"That fire is going to burn some stuff down”: When Richard Childress spoke about his heated exchanges with Kevin Harvick

Kevin Harvick retired at the end of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season, parting ways with stock car racing after claiming the 2014 Cup Series title, 60 wins including three Brickyard 400s, two Coca-Cola 600s, the 2007 Daytona 500, and 251 top-5s. He began his premier-level career at Richard Childress Racing in 2001 and quickly garnered fame after winning his first race on the third attempt at the Atlanta Motor Speedway.

While Harvick was a calm and composed driver during the later phases of his career at Stewart-Haas Racing, he experienced several rough patches during his time at RCR. He drove the #29 Chevy for Childress for 13 seasons and collected 24 wins, including the Daytona 500 and the 2003 Brickyard 400.

However, Kevin Harvick endured three winless seasons (2004, 2008, and 2009), which began taking a toll on his anger management. As a result, he was found to have heated radio exchanges with the RCR boss. It's worth mentioning that the anger was limited to the track, and their relationship was cordial otherwise.

During Harvick's final season, Childress opened up about when the former's tempers flared against him. He said they both should've kept their thoughts to themselves and not lashed out loud on the radio, however, he also pointed out that he wanted such a fire in his driver.

"We are both people who have no problem speaking our minds, even when we should keep those thoughts to ourselves, especially on the radio when everyone in the grandstands can hear us. But that fire is also what you want in a race car driver. Sometimes that fire is going to burn some stuff down. And we did," Childress said via ESPN.

Harvick exited Richard Childress Racing at the end of the 2013 season to begin a new chapter with Tony Stewart-led SHR.

---

"It's really been two different parts of my career": Kevin Harvick on the most memorable moment from his 799 Cup Series starts

Kevin Harvick completed his 800th Cup Series race at the 2023 GEICO 500 hosted by the Talladega Superspeedway. The former SHR driver retired from the pinnacle of stock car racing after making 826 starts, the eighth-most of all time.

Through his 23 years in the Cup Series, the future NASCAR Hall of Famer experienced countless moments worth cherishing. However, as his dominance increased, so did the stature of his achievements, making his previous moments, which were memorable then, less attractive over his latest triumph.

Harvick commented along the lines. He said that as he clinched one milestone after another, it became like a 'cakewalk' as he didn't have something bigger to achieve.

"It's really been two different parts of my career. The announcement that you're going to drive your first Cup race was bigger than any moment that you'll ever have in your career. Then your first win was bigger than any win that you're ever going to have. So, all of these things that you had to go through and face, the rest of it, that felt like a cakewalk to be honest, because you never had something that was that big again," Kevin Harvick said via ESPN.

Kevin Harvick will become eligible for the NASCAR Hall of Fame vote in 2026, the third year of his retirement, and will be inducted in the class of 2027.