Did Kevin Harvick retire? Why NASCAR driver is in the booth, not on the track for Daytona 500
Kevin Harvick will be in the Daytona 500 in 2024. That statement alone is hardly surprising, as Harvick has been a staple in the race, having appeared in it every year since racing in the 2002 edition.
But the capacity in which he will be there will be slightly different.
Racing fans will expect to see the 2007 winner of the race on the track, driving in the middle of the rest of the field. Instead, Harvick will be up in the booth alongside Mike Joy and analyst Clint Bowyer.
Why will Harvick be analyzing the race instead of participating? Here’s what you need to know.
MORE: Starting lineup, pole position for 2024 Daytona 500
Did Kevin Harvick retire?Before the start of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series, Harvick announced that the campaign would be his last before the 2014 Cup Series champion called it a career.
âThere is absolutely nothing else in the world that I enjoy doing more than going to the race track, and Iâm genuinely looking forward to this season,â Harvick said about his decision, per NASCAR.
âBut as Iâve gone through the years, I knew there would come a day where I had to make a decision. When would it be time to step away from the car? Iâve sought out people and picked their brains. When I asked them when they knew it was the right time, they said itâll just happen, and youâll realize thatâs the right moment. Youâll make a plan and decide when itâs your last year.
âItâs definitely been hard to understand when that right moment is because weâve been so fortunate to run well. But sometimes there are just other things going on that become more important and, for me, that time has come.â
Harvick did not wait long to announce his plans for what would come next. Fox reported that after Harvick’s retirement, he would be joining Fox Sports as an analyst full-time on the broadcast.Â
Fox broadcast teamFox has rolled out a three-person booth over the past two years, though Joy and Bowyer have been the only mainstays. The remaining seat has been filled by a guest.
Harvick had often been a guest analyst for the broadcasts. But starting in 2024, he would make the Fox booth a three-person booth again, the first time it would be full since Jeff Gordon left the booth after Fox’s portion covering the 2021 NASCAR season ended.
Speaking with For The Win ahead of his full-time broadcasting debut, Harvick described himself as “as relaxed as I’ve ever been coming into the first race of the season.”Â
Fox was new to NASCAR in 2001 when Harvick debuted, he recalled, and because of the transition with the TV package, he has become familiar with the executives and other talent around the team, he told For The Win. He said that he has always thought about the possibility of joining a broadcast when he retired.
While he’s been around NASCAR for a while, he told FTW his familiarity with the new cars should add to his broadcasting know-how.
“Iâve always been pretty technical with the cars and pretty involved with whatâs going on,” Harvick said. “And being right out of the car, I think thatâs probably the most important thing â understanding what and how this new car drives and helping the folks in the truck and booth and understand exactly whatâs going on with the new car.”
Harvick was asked about his past being very pro-driver safety and whether he would continue to advocate that way. He explained he’ll have an opinion about different situations, and is always “going to be pro driver and want those guys to be as safe as possible.”
“When you look back and you look at somebody like John Madden, he wasnât just a voice in the booth; he was always trying to push the NFL forward and help from a more broad perspective than just calling the event,” Harvick said. “And hopefully, thatâs the kind of effect that I want to have in the booth to help the whole sport and not just call the races.”
How old is Kevin Harvick?Harvick is 48 years old. He was born on Dec. 8, 1975.
Before he retired, he was the oldest full-time driver in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Kevin Harvick net worthHarvick has made a successful living in NASCAR. He is listed as having a net worth of $110 million by Celebrity Net Worth.
During the course of his illustrious career, Harvick earned $210 million in winnings, according to Spotrac.
Kevin Harvick winsIt took plenty of winning to earn that $210 million. He won 60 NASCAR Cup Series races, finished in the top 10 444 times and earned 31 pole positions.
In addition to his Cup Series success, Harvick also won 47 races in the Xfinity Series and 14 races in the Truck Series.
Harvick was the 2014 Cup Series champion and the 2020 regular-season Cup Series winner.Â
