By STEVE REED AP Sports Writer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Kevin Harvick, who captured the 2014 Cup Series championship and won 60 races at the sport’s top level, was selected to the NASCAR Hall of Fame on Tuesday along with former teammate Jeff Burton and Larry Phillips.
The induction ceremony is set for Jan. 22, 2027, bringing the total number of Hall of Fame inductees to 73.
Harvick received 46 of the 50 votes cast by the panel which included representatives from NASCAR, the Hall of Fame, track owners from major facilities and historic short tracks, media members, manufacturer representatives, competitors (drivers, owners, crew chiefs), recognized industry leaders, reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson and a nationwide fan vote.
Burton received the second-most at 32% to edge out Neil Bonnett, Randy Dorton and the late Greg Biffle for the second and final spot on the modern ballot.
Phillips received 38% of the pioneer ballot votes.
“When you talk about your reputation and the respect factor I think that speaks volumes about the things you were able to accomplish,” Harvick said of receiving 92% of the votes. “I can say it now, I’m proud of that.”
Harvick’s career took an unexpected turn when he was selected by team owner Richard Childress to replace Dale Earnhardt after the seven-time champion was killed in a wreck at the 2001 Daytona 500.
Initially, Childress had planned to bring Harvick along slowly and have him gain experience at the sport’s lower level (then known as the Busch Series), but Earnhardt’s death accelerated his rise.
Driving the renumbered No. 29 GM Goodwrench Service Plus Chevrolet, it took Harvick only three races to find victory lane at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 2001, giving RCR an emotional victory. He went on to win NASCAR Rookie of the Year, establishing himself as a force to be reckoned with in the sport for years to come.
Harvick said replacing Earnhardt was difficult at the time, but he and others within RCR buried themselves in their work and “hid” from harsh reality of the star’s death.
“I think the racer’s excuse is, ‘I have to go to a race,’” Harvick said. “Whether it;’s with your wife or a terrible moment like we had with Dale, it was like, ‘Well, we gotta go to the race this week.’ We just booked like 70 or 80 races that year and we just kind of hid from everything that we did. … (The racetrack) was really where everyone wanted to be so we didn’t want to address the other situation.”
Known as “The Closer,” Harvick, 50, went on to win the 2007 Daytona 500 and earned his only championship seven years after NASCAR turned to an elimination-style playoff format.
Harvick’s 60 Cup wins over 826 starts ranks 11th all-time.
Burton, 58, was a teammate of Harvick’s at RCR for years.
The calmer of the two drivers, Burton won 21 Cup races over his 20-year NASCAR career in 695 starts. He was the 1994 Rookie of the Year and his career highlights include winning the Coca-Cola 600 twice and the Southern 500. He won six Cup races in 1999.
He said he was “playing a crappy round of golf” when he received a phone call informing him that he got it.
“The generations before us, they made it all possible,” Burton said. “So to be enshrined in something that my heroes are in, that just means a lot.”
As for Phillips, who died in 2004 at 62, nobody can say for sure how many races he won because he raced everywhere from dirt to asphalt and in places where record keeping wasn’t always a priority. His crew chief, James Ince, estimated Phillips won 1,000 times; maybe 2,000, according to NASCAR.
Landmark Award winner
Lesa France Kennedy, the executive vice chair of NASCAR, was selected as the Landmark Award winner for her contributions to the sport. Kennedy spearheaded the revitalization of Phoenix Raceway and the Daytona Rising project at Daytona International Speedway.