Harvick: One Final Ride In The No. 29

What started out as a crazy idea during a meeting turned into reality for Kevin Harvick.

On Sunday, the NASCAR Cup Series returns to the famed North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway for the first time in 27 years to contest the All-Star race.

Outside the $1 million payout and no points attached, the event will be a unique opportunity for spectators to see Harvick utilize the No. 29 one final time.

Harvick drove the Richard Childress Racing No. 29 for 12 seasons. The particular paint scheme that he’ll be competing with at the .625-mile oval pays homage to his first win with the organization at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 2001.

Embarking on his final Cup Series season, the idea to run the special throwback paint scheme initially came about in a retirement meeting.

“It was really simple. We started the retirement planning at Stewart-Haas Racing and working through things, and we got done with what I believe was the second meeting and I said, ‘Hey, by the way, I want to drive the 29 car at the All-Star Race.’ And they all kind of looked at me and were like, ‘You serious?’ Everybody kind of slept on it and talked about it in the next couple of days, and nobody said no,” Harvick said.

“So we went back to the next meeting and I said, ‘What about the 29 car? Do you guys think we can pull that off?’ They said, ‘Somebody’s going to have to call Richard.’ I said I would call Richard, so I called Richard Childress and said, ‘Hey, we want to drive the 29 car at North Wilkesboro and run the first win paint scheme,'” Harvick continued. 

“And he said, ‘Kevin, you can have whatever you want. Do whatever you want. You’ve been great for RCR and we’d love to work with you guys to figure it out.’ And they all figured it out and here we are.”

The backstory behind Harvick’s road to the Cup Series is well-documented. Being thrust into the newly-branded No. 29 Chevrolet a week after Dale Earnhardt’s death at Daytona (Fla.) Int’l Speedway in 2001, Harvick was tasked with the impossible — replacing The Intimidator. 

Harvick carved his own path, winning countless races, including the 2004 Brickyard 400 and 2007 Daytona 500 aboard the No. 29.

“Everything that started in my Cup career started at RCR,” Harvick said. “It wasn’t supposed to start in the 29, but it wound up being my first in the 29 after Dale’s death. And to be able to put that car back out on the race track is something that we all thought would not ever happen again.”

Now in his final year driving for Stewart-Haas Racing, the 2014 Cup Series champion is ready to soak up an emotional night on one of NASCAR’s most storied race tracks. 

“But with Stewart-Haas Racing and Richard Childress Racing working together and making my crazy idea work out, and being able to see the first win paint scheme in the 29 and to have it on the racetrack at North Wilkesboro is something I think we’re all excited about,” Harvick said. “I know the fans are excited, but for us it’s an honor and a privilege to drive it one last time. It will be a fun night for all of us.”