"Kelley Earnhardt's a pretty big piece of the puzzle" - When Kevin Harvick reflected on partnering with Dale Jr. in the CARS Tour ownership

Despite being fierce competitors on the race track, NASCAR legends Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kevin Harvick are close friends, especially since becoming owners of the CARS Tour racing series. Harvick reflected on partnering with Earnhardt Jr. on the Dale Jr. Download podcast.

With both Xfinity (2001 and 2006) and Cup (2014) Series titles under his belt, Kevin Harvick is considered one of the top racers in NASCAR's history. With a racing career (full-time racer) of over three decades, the Californian driver has accumulated a total of 121 wins (60 in Cup, 47 in Xfinity, and 14 in Truck Series), making him the 10th most successful Cup Series driver.

While Harvick had a fallout with Earnhardt Jr. during his racing days, he resolved all misunderstandings before retiring in 2023. As a result, the duo went on to become co-owners of the CARS Tour racing series in 2023, alongside Jeff Burton and Justin Marks.

In a Dale Jr. Download podcast from November 2023, Kevin Harvick spoke about partnering with the North Carolina-based NASCAR Hall of Famer.

"Well, for me, the piece that has been the most fun is the four people in the ownership group and I think we have to include Kelley on that because she's a pretty big piece of the puzzle that keeps it all going," he said (0:51 onward).

"But I think there are, and I think some of the situations everybody looks at from a different angle, but I think the piece for me that has been the best is the fact that everybody can listen to everybody's opinion. I don't ever remember anybody ever get mad at each other in any of the conversations that we've had. Even when you disagree or I disagree or Jeff or Justin or whoever disagrees, it's like, okay, well, that was a good point. That was a good point and we arrived at a solution that in the end, a lot of people would tell you that maybe it's not the whole case, but it's always been in the best interest of what is best for the racer and the series," Harvick added (1:15 onward).

As of now, the CARS Tour series has completed two seasons with Earnhardt Jr. and Harvick as co-owners.

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"He hasn’t been anywhere close to being our most successful driver," - When Kevin Harvick called Dale Earnhardt Jr. 'popular but unsuccessful'

Kevin Harvick and Dale Earnhardt Jr. are popular NASCAR drivers in their own ways. However, during a SiriusXM NASCAR broadcast in 2017, the 2014 Cup Series champion went on to call the Hall of Famer 'popular but unsuccessful.'

"(The sport) has not reached the levels that it should have because our most popular driver hasn’t been our most successful driver. Dale Earnhardt Jr. has won the most popular driver for however many years in a row, and he has been our sport’s most popular driver, but he hasn’t been anywhere close to being our most successful driver," Harvick commented.

Harvick and Earnhardt Jr. cleared the air on a Dale Jr. Download podcast in 2021. During the conversation, both talked about what led to Kevin Harvick's controversial comment as well as spoke on all aspects of the story to rid of any lingering issues between the duo.