waltrip, Sterling Marlin, Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson as two-time Daytona 500 winners.

    “I’ll never take this for granted,” Junior said. “We’re two time Daytona champions.”

    In addition to the coveted win at Daytona, Earnhardt Jr. had a big weekend overall. The team bearing his name, JR Motorsports, won the Nationwide Drive4COPD 300 race with driver Regan Smith at the wheel.

    Not Surprising:  In spite of several on-track incidents, the driver of the aforementioned No. 3 for Richard Childress Racing, did quite well for himself, starting from the pole and finishing ninth.

    Austin Dillon was also the highest finishing rookie of the race, taking the early lead in a Sunoco Rookie of the year battle.

    “That’s what this year is about — experience, trying to finish races and getting better each week,” Dillon said, “We have a long year ahead of us, I’d like to use some of this momentum going forward. I know it’s going to be a long, tough year, and hopefully we’ll be there at the end of these races and try to learn something.”

    Surprising:  Goodyear had a little scare early in the race when both Kyle Larson and Greg Biffle had tire problems, causing hard hits into the wall for the rookie and veteran racers.

    Larson, in the No. 42 race car formerly driven by Juan Pablo Montoya, actually hit the wall twice in the opening laps, going a lap down and soldiering on to finish 38th.

    In spite of his blown tire early in the race, Biffle had a much better finish than Larson, taking the checkered flag in the eighth spot in his No. 16 3M Ford.

    “It was a good night,” Biffle said. “We had a really strong car but the 88 was real fast. We just couldn’t hold him off.”

    Not Surprising:  With the combo platter of the rain delay, potential for additional weather coming in, and the pent up energy of the first race of the season, it was not surprising that there were a number of pit road incidents that created some major mayhem for several drivers.

    Early in the race, Matt Kenseth had contact on pit road and ended up spinning to pit backwards in his box. Both Kyle Busch and Aric Almirola removed equipment out of their pit boxes and had to serve costly penalties.

    And then there was one of the more controversial calls, with Kasey Kahne called for speeding, all of which he did in an effort not to get hit by Michael Annett who had lost control of his vehicle coming to his pit.

    Surprising:  After dominating most everything during Speedweeks, from the Sprint Unlimited to the second Duel race, it was a bit surprising that Denny Hamlin did not claim the big prize. He did, however, come home in the runner up position in his No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota, which was his best finish ever in the Daytona 500.

    “I thought — the Duels and the Unlimited — I felt like our car didn’t have quite the speed,” Hamlin said. “It was a solid run for us and really it was a fun race.”

    Not Surprising:  Given the manufacturer change to Chevrolet and a new alliance with Richard Childress Racing, it was not surprising that Casey Mears and his GEICO No. 13 team had a great run in the Great American Race.

    In fact, team GEICO finished in the top-10, getting their driver and crew chief Bootie Barker off to a great start for the season.

    Surprising:  The Labonte brothers, Bobby and Terry, not only made the race but had surprisingly good finishes, 15th and 20th respectively.

    Brother Bobby extended his consecutive start street for the Great American Race to 22 while elder brother Terry most likely ran his last Daytona 500 competition.

    Not Surprising:   Because it was after all Daytona, there were several big crashes, collecting many good drivers, to no one’s surprise. One of those hard hits, however, impacted the only female in the field Danica Patrick.

    “I think more than anything I am just upset because the GoDaddy car felt really good and it was the best car that I had all Speedweeks,” Patrick said. “I felt like everything was going pretty well, so it’s just upsetting.”

    “It’s a bummer, but you know that is the excitement of speedway racing that anything can happen, and it was unfortunate that I was on the short end of the accident.”

    Surprising:  With a more than six hour rain delay, some of NASCAR’s finest were up to some surprising activities to pass the time away. In fact, several of the racer dads were busy with their children, from Jeff Gordon making Lego creations to Keelan Harvick suiting up in his dad Kevin’s fire suit.

    Probably most novel, however, was David Ragan, still clad in his own fire suit, who went out to pick up pizza for his team during the break.

    Not Surprising:  While Junior reigned triumphant in Victory Lane, just like in the Olympics, there was some agony of defeat in this year’s running for the Great American Race.

    Most agonizing were those drivers impacted by engine or fuel pick up woes, including Clint Bowyer, Martin Truex, Jr. and Tony Stewart.

    “If it was going to blow up, I wish it would have blown up four hours ago,” Clint Bowyer said. “I could have been home watching.  Just disappointing — the guys work so hard for this race.  Everybody is out there having fun and we broke our toy.”

    “It’s definitely a tough break for our team,” Martin Truex Jr. said. “I went to bed thinking this was my best chance to win the Daytona 500.”

    The Cup Series moves on next to Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, Arizona for The Profit on CNBC 500 on March 2nd.

     

  • For Kevin Harvick, Family is First

    For Kevin Harvick, Family is First

    [media-credit name=”Gary Buchanan” align=”alignright” width=”181″][/media-credit]There was no doubt that Kevin Harvick was anxious last weekend at Daytona with his wife DeLana ready to bring the child known as ‘Baby Otis’ into the world and his race car ready to run under the lights.

    Harvick was indeed ready to miss a race if needed in order to be there for the birth of his son. But all worked out for the best and dad was indeed able to get his wife to the hospital on time.

    “I was actually home and prepared not to come back if that situation at home,” Harvick said. “Everyone knew where I stood on that.”

    “Richard (Childress) has been a big supporter in that and it’s always been family first.”

    But all worked out well and the Harvick’s welcomed Keelan Paul Harvick on Sunday, July 8th at 6.8 lbs. and 19.5 inches.

    “Waiting on Keelan was the longest nine months of my entire life,” Harvick admitted. “But time literally stood still when I held him for the first time.”

    “DeLana and I are just amazed by how special and rewarding this is.”

    For both Keelan’s father and mother, the past week has been most eventful. And, of course, Harvick had to pay a bit of a price for getting wife DeLana to the hospital just two hours before the baby was born.

    “Dad waited a little long to get her to the hospital,” Harvick said of wife DeLana. “I was obviously not her favorite person as they told her they wouldn’t give her an epidural.”

    “She did good,” Harvick continued. “She had it all natural, no drugs or nothing.”

    “We had a healthy baby boy and that was the most important things,” Harvick said. “Everybody is good and at home, doing normal things.”

    In spite of the rush in getting to the hospital and in spite of being one of NASCAR’s most proficient drivers, Harvick admitted he did not speed while taking his wife in to deliver.

    “First off, I did drive her to the hospital,” Harvick said. “The only part for me is that it wasn’t very fast because she was obviously in a lot of pain.”

    “We didn’t make any real fast corners,” Harvick continued. “We would go straight and fast.”

    “So, I didn’t get yelled at on the drive over and that was my goal.”

    Harvick acknowledged what every new parent knows, that of the joys of sleep deprivation with a new little one in the house.

    “Yeah, the sleeping pattern is different for sure,” Harvick said. “But we’re fortunate to have a lot of help, obviously with her mom being right there, we’ve been able to incorporate her into everything that is going on.”

    “It’s definitely been a change but nothing as bad as everybody made it sound like for sure,” Harvick continued. “It’s been great.”

    In typical Harvick style, with both mom and dad being very active in the world of social media, baby Harvick has his own Twitter account already.

    “Well Keelan has his own everything because I didn’t want some crazy ass fan getting hold of this Twitter name or his website,” Harvick said. “So he has everything that you could imagine from top to bottom just as more of a personal security piece of mind than anything.”

    Harvick did affirm, however, that there was no race vehicle available to baby Keelan, at least at present.

    “We’re hoping for no go karts,” Harvick said. “We’re hoping for golf clubs.”

    “We’re hoping that we go in a different direction there,” Harvick continued. “But whatever he wants to do.”

    With the birth behind him, Harvick is now preparing for what he loves to do this weekend, being back at the track behind the wheel of the No. 29 Rheem Chevrolet. And he is relieved and ready to take on the New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

    “You know, it’s nice to come to the race track now to be honest with you,” Harvick said. “Over the last few weeks, the anxiety of just everything that was going to happen with having a baby and knowing that everything is settled at home and everybody is healthy.”

    “That was the part I was worried about most,” Harvick continued. “Definitely the most relaxed that I’ve been able to be in weeks coming to the track.”

    “Obviously this is a place that Shane (Wilson, crew chief) and his guys have had a lot of success at,” Harvick said of the ‘Magic Mile’. “We’ve been fortunate to run well here as well in the past, so we are just looking forward to getting on the race track.”

    While Harvick’s eye will be on a checkered flag, he no doubt will be thinking often of his little one at home.

    “He’s just starting to get that little smile where he opens his eyes and looks at you,” Harvick said. “It’s pretty neat.”

    “That was the best moment I’ve ever got to experience in my life.”