Kevin Harvick gifts Dale Earnhardt Jr. race-used steering wheel from his final season in NASCAR

Kevin Harvick has gifted a souvenir to his former rival and friend Dale Earnhardt Jr. from his final season in the NASCAR Cup Series.

This holiday season, Dale Jr. received an early Christmas gift from Harvick, a race-used steering wheel of the #4 Stewart Haas Racing Ford, which 'The Closer' used at Talladega Superspeedway in his farewell season.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., who once dominated the Superspeedway races, was honored to receive the souvenir and took to social media to thank Harvick for the early Christmas present. He wrote on X (formerly Twitter):

"Got home and opened a box in the mail from @KevinHarvick . It’s his race used wheel from @TALLADEGA this year. How damn cool is this? I guess several folks got a wheel from Kevin this year. I was thankful to be one of them."

Kevin Harvick went winless in his final season in the Cup Series but came very close to victory in the playoff race at Talladega Superspeedway. As the YellaWood 500 entered its closing laps, Harvick and eventual champion Ryan Blaney were battling for the win.

Blaney edged out the #4 Ford driver in a photo finish, winning by just 0.012s. However, Kevin Harvick was later disqualified as his Ford Mustang failed the post-race inspection. The windshield fasteners on Harvick's car didn't conform with the NASCAR rule book.

Despite being denied a victory in his final season, Harvick gave NASCAR fans an electric finish to the checkered flag which will be remembered for a long time.

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Kevin Harvick's former teammate hoping to fill in his shoes at Stewart Haas Racing

Kevin Harvick's retirement from NASCAR has left a huge void in the sport and at Stewart Haas Racing. In recent years, Harvick got consistent results even when his teammates struggled.

Chase Briscoe, who has driven alongside Harvick for the past three years at SHR, wants to fill in his shoes, claiming the leadership role in the team.

“I am going to be the senior guy there now and that’s crazy to think only being three years in,” Briscoe said on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “But I’m going to be the elder statesman there, so it’ll be interesting for sure. Something I’m excited for, but at the same time, I think that leadership role comes from running up front week in and week out.”

He added:

“Kevin was the leader of that place because he ran the best on the most consistent basis. For me, that’s the biggest thing is I wanna be the new Kevin Harvick at Stewart-Haas.”

Briscoe hopes to lead the new lineup at SHR, which includes Harvick's replacement Josh Berry, Noah Gragson in the #10 Ford, and Ryan Preece, who is entering his second season with the team.