Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway will be the final time Kevin Harvick is in the starting lineup on the Yard of Bricks.
No doubt? No leaving the door open for a race or two in the future? No coming back, even if NASCAR returns to competing on the oval?
“That’s right,” Harvick said Saturday afternoon.
Harvick is a three-time Brickyard 400 winner, including in what can now be said was his final races on the oval in 2019 and 2020. Retiring at the end of the season, Harvick got the chance to make his position on return clear after it was said in the media room Sunday was “most likely” his last run at Indianapolis.
“There is no most likely; it is,” Harvick said. “Not my last visit, but last time on the surface as far as that goes.”
He’s not over competing at Indianapolis; he’s been infatuated with the Speedway since childhood and, for the last three years, has railed against competing on the road course.
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In a twist of fate, as Harvick retires, NASCAR is headed for a more-than-likely return to the oval next season, making it natural for the Cup Series veteran to face the question about wanting to run another race at Indianapolis. But make no mistake, shutting the door on the option simply boils down to the commitment it takes to competitively run a Cup Series race on a weekly basis.
“For me, that time will be over when we get to Phoenix at the end of the year,” Harvick said.
Sunday will be his 23rd start at Indianapolis between the oval and the road course. Harvick earned his first victory at Indianapolis in just his third start, 2003, while driving for Richard Childress Racing.
The first two road course races were nothing to write home about. He failed to finish last season and was 14th on the result sheet in the inaugural event. This year’s iteration, the Verizon 200, will see him take the green deep in the field in 38th.
On the oval (20 starts), Harvick’s three victories come alongside 389 laps led and 14 top-10 finishes, finishing every race he ran.
“Indianapolis has been a great place in my racing career,” Harvick said. “Grew up a kid in Bakersfield, California, wanting to race in the Indy 500 like Rick Mears, and to be able to come close to living that childhood dream of winning races at the Brickyard and having some success has been pretty special to me.
“It’s fun to have celebrated that, and to come back and be able to be here one last time is something that I’ll enjoy.”