Harvick shutting down truck teams, manufacturing operation

Harvick shutting down truck teams, manufacturing operation

By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

(September 9, 2011)

RICHMOND, Va.—For Kevin Harvick, the most difficult part of shutting down his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series operation was the conversation he had to have with Ron Hornaday Jr.

 Hornaday, 53, is more than a four-time truck series champion. To Harvick, he’s a fast friend -- one who gave Harvick a place to sleep early in his racing career.

 Harvick announced Wednesday that the Nationwide Series cars of Kevin Harvick Inc. are merging with the operation of Richard Childress, Harvick’s owner in the Sprint Cup Series. On Friday, Harvick confirmed he will not continue his highly successful truck program in 2012.

 A major chassis supplier to the truck series, Harvick said he suspended his manufacturing operation more than a month ago.

 Though the status of the truck teams hasn’t been determined fully, it’s a given that Hornaday’s seven-year tenure in a Harvick truck is over. Childress already has his own truck program, fielding No. 3 Chevrolets for his grandson Austin Dillon with another grandson, Ty Dillon, waiting in the wings.

 “It has been a great run,” Harvick said Friday morning at Richmond International Raceway. “Obviously, one of the hardest conversations I had to have was with Ron, telling him where everything was going -- and he was a big part of helping us to get to the point that we are at today. It is fun -- don’t get me wrong -- it is fun to go out and win truck races and be a part of it. We’ve been able to win championships, and I think that’s one of the great things about where we are at with the decision.”

 In 343 starts since entering the series in 2002, KHI trucks have won 39 races and 22 poles and finished in the top 10 204 times. Both of KHI’s championships came with Hornaday, in 2007 and 2009. Hornaday is fifth in the standings this year with eight races remaining in the season.

 “It’s not like we are struggling to get by or no sponsorship or we are not winning any races,” Harvick said. “We’re winning races, we’ve got the sponsorship, we’ve done the things right to keep the things on the racetrack, and it’s going to be successful at the time we moved on.”

 One of the primary catalysts behind Harvick’s decision was his desire to fill in the most important blank on his racing resume.

 “In the end -- and this is no knock on anything -- but, really, the only thing that I want to do that we have not been able to accomplish in my career is win a Sprint Cup championship. Cup cars make it all go around. Richard and I have talked about this a lot.

 “Without the Cup car being successful on Sunday or Saturday night, whatever the case maybe, trucks don’t exist, Nationwide cars don’t exist, and the sponsors aren’t there. We’re lucky that the sponsors are all there and things have gone good over the last several years. That Cup championship is what we’re after.”

 Note: Harvick won’t be free of all entanglements until the lawsuit of recently fired KHI crew chief David Hyder is adjudicated. As reported by SceneDaily.com, Hyder is suing KHI for salary and consulting fees allegedly worth $300,000 annually through 2012.