The 9th July Quaker State 400 NASCAR Cup Series will be an emotional ride for Kevin Harvick. For one, it will mark his final start on the track. Second, the race is being held at the Atlanta Motor Speedway, where he tasted victory in the NASCAR Cup Series for the first time. It doesn’t end here. Richard Childress announced recently that the iconic No. 29 car that led Harvick to his first victory ever would pace the field prior to the green flag dropping. While this announcement made ardent NASCAR fans emotional, NASCAR found a way to take it a notch higher.
As the historic car will take a lap around the track this Sunday, young fans will finally get to witness the car that wrote a part of NASCAR’s history. The No. 29 car means a lot to both Childress and Harvick, for this car’s victory would be etched in time forever. Both Childress and NASCAR definitely want to make sure that Harvick’s retirement doesn’t go without a celebration of his career.
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NASCAR revisits Kevin Harvick’s legendary 2001 victory over Jeff Gordon
2001 saw Kevin Harvick take over a full-time driving role for Richard Childress Racing after the tragic passing of Dale Earnhardt in the Daytona 500. Earnhardt’s black Chevrolet got replaced by Harvick’s No. 29 red and white Chevy Monte Carlo as he rolled in to compete for the Cup Series.
Fans watched the closest finish in NASCAR’s history unfurl in front of their eyes as Harvick sped to victory with HMS legend Jeff Gordon mere inches behind him. The time difference between Harvick and the 4-time NASCAR Cup Series champion was of 0.006 seconds. The 2001 Atlanta Motor Speedway race created history as Harvick won the first-ever Cup Series race of his career.
As the 2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion makes his final start in Atlanta this Sunday, NASCAR tweeted a video clip of the most iconic last moments of the 2001 race where Harvick beat Gordon and bagged an emotional win. This was shortly after Richard Childress made an announcement that seemed like the perfect homage to Harvick’s career.
What could be more special?
Sunday, Richard Childress will pace the field to the green flag behind the wheel of the same No. 29 car @KevinHarvick drove to victory in 2001. @ATLMotorSpdwy | @RCRracing pic.twitter.com/n1WdhCvLOf
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 6, 2023
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Childress to be behind the wheels of the #29
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Richard Childress has further announced that he will be driving the legendary #29 car as it takes one more lap around the track this Sunday as a tribute to Kevin Harvick’s NASCAR career and his first victory. The Harvick-Childress duo began their series of victories at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. The red and white Chevy would be brought out of the Richard Childress Racing Museum in North Carolina for this special occasion. And history will come a full circle if Harvick wins the race.
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With Childress first announcing his assuming the role of grand marshal for Quaker State 400 and then this, he ensures that fans keep asking, “What next?” He has indeed found the perfect way of commemorating the 23 Cup wins that Harvick brought home with Childress as the car owner.