Kevin Harvick looking forward to racing at North Wilkesboro after NASCAR retirement

Kevin Harvick is getting ready for a return to grassroots racing on Saturday at North Wilkesboro Speedway, embracing the tracks after hanging up his NASCAR gloves last year.

In a chat with FloRacing, the 2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion expressed his excitement about jumping back into the driver's seat. He will be piloting the #62 Late Model Stock Car in the zMAX CARS Tour Window World 125.

While Kevin Harvick co-owns the zMAX CARS Tour alongside Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Burton and Justin Marks, he hasn't been a regular on the circuit. His comeback to Late Model racing follows his participation in a Southern Super Series event at Five Flags Speedway. The CARS Tour event, originally scheduled for May 15 at North Wilkesboro, had to be postponed due to rain, disrupting the entire race weekend.

During a practice session at North Wilkesboro, a FloRacing reporter caught up with Kevin Harvick to discuss his insights from the test runs and to gauge how the track feels now. Harvick responded:

"I learned that I’m slow. That’s what I learned the most, and you know it’s hard to come in here and compete with these guys when they race all the time."

Talking about the track Kevin Harvick said:

"The track is obviously a lot different, but it’s still North Wilkesboro, and, for us, we’re very fortunate to have a race track like this that believes in what we do at the CARS Tour."

Despite finishing 13th in the Big Three of the Southern Super Late Model series, Kevin Harvick expressed confidence in the knowledge he has gained since concluding his stint at Fox earlier this year:

"I’m looking forward to tonight and learning, and I’ve been able to be around the cars a lot since I got done with my yearly job at FOX and have been able to be a part of the teams and be at a lot of the races and looking to have some fun."

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Kevin Harvick admits he's still in the process of getting used to the Late Model cars

During a practice session at Five Flags Speedway in a Late Model car, Kevin Kevin Harvick was struck by how much there's to learn. He finds the experience of being less seasoned in this type of racing entirely new.

He noted differences in how the cars handle, particularly pointing out the throttle responsiveness, which is distinct from what is typical in Cup cars saying:

"Having a car that is this throttle responsive is not something that many cup cars go, but it's not like this."

In his interview with FloRacing, Kevin Harvick shared his ongoing adjustments to late-model racing:

"From the driver's standpoint, for me, it's really about getting used to these cars.

"I raced the car one time here, and that was the only time I've ever raced the car in the late-model stock division. So I think just getting used to the grip level and the yaw and everything that goes with a late model stock is really the biggest thing."

With NASCAR resuming on August 11 at Richmond Raceway, it will be intriguing to see if the spotlight remains on grassroots racing once the national circuit is back in action.