LOS ANGELES — Kevin Harvick won’t retire a single day once his NASCAR driving days are over: Fox said Sunday it has hired Harvick for its broadcast booth next season.
Harvick announced this last month He will retire from NASCAR competition at the end of the 2023 season.
He will then transition into a broadcasting role for Fox, which has used Harvick regularly as a guest analyst since 2015. He is scheduled to name four Xfinity Series and three Truck Series races for FS1 this year, and next season he will join Mike Joy and Clint Bowyer for Fox’s entire portion of the Cup schedule.
“I knew I wanted to do this because it gives you such a unique position to be able to talk about the sport and to be able to use your knowledge and connections to give fans and people a great perspective. ‘ Harvick told The Associated Press.
“This is really a conversation that’s been going on for several years, the timing just wasn’t really right. It’s all working out now and it’s a great time to move into the sport and have a voice and stay a part of NASCAR racing on a weekly basis and talk about the things I love.”
Harvick was at the heart of Fox’s “Drivers Only” shows, which began in 2015. The network began using a combination of active drivers and crew chiefs to call lower-level races, and Harvick, who has called more than 25 races for the network, was a natural fit from the start.
He’s so stable in the dressing room that many predicted Harvick would evolve into a play-by-play announcer and lead a broadcast team. Harvick, entering his 23rd Cup season, is the 2014 Cup Champion and ranks ninth on NASCAR’s all-time winning list with 60 career wins.
Harvick has 13 consecutive playoff appearances.
“The credibility is off the charts. His longevity at NASCAR will only help him explain the evolution of the sport to viewers,” said Fox Sports Executive Producer Brad Zager. “For him, the next step is to be in the dressing room, something that has almost been accomplished since he first entered the dressing room with us.”
Zager said the network had to do very little to prepare Harvick for the stand.
“We never want to try to convince anyone that they should be a broadcaster, and with Harvick we didn’t have to,” Zager said. “He’s someone who already has a passion for it. We are very excited about everything he brings and believe his style, personality and credibility will make him the perfect third man for Clint and Mike.”
Fox has primarily been a two-man stand since Jeff Gordon resigned at the end of the 2021 season. The network put in guests in Gordon’s place, but happily waited for the right person to fill the role full-time.
For Harvick, it will be his third different job as a Bowyer employee.
The pair were teammates at Richard Childress Racing earlier in their careers, reunited at Stewart-Haas Racing and will stand side-by-side as Fox analysts in 2024.
“We obviously have completely different approaches to the things we do and say, and I think that makes it funny,” Harvick said. “Clint and I have become good friends over the years and we have a good relationship, but we’ve never been able to have a relationship outside of the car that wasn’t competitive.”
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