“That was the final piece of the puzzle”: Kevin Harvick touches on the Dale Earnhardt factor of his RCR move

NASCAR champion Kevin Harvick revealed the real motive behind joining Richard Childress Racing early in his career and how Dale Earnhardt's tragic death brought an anti-climactic end to his ultimate racing goal. He reflected on his early career move and how 'Big E' was a key factor in his decision to join RCR.

After racing in the Truck Series, Harvick was signed by Richard Childress to drive the #2 Chevy in the Busch Series for 2000 and beyond. After winning Rookie of the Year status, he carried the momentum into 2001, but Dale Sr.'s tragic death on the final lap of the Daytona 500 led to his sudden promotion to the Cup Series, driving the rebranded #29 Chevy.

In a recent episode of Happy Hour, Harvick revealed his motive behind joining Richard Childress Racing. Apart from being a championship-winning organization, he wanted to race against 'The Intimidator' and ultimately be on the same team as the seven-time Cup champion at the top level.

Responding to a question about a NASCAR driver he wished to have raced against in his career, Kevin Harvick replied:

"I went to RCR to race with the Big E, with Dale Sr. That was the final piece of the puzzle that made my decision to go to RCR, I had a few different things that were happening at that point. Ultimately, I wanted to be on the same team as Dale Earnhardt."

"I went to RCR and everybody knows the story in the way that worked out. Never actually got to race against Dale. So to me that was one of the pieces of the puzzle that I never got to have play out," he added.

Unfortunately, Kevin Harvick was never destined to race against Dale Sr., instead stepping in to fill the void after his passing. In just his third start in the #29 Chevy, he secured a victory at Atlanta, dedicating it to Dale Sr. Later that year, he also clinched the Busch Series championship.

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Kevin Harvick reveals his favorite NASCAR track

(L-R) Chris Myers, Kevin Harvick, Jamie McMurray, and Clint Bowyer in the Neon Garage before the Pennzoil 400 NASCAR Cup Series race0 - Source: Getty

Kevin Harvick named the original concrete oval at Bristol Motor Speedway his favorite NASCAR track before its 2007 reconfiguration. Despite his success at tracks like Atlanta, he said the original Bristol layout reminded him of his home track in Bakersfield, Mesa Marin Raceway.

Harvick elaborated that he excelled at running the bottom at Bristol, which was very relevant to what he did at his home track. He said on the podcast:

"I like the original Bristol. For whatever reason before they redid Bristol, I was just really good at running the bottom of the racetrack and the way that you had to hook that apron and the yellow line and the way that the bumps were and everything that went with Bristol before they redid it." [from 45:22]

"So it reminded me a lot of my hometown track Mesa Marin, the way that you had to hook the apron and the things that you did with the car — a lot faster at Bristol — but I think that was it. It had so much that was relevant to what I did at home," he further mentioned.

Kevin Harvick made his NASCAR debut at Mesa Marin Raceway, driving the #72 Truck fielded by his family. He won three Cup races at his favorite track, Bristol Motor Speedway, and is remembered for his clashes with Greg Biffle and Chase Elliott at the half-mile oval.