We all remember Kevin Harvick when he first entered the Sprint Cup Series, a young kid from Bakersfield, California with huge shoes to fill. Somebody who wore his heart on his sleeve and had no problem expressing his opinion on or off the track, making him a perfect fit to fill the driver seat of Dale Earnhardt Sr. From jumping on the hood of Ricky Rudd’s car, to jumping over Gregg Biffle’s car and grabbing a hold of him, you could see this kid had fire and passion that was almost unprecedented. Although he showed a drive to do whatever it takes in his early years, he was not a constant threat to win the championship every season although he won many races.
There’s a change since then, developing him into a champion.
As a writer about a prestigious sport such as NASCAR, I do not want to express a bias opinion to readers although, as a fan for racing, I do have guys I like and those that I do not – like any other racing fan. That being said, I do try to find the good in each driver, and have come to appreciate what each driver brings to the sport of NASCAR. And with that, I’ll say, I have been a Kevin Harvick fan for many years. Sharing this information with you really brings out the general thesis of this post which is – ‘me and Kevin have grown up together.’
Now, I’m 21 years old and was seven when I saw Kevin Harvick race for the first time. As a young kid I loved seeing my favorite driver not take anything from anybody; I enjoyed his post-race antics and his fire. But as I grew older, I found myself less concerned with what he did off the track and was more intrigued by his quest for a championship.
Don’t get me wrong, Kevin still has that fire and passion but now lives a championship lifestyle with a championship mentality, meaning that nothing else on the race track is more important than winning the cup title.
Sitting there Saturday night as he got out of his car to face Joey Logano after the Sprint Unlimited I was thinking…
“Come on man, don’t do something stupid and dig yourself a hole so early in this season”
He didn’t. He walked over to Logano and said something that obviously got into Joey’s head causing him to fire off an expletive, and walk away.
Mind games.
See the kid in Kevin Harvick would’ve, without hesitation, started a fight that would’ve cost himself a heavy fine and potentially Sprint Cup points. Don’t get me wrong Kevin is no angel. He is still known to lash out and has no problem expressing his opinion.
But he has changed.
Now conducting himself as the champion he is, the grown up Kevin Harvick still carries that fire and passion, but chooses to use it more effectively. His changed mentality could have come from many directions, including his son Keelan being born in 2012, Kevin Harvick Inc. growing into a successful business representing athletes in the UFC and professional golf, becoming better friends with Jimmie Johnson who Kevin publicly said helped him prepare for his 2014 tittle, or maybe it’s Kevin, incarnating these theories together while focusing on the true importance of racing. Whatever it is, Harvick has developed himself into a serious tittle threat for many years to come.
Happy Nation could not be any happier.
15 thoughts on “Kevin Harvick the Champion has Changed for the Better”
Really???????? Conducting himself as a “Champion”..a one race Champ I might add. Well your bar for conducting one’s self must be low. Did you notice last years attention seeking antics, and Saturday nights attention seeking antics. Nobody can every accuse him of being smart, he just erased all doubt this weekend. His addiction to post race antics already has tired the folks I know, we actually spoke about it. Hopefully somebody can silence his stupid YapYap mouth, that is of course totally contingent on if he takes his helmet off. The drivers with the torn up race cars for this exhibition race had no issue, the Instigator did. Let’s face it, Logano did nothing wrong and going strictly on past Harvick actions, a car going slow like Harvicks Saturday night, Harvick would have dumped and made no apologies. This man is an embarrassment and doesn’t even know it. And shame on you for writing such a bogus fluff piece. Good God my dinner isn’t setting well.
A one race champ? Really? So who is the real champ for 2014? Let me guess, Jeff F-ing Gordon? Ugh, we get it. Morons like you think that all results would be exactly the same with no chase. If that’s the argument, Harvick clinched the 2010 championship a week early. You would know that if you were paying attention. But that would be devastating to your one race champ argument, so let’s just ignore it. After carrying RCR equipment that was no match for the Hendrick, Gibbs, Penske, and until recently the Roush cars, Harvick showed what he can do in top flight equipment. Look at the win totals for drivers not named Harvick at RCR since 2001. That’s a pretty good indicator of his abilities. I get it that some people don’t like his style of gamesmanship. I, for one, love it and think he is in Logano’s head. A lot of people point at the 22 crew as the reason he lost the title, completely ignoring that he ran into the wall all on his own in that race while running ahead of the 4. He never passed the 4 again after that. Joey also brought the jabs from Harvick on himself when he threw a 4 lane block on Kevin in the middle of 3 and 4 coming to the white at Talladega to protect BK’s lead. Drove him all the way to the wall. That’s what started their latest feud even though Joey wants to pretend it didn’t happen. He was also dragging the brakes on the restarts to give the the 2 car lead and stall the low line. As for Keselowski, he shoved Kevin out of the lead late at Loudon just as Kevin was clearing him, he slammed him in the left rear off of turn 2 which handed the 22 the lead. Another thing people ignore.
Rubbing is racing!
Anyway you can Win you Win! and you fight for what is yours. Pick a different sport to follow if you don’t want passion or antics. I’d say watch something like “Sporting Clays” probably not much fighting or blame there???NASCAR has created this passion. “Look at the last lap footage of the 1979 Daytona 500”. Somethings in this sport will remain constant. Road rage is a real thing. “Cut someone off today on the highway” see what response you get!. HARVICK represents NASCAR!
Yes he does indeed epitomize the problems Nascar is facing, you are correct.
Ohh. Oooh Ohh we have an idiot on par with the mentality of the current one race champ. Yes he is a one race champ based on the format! Is this a shocker for you? One race 4 drivers. It went from the best of 36 to 10 now down to one. Don’t blame the folks with common sense. It does not matter what he did the other 35 races (as mandated by the points reset). Don’t blame the people with brains, Brian did a disserve to Harvick and it could not have happened to a better idiot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! People are not ignoring anything, they have a better outlook than you, you seem to be going thru Kevin’s garbage and eating his toe nail clippings, and by the way get off your knees and wipe your chin. You have low standards if you think his antics of last year and last week are “Champ” worthy, even it is for one race. Us fans of a true race format will have to endure the nonsense of “Champ” while listening to the hype of this simpleton. And dumb, dumb..I am NO FAN OF JEFF. I take my emotion out of it, the reality he is a one race champ based on the format. Please take your emotion out of it and tell me I am wrong??????????
and you probably on view the things Kevin said, but most people laughed at Kevins attempt to get in Logano’s head, he tried it before and failed. Logano actually said it was a complement, he said it must mean Kevin is thinking of me. So to explain it to you in simple terms. Joey said HAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BFD!!!!!!!!!!! Did Delana write this lame retort?
Oh please, where to start..not enough time. I can say with certainty that Logano did not care a bit about Harvick trying his dime store psychology….he actually laughed and said it was a compliment as he must view him as a threat. Don’t take my word for it however, get off your lazy butt to google and look it up. I have to say I saw no mental breakdown and he laughed. Good for him. I say Kevin was the one who was losing sleep.
Everyone is entitled to an opinion and Harvick has his critics and his fans. For some those antics are exactly why they like him. For others, he’s a an instigator without a brain. Harvick is certainly not a Jimmie Johnson type of champion – he’s his own personality, just like some of the drivers he’s so focused on criticizing.
From my perspective and at least part of what I think is Zach’s point, is that Harvick plays the game when it comes to getting into his competitors head. Harvick wants to get inside his toughest competitors’ heads. Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano and….fill in the blank. Those guys aren’t doing anything any different than other guys – including Harvick – on the track. But they might be just a little better at doing what they do. And that’s what bothers Harvick. Listen all the drivers have a moment or two of passion or a misstep on the track, they’re not perfect, including Harvick. Some drivers are better at keeping their emotions in check, some let their emotions drive their ambition.
From Keselowski and Logano’s point of view, I think they see through the emotion and antics and understand, what’s going on. In a weird way of looking at what Harvick does….it’s a complement that he going after those guys because he does see them as his toughest competitors.
Harvick is crazy like a fox at keeping folks talking about this sport – it is what it is.
I am always fascinated when people say Kevin is smart, I have watch him for years and have a completely different take, on that is embarrassing for him, he isn’t smart and actually personifies a bully. How 10 of his fans can defend him, is well amazing, but again not suprising. sheep can’t think on their own and are always mesmerized by bullies, I am sure most adults are still mailing their lunch money from grammer school. lol.
If he conducted himself like a champ, there wouldn’t have been a confrontation in the first place. A defending champ shouldn’t have ran into the side of Logano on the cooldown lap. That was a non-incident. Harvick is and always will be an A-hole.
I think, we like to think “Champions” don’t have emotions or when they become Champions they should stop! being who they are or who they always have been.Competitive sports is so competitive and are full of emotions. racing will always have bumping and fighting antics. Like I said watch a different sport if don’t think that’s true.I understand you will be the guy in the stand wearing the Joey shirt not the Budweiser one.I’ll look for you as there aren’t that many Joey shirts in the stands. That’s what keeps the sport real!! Nice opinion!!! We all have one.
Agreed, but some will defend not matter what, and if it isn’t Kevin or Tony or whomever..the praise will change very quick. That is the sad and funny part.
Harvick is not alone with his antics, the whole idea of the article was me saying he is not as reckless as you use to be. He likes to get into the other drivers head in different ways as hes gotten older and it has worked.
George and Amazed-
Lets look back on some champions that also have conversationally conducted themselves off the track.
Jeff Gordon- Shoved Matt Kenseth on pit road, punched Jeff Burton on the track, wrecked tony stewart in 2001 after he wouldnt get out of his way, in 2012 slammed Clint Bowyer into the wall costing him a chance at the championship.
Tony Stewart- Has been known to bash media on multiple occasions, punched Joey Logano for blocking.
Matt Kenseth- threw Brad Keselowski in a head lock just this last season
Brad Keselowski- I could go on for days.
Thats goes with saying I do not look negatively on any of these actions just giving you evidence that many champions have had altercations, its part of the sport.
And each one has been an idiot, however KH has a whole Youtube channel of stupidity, how can one respect him as a person. The dust has barely settled from the end of last year and he is at it again for a non points race. He must like watching himself on Sports Center. I am one of the many who did not agree with the post race antics of last year, Kevin was displayed always in the middle. Nascar disagrees with me. Nascar needs to pay attention to the product or lack of on the track and not rely on this stupid stuff post race, and conclude the race was a success.
Well, well, well….Now it’s time for me to Sound Off on this apparently very hot topic.
What always amazes me is how people can be so insecure, that if anyone sees anything from a perspective that is different from their own, their best argument is the other person must be someone of less intelligence than themselves. So smart of you….HA!
These people have no mirrors in their house to see they are insulting themselves with such antics.
An insult is the best argument you can come up with?
Because that one is about the weakest argument anyone can use to make a valid point, not to mention, you completely shut down any respect for you or your statement.
Attempting to diminish another person is about the best way you know to make yourself feel better…right? On top of that, you really feel compelled to insult yourself publicly too. Now, THAT’s amazing!
Hmmm…does that sound like anyone else you can think of?
Yes, I see it clearly….complain about exactly what YOU do. THAT makes total sense to you…right? Well it does perfectly illustrate YOUR level of intelligence, I’ll give you that,
FIRST CLUE:
Intelligent people have a way of seeing different points of view and without necessarily agreeing, they can respectfully illustrate their point of view knowing that some people will never change their own point of view because they have a one-track mentality..
SECOND CLUE:
Sometimes less is better. To keep insulting people is NEVER going to change their point of view and it becomes about as fruitless as me trying to make any sense to people who love to insult themselves by insulting others.
THIRD CLUE:
NO ONE has respect for any comment that involves slapping another person in the face with an insult. That my friends is the first indication of not having anything more intelligent to say, and thus not worth the time to read, so IF, and that’s a BIG IF, there are any valid points that person is attempting to make, they blindly don’t realize they’ve already encouraged others to push the mute button for what they’re saying.
THE FOURTH TURN
I have absolutely no problems with having another point of view. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, but on this site, you are not entitled to insult one another with disrespect for another point of view. I have a total lack of respect for anyone that feels compelled to sling insults as a lame attempt at speaking with some sense. You may as well say blah, blah, blah, because that’s all it amounts to anyway.
THE FINISH LINE
So henceforth….let the lame insult slinging above serve as an example of comments that will be edited and/or deleted for no public viewing from this point forward. I’m weary of that non-sense and refuse to give it anymore attention.
P.S.
If you still feel compelled to continue insulting yourself, please feel free to continue typing your insult laced response, which will go unread and most likely deleted to the trash where it belongs.
Now, it’s time for the adults to have a grown up, intelligent discussion away from the school yard.