June 19, 2021 | By Lee Spencer

Harvick "Happy" to battle through struggles at Stewart-Haas Racing

LEBANON, Tenn.—Kevin Harvick is content to go the distance with Stewart-Haas Racing until he walks away from NASCAR.

Nearing the half-point of 2021, Harvick is yet to win a race. He’s led just 39 laps this season.

Despite the struggles that have plagued the driver of the No. 4 Ford, despite sitting ninth in the standings after 16 races, and despite turning 46 in December, the 2014 Cup champion intends to stay the course with his current team.

“Why would I not?” Harvick asked. “I’ve spent eight years here and have two more years on my contracts, so that’s where I’ll drive for the rest of my career.”

Certainly, many of the upstart teams could benefit from a driver of Harvick’s caliber. Denny Hamlin’s 23XI could use a veteran racer as a benchmark for the team launched this season with driver Bubba Wallace. Kaulig Racing could expedite its learning curve with a champion such as Harvick, whose sole Cup title doesn’t begin to scratch the level of his body of work over the last 21 seasons in NASCAR's top series. 

Last year alone, Harvick enjoyed a career season with nine wins, 20 top fives and 27 top 10s. He led a remarkable 1,531 of the 9,911 laps he completed. Harvick would instantly elevate any organization he aligned with. 

Along with his eight years with SHR, Harvick has built a solid relationship with crew chief Rodney Childers. Clearly, the veteran doesn’t believe the problems stem from the team itself. 

“We haven’t run as well as we’d like, but our team has done a great job and put us in a position to have a chance to win in a couple of races,” Harvick said. “So, we just keep grinding away. You just never know week to week when you’re going to be in position and when you’re not going to be in position. 

“When you look at something like this (Nashville), it could turn into a complete shit show. But you never know. It could turn into exactly what last night was. You just have to be at the right spot and do everything right all day, and that’s what we’ve done all year.”

Still, Harvick doesn’t believe his current cars can be considered weekly contenders. Even the Team Penske duo of Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano said last week's second and fourth-place finishes felt like wins against the juggernaut Hendrick Motorsports has become once again. At least all three Penske drivers have won this season. Harvick’s four top fives are the only ones SHR has posted this year. After 16 races, SHR has led 57 laps. HMS has been at the point for 1,590  of 4,288 circuits raced.

When asked if he felt confident about any of the race tracks coming up and whether there was one where the No. 4 Ford could win prior to the Playoffs, Harvick replied, “I don’t even know…I think we’re having different conversations. We’re not to that (point).”

Although Harvick ranked third in Best 10 Consecutive Lap Average during practice—behind Kyle Larson and Ross Chastain—he’s not sure what to expect on Sunday. 

“Honestly, it’s not anything like it was the last time I was here, because of all the crap (resin) they put on the race track,” Harvick said. “You have to run at the top where it’s all sticky. But I think our Gravedigger Ford Mustang was really good on race runs. We didn’t do any qualifying stuff. Just tried to work on our race stuff and felt OK about it.”