Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) served as an able platform in NASCAR for many skilled drivers to achieve their best. The biggest and brightest of the drivers that it enabled is the now-retired superstar Kevin Harvick. The driver first stepped into the Cup Series in 2001. He started his career off with Richard Childress Racing (RCR), but it wasn’t until his move to SHR in 2014 that he reached his true potential.
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The clear difference between his averages before and after 2014 put this under the spotlight. He won 23 races in 466 starts (4.94% win percentage) between 2001 and 2013. In the 252 subsequent starts, he won 35 races (13.89% win percentage) and one championship. This strong transition stemmed from the timely recognition that he made in 2013 when driving the #29 car.
I always thought it was crazy that in the 13 full-time seasons (466 starts) before 2014 Kevin won 23 races, a 4.94% win percentage
In the following 252 races, 7 seasons, he won 35 times, a 13.89% win percentage https://t.co/tC26NzdzPL
— Trey Ryan (@TreyRyan99) November 16, 2024
He reasoned his decision to move out of RCR, “It wasn’t anything personal from Richard’s standpoint or the team’s standpoint of doing anything wrong. It was me trying to rejuvenate myself and be excited to do winter testing and things that go with it. Just like everybody else’s job, sometimes you need a change to get going again.” And boy, did he get going again.
The new playoff format fell on the right spots for him and he ended up grabbing a championship on November 16, 2014, in his maiden season with SHR. He retired from the team as a legend at the end of the 2023 season and is currently working with FOX Sports as an analyst. He is a guaranteed Hall of Famer thanks to the impact that Stewart’s outfit had on his career.
Fans react to Harvick’s transition after 2014
The NASCAR fandom crowded below a post on X that spoke of Harvick’s performance before and after the crucial 2014 season. One fan wrote, “@StewartHaasRcng completely changed Harvicks career.” It sure did. What is to say that he might have achieved the same had he remained in the #29 car?
Another said, “Not to mention the insane number of times he finished 2nd at SHR. Idk the exact numbers, but he probably had 80+ top 2 finishes with them.” He finished 37 races as the runner-up. One fan noted how he struggled for consistency when with RCR and wrote, “It’s really crazy for sure. He was never very consistant at Childress. He’d have one good year, about 2 bad.”
Rodney Childers and Kevin Harvick were awesome to watch! Took it to another level.
— The Pit Report Podcast (@The_PitReport) November 16, 2024
All this success wouldn’t have been possible without Rodney Childers, his crew chief in the #4 SHR entry. One comment from The Pit Report Podcast quipped, “Rodney Childers and Kevin Harvick were awesome to watch! Took it to another level.” At the end of the day, Harvick will forever remain the greatest creation of Stewart-Haas Racing.
