AVONDALE, Ariz. — Kevin Harvick pulled onto pit street after his ultimate race as a full-time NASCAR Cup Sequence driver, climbed out of his seat, grabbed a water from his 11-year-old son Keelan, slapped the boy on the again and posed a query.

“What now?” he stated with a smile.

The 60-time NASCAR Cup Sequence winner put a coda on his 23-year profession with a seventh place end at Phoenix Raceway. The 47-year-old stated firstly of the yr that this is able to be his ultimate season and he’ll transfer into the Fox Sports activities broadcast sales space for 2024.

However for yet another day on a fantastic Sunday afternoon in Phoenix, he was a racecar driver. His No. 4 Ford Mustang began on the within of the second row, full with a “Harvick” emblazoned throughout the hood as a part of the Busch Mild brand.

It is no shock Harvick was aggressive in Phoenix, which has all the time been one in every of his greatest tracks. He is a nine-time winner and closed his profession with 21 straight prime 10s. He even took a quick lead in his ultimate race, passing William Byron on lap 93 as the gang roared from the stands.

The Bakersfield, California, native stated it is all the time been a giant deal to be good at a observe close to the West Coast.

“As you have a look at Phoenix, it is all the time just a bit further particular,” Harvick stated. “Everybody is aware of how a lot it means to me to do good right here. Lots of people have been right here for the reason that mid-’90s watching me race. So you do not wish to come right here and suck.

“However to do this 21 occasions, win 9 races, I am so lucky.”

Harvick raised a toast to his crew after the race and fielded congratulations from a handful of drivers, together with teammate Chase Briscoe. After that, he sat on a cooler, soaking within the ambiance that was just a little celebratory but additionally just a little bittersweet.

“It actually hasn’t been about wins and losses, however you by no means wish to flop round,” Harvick stated. “To have the ability to lead laps within the final race, it tells you ways aggressive we nonetheless are.”

Three-time NASCAR champion and Corridor of Famer Tony Stewart, the co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, introduced Harvick to the staff in 2014. The partnership was productive instantly – Harvick received his solely Cup championship in his first season and would go on to win 37 races over 10 years.

Stewart stated on Saturday that he’d “lose just a little sleep” occupied with Harvick’s final race.

“Kevin Harvick might be essentially the most well-rounded driver on the market,” Stewart stated. “Clearly, he is an excellent racecar driver, however he is aware of easy methods to construct championship-winning groups, placing the suitable folks in place, he understands the enterprise facet of it, he understands the advertising facet of it.

“I might problem anybody to search out somebody within the collection as a driver that may do all these facets in addition to Kevin.”

Harvick’s departure is a part of huge adjustments for Stewart-Haas Racing heading into 2024. The staff can be shedding Aric Almirola, a 39-year-old who desires to cut back to a partial schedule after 12 full-time seasons and three wins within the Cup Sequence. Josh Berry will take over Harvick’s seat in 2024 whereas Almirola’s substitute hasn’t been named.

“Aric’s simply calm, cool and picked up on a regular basis,” Stewart stated. “However he is an excellent household man, nice husband, nice father and nice good friend. I am excited for each these guys, I am excited for his or her subsequent journey, however it’s unhappy that 24 hours for now it’s going to all be over.”

Harvick made his Cup Sequence debut the week after Dale Earnhardt’s deadly crash within the 2001 season-opening Daytona 500. He was speculated to be eased into Cup competitors by Richard Childress Racing and mentored by the seven-time champion Earnhardt, and as a substitute was his emergency substitute.

These early days weren’t simple. The then 25-year-old received into altercations with rivals, was combative with NASCAR officers and the media, and customarily made the state of affairs he’d inherited tougher. Now he is a former Cup champion whose 60 profession victories, good for tenth on NASCAR’s all-time wins listing.

Harvick is notoriously stoic, however even he turned just a little emotional occupied with greater than twenty years of excellence. When a reporter reminded him that his two kids wished him luck over the radio earlier than the race, Harvick could not completely comprise the emotion.

“Yeah, effectively, that is not regular, so that they in all probability liked that and um … so,” he stated.

Then he turned and walked away. A number of tears adopted and he hugged his spouse.

“For me, it has been an excellent journey,” Harvick stated. “I haven’t got something to complain about.”