Kevin Harvick will never race in the Cup Series 'ever again'
So, Kevin Harvick is retired. But does that mean he’s done completely with racing? It depends on what you want to see him race in. For those hoping for a one-off return to the NASCAR Cup Series, don’t hold your breath. He’s not doing it, “ever again.”
Unlike most drivers, Kevin Harvick has had a lot of time to think about retirement and was able to plan it out exactly how he wanted. Many drivers simply fade away, they don’t get a new contract, sponsor, whatever it is.
For The Closer, things have ended. He’s not going to pull a Ryan Newman and jump back into a car in the Cup Series again. He’s done with that chapter of his life. Harvick is not against an Xfinity start possibly. However, he’ll let the best drivers compete at the highest level.
“I’m not sure yet [what I’m doing],” Harvick said on the Dale Jr. Download. “The door’s open [for racing]. Yeah, I’m not going to drive Cup ever again. Ever again. I can’t be competitive, I can’t make myself go there and say, ‘I’m looking for a top-30 today.’ That’s what it would be, I’m telling you.”
It shows how competitive the Cup Series is when you have a future Hall of Famer and a former champion talking like that. Harvick just wouldn’t look right in a part-time car that finishes in the top-25 week in and out. If he is going to race at the highest level he wants to be ready for it and he can’t in retirement.
Perhaps it is the retirement advice he got from Mark Martin years ago that helped make this decision for Kevin Harvick.
Kevin Harvick got retirement advice from Mark Martin
When a driver starts to get to a certain age, retirement comes up more and more. For some, retirement is a fluid thing. So, they are never really retired, but without a ride for a number of years.
While Mark Martin never got his championship, finishing runner-up five times in his career, he knows about retirement. He was one of those drivers that retired and came back. Let’s not forget he was runner-up in 2009, after the Chase was created. He won five races that season for Hendrick Motorsports.
So, he’s a perfect person to get retirement advice from.
“I think that’s one thing that Mark Martin was very clear on,” Harvick said on the Dale Jr. Download. “And you know he had the retirement tour and unretired and raced several more years. ‘Kevin just make sure you race until you know 100% that you’re done.’”
Kevin Harvick is retired for the first time ever, and it’s going to be his last, too. So, don’t get those hopes up for that Cup Series return.