2008 Spin:
Kevin Harvick returns to the Nationwide Series in a limited role this season, driving his self-owned Chevrolets. The Bakersfield, Calif., native will look to build upon his standing as one of the greatest Busch/Nationwide Series drivers in the circuit’s history. Harvick currently sits second to Mark Martin in all-time Nationwide Series wins, with 32. And judging by his performance in the series over the last eight years, it won’t be long before he catches him.

Harvick has two Busch Series titles to his credit (2001, ’06) and has racked up a total of 15 wins over the past two campaigns alone.

“I’ve been so fortunate to run the 21 and the 2 (for RCR) and win a lot of races,” Harvick says of the upcoming season. “But it was time to do something different for myself. I’m looking forward to the challenge of running my own cars and creating a little bit different challenge from all aspects. I know what it’s been like the last few years to be winning races and being competitive week in and week out, and that’s what we are shooting for.”

Kevin Harvick started the 2007 season on the highest possible note, winning the Daytona 500 in dramatic fashion with a last lap pass of Mark Martin during a wild Green-White-Checkered finish. Harvick’s .02-second margin of victory was the closest in the history of the race since the advent of electronic scoring.

Unfortunately, the rest of the season proved to be less magical for Harvick and his fans. The No. 29 team completed all 36 races without a single DNF, but his Richard Childress cars were never on par in terms of horsepower and overall competitiveness, particularly in the early Car of Tomorrow races. As such, Daytona turned out to be Kevin’s only points win of the year, though he did amass four top-5 and 15 top-10 finishes, including a second at Infineon in June.

Another highlight came with Harvick’s victory in the NASCAR Nextel All-Star Challenge in May. The win paid a million dollars, although as a non-points race, it didn’t contribute to his charge for a championship.

Harvick did make the Chase thanks to a midsummer push from Michigan through Indy, during which he scored five top 10s in six races. The Brickyard proved a turning point, however; Harvick had the race in hand until late contact with a charging Tony Stewart. Falling from second to seventh because of the contact, he sputtered home with an average finish of 17.5 in the last six regular season events.

Entering the Chase eighth in points, Harvick saw his slump continue, and he never challenged for the title while failing to score a single top-5 run, with his best finish a sixth at both Kansas and Phoenix.

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