“It’s been one of our best race tracks”: Kevin Harvick credits Rodney Childers for instilling a strong ‘mental mindset’ in him

Still going as strong as ever in his last season in the sport, Kevin Harvick is a driver that the NASCAR world is going to miss come 2024. 'Happy Harvick', as he is often referred to as, the 47-year-old is preparing for this Sunday's Wurth-400 Cup race at Dover Motor Speedway.

Harvick, the #4 Ford Mustang driver for Stewart-Haas Racing, looks at the 1-mile-long oval track in Dover, Delaware as one of his weakest tracks of the year. 'The Monster Mile', however, has proven to be one of Stewart-Haas Racing's - especially the #4 team's - best performances of the year, especially in the last few visits.

Kevin Harvick referred to Dover Motor Speedway as one of the worst tracks that he ran at, saying that his crew chief instilled the necessary confidence in him. Crediting his crew chief Rodney Childers for instilling a work ethic that allowed the team to convert 'The Monster Mile' as one of his and the team's best performances of the year, Harvick said:

"From day one at Stewart-Haas Racing, we have run well at Dover (Motor Speedway) and it's been one of our best racetracks. But that's purely because of the focus and mental mindset that Rodney (Childers) instilled from day one."

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Rodney Childers looks back at how Kevin Harvick convinced him to be his crew chief

In what has been the longest driver-crew chief partnership in the history of NASCAR, Rodney Childers and Kevin Harvick have found success as a duo throughout their stock car racing careers. Teaming up with each and every member of the crew and executing races from on top of the pit box, to driving behind the wheel of the car, Harvick and Childers have proven how vital they are to each other's success.

Looking back at the start of this record-breaking partnership, Rodney Childers recalled when Kevin Harvick managed to convince him to leave Michael Waltrip Racing and become his own crew chief. He said:

"I got home and about a day later I got a message from Kevin (Harvick). He basically told me that we needed to talk. That turned into sic months of trying to talk me into doing it."

"What turned the corner was one last talk at his house of the things that were going to bother me and that I wouldn't be able to tolerate. He promised me it wasn't going to happen and we were going to win races. He was true to that promise."

Watch Kevin Harvick compete at Dover Motor Speedway this Sunday at 1:00 pm ET on FOX Sports.