Here’s a real-life truth that no one understands until they find their lives standing squarely in the middle of that very truth. Being the wisest person in the room isn’t about being the smartest person in that space. It’s about being the person who has been in that room the longest. The one with the most experience. The owner of the largest scrapbook of memories and moments, and the lessons learned from both. Smart enough to appreciate it all.
“I think that’s a natural life progression, right?” said Kevin Harvick, who at 47 and now in his 23rd and final season in the NASCAR Cup Series finds that he is now, more often than not, that person in most every room of racers he’s standing in. He is the procurer of quite the collection of experiences and the wisdom that comes with them. “You know, life progression is hopefully maturing as you go through time. To be able to do things in a better way and learn from what you did before. So, every moment matters.”
This weekend will mark not simply one of those moments, but a genuine milestone in a career packed with them. Sunday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway will be his 800th start at stock car racing’s highest level. In 75 years of NASCAR, only 10 drivers have hit that mark, and only four of them reached it at a younger age than Harvick. If he finishes out the season having started every race, he will retire with 826 Cup starts, eighth all-time. His 1,272 starts across all three NASCAR national series already ranks first. His 60 Cup Series wins rank 10th. His 62 second-place finishes rank sixth. His 258 top-five finishes rank … OK, you get the idea.
The complete list of Harvick’s all-time top-10 rankings would take up more space than this story has been given. Besides, you can read them all on his NASCAR Hall of Fame plaque when he is no doubt voted in on his first year of eligibility, now less than three years away.
Right now, he’s too busy trying to win a second Cup Series title to spend much time looking in the rearview mirror. More than a third of the way into the 26-race “regular season,” he sits third in the championship standings, only 15 points behind leader Christopher Bell. So yes, Harvick’s final career numbers have yet to be determined, but when every weekend presents another milestone or another rung climbed on all of those all-time lists, avoiding the topic of career summation is…
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