“He Was Like Me”: Tony Stewart Reveals How Kevin Harvick Got His Famous NASCAR Nickname

Kevin Harvick has had plenty of run-ins and tense situations with Cup drivers over the years. For the first decade of his career, the 2014 Cup champion was one of the most hot-headed drivers on the track. So why was he given the nickname Happy Harvick? Well, recently, Stewart-Haas Racing owner Tony Stewart revealed the story behind the label in a tribute video for the retiring driver.

In the video uploaded by SHR, apart from Tony Stewart, other contemporaries like Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, and Chase Elliott also opened up about their own stories with Harvick.

Why was Kevin Harvick called ‘Happy Harvick’?

Harvick, who has been a part of SHR since 2014, was notable for being aggressive off the track after the races, be it media interactions or with other drivers. According to team owner Tony Stewart, this was exactly the joke behind the nickname.

“I think you know he had some scuffles with guys and you know I think that’s where the ‘Happy’ part came from; everybody was kind of making fun of the fact that he was like me at the time. We’d get mad at guys a lot because of the etiquette side of it and so I think he just got that nickname from not being so happy but being the other way.”

And what did Harvick think about this?

“But he embraced it and ran with it,” Stewart added.

Joey Logano on what actually transformed Harvick into ‘Happy Harvick’

Joey Logano, who had one of the fiercest rivalries with Harvick, added that the #4 driver was called happy because he was pissed off most of the time. The Penske driver did admit that there was a change in the two, something Harvick’s wife DeLana also admitted recently.

“His perspective, I think, has changed, and probably kids will do that to you from what I’ve learned personally. Kids definitely change your perspective and I think we’ve joked a lot together over the years on how we want to keep our kids away from Youtube so they don’t see our mistakes and the dumb things we did.”

What came across as anger and frustration to other drivers and the media charged Harvick to perform his best on the track, Tony Stewart added. After all, the three-time Cup Series champion was pretty much the same.