Kevin Harvick Credits Kyle Busch for Pushing Him to the Limit in NASCAR: “That Was a Really Fun Period”

In a career spanning more than two decades in NASCAR, Kevin Harvick has held his own at all levels of the sport, in the Cup, Xfinity, and Trucks Series. Naturally, the 2014 Cup champion had his fair share of rivalries on the track. As for the one that he cherishes the most, unsurprisingly, it was his rivalry with Kyle Busch that he believes brought the best out of him.

While speaking to the press, the soon-to-retire Stewart-Haas Racing driver spoke about the fun times they had while out on track. He mentioned how they would try to aggravate each other on purpose and how it pushed Harvick to grow as a racing driver.

Kevin Harvick speaks about Kyle Busch on their pan-Series rivalry

Ahead of the race in New Hampshire, Harvick stated, “Well, I’m still driving. There is a limit. But I always thought it was fun when Kyle [Busch] had his team, and him and [Ron] Hornaday were going at it. We’d run races just to aggravate him for fun when I’d drive it.” 

“I think he’d do the same, and it drove him into building his own teams and out of the No. 51 Truck. That was a really fun period of time because that would carry over from Friday to Saturday to Sunday, and we’d run over each other.”

Harvick mentions that they have grown to respect each other

Speaking further about his equation with Busch over the years, Harvick added, “As we’ve gone through the years, we’ve learned to respect each other, and I think there was a great rivalry there for a number of years whether it was on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday.”

“That, to me, was a great period of time of being able to push the limits, and also have fun with that particular piece of the puzzle.”

The road to the 2023 season is slowly coming to an end. While Busch will continue to race around for a couple more years, Harvick will pack his bags and head into his retirement years. The SHR driver had earlier spoken about this being his last season in the sport. After all these years, it was great to hear that it was Busch that helped Harvick grow his craft over the years. Albeit, through their shared rivalry.