Kevin Harvick’s Booth Debut: The Buildup, Struggles and Jubilation

Kevin Harvick led a long and glittering career in NASCAR. He traversed 23 seasons in the Cup Series, including 10 at Stewart-Haas Racing. After deciding to hang up his boots at the end of 2023, Harvick already had his future trajectory fixed. Not only this, the FOX broadcasters have already had eyes on him since 2015 as a potential speaker on the stands.

To everyone’s surprise, Kevin Harvick made his FOX booth debut this year with a bang. Enthralling fans with his charming, stentorian voice, he made a fabulous start at the Busch Light Coliseum. But the official debut at the 66th running of the Daytona 500 was stressful for him.

The unknown hurdles while covering Daytona

Harvick expressed that he was finally glad to visit the racetrack and not worry about how fast his car was going to go. However, he adjusted to the atmosphere with ease instead of stressing about the competition. But it looks like the broadcasting affair was no cakewalk either. Kevin Harvick recently opened up about the tumultuous rage of emotions that he felt before the Great American Race.

Focusing on the line-up, he said, “It was way more intense than I thought it was going to be… I stress out more about the line-up and reading the line-up than I do anything else. And for whatever reason, that’s the most structured part of the whole show.”

Harvick also shared a hilarious insight into how his friend and colleague Clint Bowyer shot up his anxiety level. “On race day, my compadre Clint Bowyer came in drinking a Red Bull, and I’m like, ‘oh my god, we are completely scr*wed here.’ Because of the fact that this guy is already super hyper. I had to tell him, ‘dude you gotta back up, get outta my space.’ He was literally standing right here, speaking to Mike. I’m like, ‘I’m here, buddy, back up and please just stay in your space.”

Harvick and Bowyer’s acquaintances run way back. They worked together for six years at Richard Childress Racing, from 2006 to 2011. They were also teammates at Stewart-Haas Racing from 2016 to 2020, before Bowyer joined Mike Joy at FOX as a broadcaster.  

Read More: Kevin Harvick Is a Little Hesitant to Strain His Relationship With Drivers as He Starts His New Journey

Further, Harvick acknowledged the team’s diligent hard work. “Clint and Mike and really everybody have been super helpful…we’ve sat on 270 Zoom calls and meetings that we’ve been into so far.”

A natural talent for the microphone

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The 2007 Daytona 500 winner had already established his extraordinary prowess in racing. But little did the FOX media people know that they would see another talent brewing inside him. Picked as the guest analyst at the 2015 Xfinity Series season-opener, Kevin Harvick didn’t just woo the FOX but also provided valuable insight into Kyle Busch’s deadly crash.

“We’ve been lucky as competitors to this sport evolve with the safety, and when you hit one of those concrete walls, and you’ve been hitting these SAFER barriers, you have no idea the difference in what it feels like,” Harvick said then. “When you hit them head-on like that, it is a violent, violent impact.”

It was then that lead broadcaster Adam Forester knew Harvick’s potential as a television personality. FOX then steadily waited out Harvick’s remaining years in racing until he finally retired in 2023. Kevin Harvick is already warming up to his new job and wowing his fans with his concise, clear, and impactful commentary.

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