Kevin Harvick discusses mementos for final race, heading into retirement

Kevin Harvick is preparing for his emotional final race in the NASCAR Cup Series, as it’ll take place on Sunday at Phoenix.

With such an event comes a myriad of special memorabilia that Harvick will want to keep after the final checkered flag has waved. Speaking with FOX’s Bob Pockrass, Harvick explained how everything from his car to his helmet and the little things in between will all be valuable to him moving forward.

“The car is that Harvick scheme. We have the Harvick scheme, and then I matched it with the Harvick helmet. It’s got a picture from every win on my helmet like I did for my last race at RCR [of] every race that we had won at RCR,” Harvick said. “It’s got a picture of every Cup series win on my helmet that represents each one. Having that Harvick paint scheme, that will be fun.”

But will Harvick get to keep the car he drives his final race in as a memento? He’s not clear on NASCAR’s rules, but he’ll get a version, one way or another.

“I don’t know. I’m not sure now how that works in the new age of NASCAR chassis, bodies and things like that,” Harvick explained. “So I might wind up with a rebuilt replica somewhere down the road.”

Regardless, the former NASCAR Cup Series champion is trying to treat his final race the way he’s approached his full final season, by taking things one step at a time.

“I have not. For me, it’s all been just one week at a time, much as I would approach it in the past. It’s always one week at a time,” Harvick added. “And we had such a great plan coming into the season, with the whole team and everybody who’s been involved in the last year of what we wanted to accomplish. And I feel like we accomplished all those things. 

“I’ve been fortunate to be successful on the track and off the track, and I think having that closure of being able to end how you wanted to end it, it’s just different than the way a lot of people do it, right? A lot of people going into their last season, when they don’t have something, [they] have that anxiety. I have not had any anxiety about being done with it because that’s just the plan. And the next chapter is already starting.”

Kevin Harvick closes the book on a tremendous career on Sunday, and the NASCAR world can’t wait to send him off in style at Phoenix.