Veteran NASCAR driver Kevin Harvick said his decision to join Richard Childress Racing was driven by his dream of sharing a team — and the track — with the legendary “Big E” Dale Earnhardt Sr.
Harvick talked about it on his Happy Hour podcast while answering a question about which NASCAR driver he wished he had raced against during his career.
Kevin Harvick’s Desire To Race Alongside a Legend
On the Happy Hour podcast, Harvick said Earnhardt wasn’t just a racing icon — he was someone Harvick admired and hoped to race with.
He said, “I went to RCR to race with the Big E, with Dale Sr. That was the final piece of the puzzle that made my decision to go to RCR, I had a few different things that were happening at that point. Ultimately, I wanted to be on the same team as Dale Earnhardt.”
Harvick added, “I went to RCR and everybody knows the story in the way that worked out. Never actually got to race against Dale. So to me that was one of the pieces of the puzzle that I never got to have play out.”
Which driver does @KevinHarvick wish he could have raced against? Dale Earnhardt, of course. pic.twitter.com/bkm5tvbuOT
— HarvickHappyHour (@HarvickHappyPod) March 25, 2025
Before joining RCR, Harvick was already making a name for himself in the NASCAR Busch Series (now Xfinity Series). He won Rookie of the Year honors in 2000 while driving for RCR’s developmental program. That set him up to eventually race with Earnhardt — but the plan changed after Earnhardt’s tragic death at the 2001 Daytona 500.
Even though Harvick never got to race against “The Intimidator,” he did suit up for RCR in the Cup Series. Harvick took over Earnhardt’s car, which was renumbered from No. 3 to No. 29. Just three weeks after Earnhardt’s death, Harvick scored an emotional win in Atlanta — his first Cup Series victory.
That moment helped solidify Harvick’s spot in NASCAR history and earned him respect from fans and fellow drivers. He went on to rack up wins and later captured the 2014 Cup Series championship with Stewart-Haas Racing.
Harvick also shared his favorite track on the podcast, saying, “I like the original Bristol. For whatever reason before they redid Bristol, I was just really good at running the bottom of the racetrack and the way that you had to hook that apron and the yellow line and the way that the bumps were and everything that went with Bristol before they redid it.”