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Kevin Harvick made his final visit to the site of his first victory in the NASCAR Cup Series, Atlanta Motor Speedway, which is the one track close to the #4 Ford Mustang driver's heart. With the Stewart-Haas Racing driver announcing his retirement from the highest echelon of stock car racing, a send-off for a remarkable career was fitting ahead of Sunday's Quaker State 400.
The start of the race saw team owner Richard Childress perform Gran Marshall duties while he led the pack to the green flag in Harvick's first race-winning car. Driving for Richard Childress Racing back in 2001, Harvick replaced the legendary, Dale Earnhardt, on the team.
The 47-year-old's first victory came in just his third Cup Series start, weeks after the NASCAR legend's demise at the Daytona International Speedway. More than 22 years after his first win in the sport in Atlanta, Kevin Harvick will see the #29 Chevrolet Monte Carlo back on track again.
Elaborating on his thoughts ahead of seeing it for the first time, Harvick told nascar.com's John Crane:
"They sent me some videos of it this morning and sent me a video of it parked in the garage, so I couldn’t be more excited about seeing it, you know, seeing it lead the field to the green.”
The Bakersfield, California native finished in P30 at the rain-shortened event.
Kevin Harvick's thoughts on the Chicago City Street Race
Stewart-Haas Racing driver Kevin Harvick is one of the most old-school racers in the NASCAR Cup Series. Often seen implementing classic moves on the track, Harvick is not necessarily the type of driver one would imagine liking the Chicago City Street Race. However, it turned out to be just the opposite, as the 47-year-old elaborated after the Grant Park 220 to Bob Pockrass:
"It really felt old school to me, as you walk in the hotel and talk to people and the buzzing city. They did an excellent job of laying out the racetrack in a way that it all functioned. It was a great event."
Watch Kevin Harvick compete in next weekend's NASCAR Cup Series race as the sport heads to New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the Crayon 301. The race goes live on Sunday, July 16, 2023, at 2:30 pm ET on the USA network.
