August 30, 2008
By Rebecca Gladden
NASCAR driver Kevin Harvick and wife DeLana made a stopover in Phoenix Thursday en route to Sunday's Cup race in Fontana, California. Their visit marked the beginning of a new partnership between Kevin Harvick, Inc., the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and Phoenix International Raceway.
Appearing at a luncheon for members and guests of VFW Post 9400, Kevin and DeLana discussed their desire to honor the military, while Harvick talked racing in general with reporters.
The VFW logo and a patriotic red, white and blue paint scheme are being featured on two KHI vehicles - the No. 77 car in the Nationwide Series and the No. 33 truck in the Craftsman Truck Series. The VFW-sponsored vehicles will compete in a total of eight races throughout the season.
"Cale Gale, who drives our Nationwide car, has a grandfather in the VFW," noted DeLana Harvick, co-owner of KHI. "It makes us incredibly proud, especially to see the VFW car and truck on the track. We go out and we try hard every week, but when our VFW car is on the track, we know that we have a huge amount of support. There's no way we can ever repay these veterans for what they've done for us, but it's our way of giving them something to cheer for and feel like we are giving back to them a little bit."
The Harvick's partnership with the VFW and PIR will be on full display for the Veteran's Day race weekend in Phoenix. KHI's Craftsman truck entry, driven by Ron Hornaday, will carry the VFW logo in the Lucas Oil 150 CTS race on November 7th. In addition, a ceremony at the track will honor the accomplishments and bravery of military members past and present.
Glen Gardner, a decorated Viet Nam veteran and Commander-in-Chief of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, was also present at the Phoenix luncheon. "For every race that we go to with the VFW as the sponsor, we bring troops from the local area and they are really appreciative of it," he said. "These young troops are strong supporters of NASCAR. It's good for our organization and it's good for them and their families. It means a lot to them that someone like Kevin appreciates what they do."
Gardner said he particularly values NASCAR fans for their patriotism. "They are the most patriotic group of fans I've ever met. When you go to a NASCAR race, you see more flags than you see in Downtown USA on the Fourth of July, Veteran's Day or Memorial Day. They're so supportive of the troops and what the troops do for this country."
Phillis J. Herman, a member and past-president of VFW Post 9400 and widow of a Korean War veteran, believes the relationship between NASCAR and the veterans is a two-way street. "It's a wonderful sport," Herman said. "I have friends who go out to PIR for the NASCAR races every year, and they really enjoy it. The cars are noisy, but they're beautiful. Any time we can give praise to our veterans for what they have done to keep our freedom, it's a good idea."
Team owner and driver Harvick agreed that paying tribute to the troops is a worthy cause. "It's an honor for us to be able to give back to the men and women who serve our country. Because of them, we have the freedom to be able to do what we do every weekend."
This weekend, Harvick carries an eighth-place standing into Fontana, where he finished in the top 10 in February. "Typically, this hasn't been a very good race for us for the past few years. But we ran well there at the beginning of the year and this car has been very good for us. We've run this car, I think, five out of the last seven races. It's been a good car and we're looking forward to the race."
With just two races left before the Chase begins, Harvick is upbeat about the remainder of the season. "Based upon the way we've run the last few months, everything's been going good. Obviously, the middle of the year didn't go like we wanted it to, but that's the great thing about the Chase. We've got to get through these next two weeks with decent days and, from then on, you go in with the underdog role and let it all hang out, and see what happens from there."
Harvick might owe some of his recent success - a string of four straight top-10 finishes - to his wife, who's been staying away from the race track as part of a superstition the two are sharing. DeLana normally helps Kevin from atop the pit box on race day, but when she took a trip a few weeks ago, the team's performance improved. "She missed a couple of weeks at Pocono, Watkins Glen and Michigan. We let her back in the racetrack last week at Bristol, but we haven't let her back on the pit box yet," Harvick laughed.
"I ended up going to a suite at Bristol, but I didn't go inside the race track," DeLana explained. "I found it way more nerve-wracking to actually be in the suite, but I'm going to do that this weekend, too. I decided I'd take one for the team."
The topic of superstitions might come up this weekend when Harvick participates in a celebrity roast marking Richard Childress Racing teammate Jeff Burton's 500th Cup start. "Jeff's a pretty dry guy," said Harvick, a notorious practical joker in the garage. "The only thing we've ever done to him is - he's pretty set on having his lucky shoes. We took his shoes from him one year and made up a fake eBay auction and took pictures of Matt Kenseth with them on. He thought someone had stolen his shoes, but really we took them from him. It was pretty funny."
Harvick said he is looking forward to an expansion at RCR next year, with Casey Mears coming on board as the driver for a fourth Childress team. "Going forward, I think it's definitely a good thing - with more money coming in, more resources, more people, and another opinion from the driver's side. It's definitely something that, as an organization, we had to do."
Meanwhile, Harvick just smiled wryly when I asked him to comment on the penalties levied by NASCAR this week against Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards, currently first and second in points. The two rivals were involved in a dustup at Bristol and were placed on six weeks probation.
"Hopefully," he said, "they'll just stay at it."
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