Bakersfield native Kevin Harvick announces retirement from NASCAR

 

FILE – Kevin Harvick celebrates after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship series auto race, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2014, in Homestead, Fla.

 

 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Kevin Harvick received the same answer nearly every time he asked another athlete how they decided to retire: Harvick would just know it was time.

The driver thrust onto the global stage when he was named Dale Earnhardt’s replacement just days after Earnhardt’s fatal 2001 crash will make this 23rd season his last in NASCAR. The 2014 Cup champion heads into his final year tied for ninth on NASCAR’s all-time wins list with 60 career victories,

“From talking to all the people I’ve talked to, it always came down to the same, ‘Oh, you’ll know, you’ll know it is time, you’ll know the right moment,’” Harvick said in an interview with The Associated Press ahead of his Thursday announcement.

Harvick at the end of this season will turn his attention to Kevin Harvick Inc., his growing management business, the enjoyable time he’s spent in the television booth, some bucket list racing, and most important, his young racing family.AP                                BC