After running 349 NASCAR Cup Series races, a career that lasted over two decades, Kevin Harvick finally made the call to hang up his boots from competitive racing. While many of the drivers, after calling their time from racing, decide to take a breather away from the hustle and bustle. But in Harvick’s case, he embarked on a new professional journey as a FOX broadcaster, which keeps him close to the sport.
With all his years of racing and experience, joining the booth was perhaps the right call for the 2014 Cup Series Champion. However, despite easing into his role at the FOX booth, Harvick has a hard time trying to figure out a regular dinner place.
Kevin Harvick is still getting used to the life of a TV broadcaster
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Harvick sure knows the ins and outs of calling a race as a broadcaster and analyst. Especially from his days of working as a part-time broadcaster for FOX. Since 2015, Harvick often found himself in the booth, calling the Xfinity Series race along with some special appearances. But back then, he didn’t get to know the functioning of a full-time broadcaster or how it affected the entire schedule.
Speaking in an interview to Speedway Digest and sharing his thoughts on his experience in the FOX booth calling Cup races, Harvick said, “On the television side, it’s a lot of people. To be able to know and understand how that process works and be able to work with different people… I’ve been fortunate to not to have to get to know Clint (Bowyer). Mike (Joy), I’ve not known personally, but to get to know him and be able to be comfortable in the booth, we’ve had a good time calling the races.”
However, comparing his life as a racer and broadcaster, he jokingly said, “It’s been very different living outside the infield. The things I’ve been had to worry about the most this year is where we’re going to eat dinner at night. It’s much different than how you function in the infield.”
Enjoying every minute of it 👊🏼 @TeamHendrick pic.twitter.com/K9nDImjncB
— Kevin Harvick (@KevinHarvick) May 18, 2024
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Kevin Harvick did get back inside the Cup car this weekend at North Wilkesboro Speedway. He was serving as a backup driver to Kyle Larson. While it was just a practice run, he believes that this will help him stay connected with the recent trend and can further translate it to viewers during his time in the booth.
Harvick is making the most of the 50-minute practice run
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The former SHR driver knows what it feels like to run at North Wilkesboro Speedway. However, this time, his job was to prepare a race car for Larson and make the most of the practice runs. Details about the new tire compound, the new pavement, and how the car is reacting to the changes. NASCAR racing evolves really quickly, and even an experienced campaigner like Harvick, who just got out of the seat last year, was surprised to see how quickly drivers have to adapt to new trends.
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Sharing his learnings from the practice run, he further shared, “The sport evolves quickly. To understand the tires, the scenario that goes with how long these tire will last, how fast they go. What the feeling is, what all the scenarios are… It’s a pretty big deal to get a mid-year check of things that go with the evolution of our sport. It evolves quickly and can leave you behind quickly. To be still engrained in it and understand where everything’s at is always good.”
It will be interesting to hear from Harvick during his next appearance on the FOX broadcast about the change in racing dynamics. And how big of a change it was from his racing days at SHR.