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MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES MEDIA CONFERENCE

November 16, 2017

Kevin Harvick

Q. You had this whole media tour thing with the other three. Did Brad and Kyle‑‑ were they on speaking terms during that?
KEVIN HARVICK: What do you think?

Q. I don't know, Martin was making it out like they were.
KEVIN HARVICK: I thought they did fine. We kept them separated in the cars, and Martin and I kind of‑‑ he took one car, I took the other car to keep them apart, so they did all right.

Q. How did you‑‑ Kyle was talking about you guys maybe not BFF's, but the dynamics changed. At one point you guys were not quite in the Keselowski‑Busch feud‑‑
KEVIN HARVICK: Well, look. I think you guys have all been around me long enough, you have to look at things and life in general, and sometimes you're like, man, that's a waste of time. For me, I respect really all three of them. I respect Kyle just for everything that he does in a race car, and I like racing with Kyle. And I have to deal with Kyle. I don't personally, but through our office with Harrison. We have to have a working relationship, as well, so I think off the racetrack those things‑‑ even on the racetrack‑‑ I enjoy racing hard with him, and off the racetrack we definitely have a working relationship just for the fact that Harrison drives his truck.

Q. You mentioned the kids play a factor in that.
KEVIN HARVICK: Absolutely, and it's the last thing you want to do is make a complete moron out of yourself and go home and say, daddy, why did you say that. There's nothing more embarrassing, especially when some of those old replays pop up, and you're sitting there with your son, and he's like, why did you do that, dad. And you're like, yeah, let's move on. That stuff is all fine and dandy, and I think as you look at it through time‑‑ I'm 41 years old, I'm not going to be jumping over cars and doing something that I did when I was 25. It's just not probably as‑‑ not how life works, or shouldn't work. I think as you go through time you mature and you get older and you look at things differently. For me, that's just where I'm at.

Q. Sunday is going to be obviously the last drive for Matt maybe forever, and Jr., but it's also the last drive for Danica. She hasn't announced anything for last season. How do you think with you and your competitors and among the team and among the sport, how do you think she's going to be remembered if she doesn't ever race in NASCAR again?
KEVIN HARVICK: Yeah, you know, I think as you look at the things that Danica has brought to the sport, I think that there's no‑‑ I think Brent Dewar said it the best. There's really no way to measure everything that she's brought to the sport and the things that she's done for the sport just because of the fact that‑‑ I don't think you'll start to figure it all out until she's probably not here. So it's been great to kind of see some of that from the outside looking in and being on the same team and just some of the different challenges and things that she has to face and do. But she's a mega‑star. I think as you look at the things that she's accomplished, I mean, there's‑‑ who do you compare it to, really? There's not anybody else lined up to fill those shoes and do the things that she's done. So yeah, I mean, that'll create a huge hole if she's not here.

Q. With the reduction of a set of tires for this weekend, how will your strategy change knowing that you have less tires and the tires are crucial at Homestead?
KEVIN HARVICK: You know, that's definitely a challenge. I think as you look at it, sometimes the cautions can pile up, and especially when you're short on tires like that, with a tire that's very abrasive‑‑ a racetrack that's very abrasive on tires, and you're going to start the race on your qualifying tires that hopefully have three laps on them by the time you get done with qualifying. If the caution comes out early, you're going to come in and take those off, so you're going to be down to seven pretty quick. So it's definitely something that you have to be aware of because you cannot get to the end of this race and not have a set of tires if everybody else does.

Q. Is that good? Is that a good thing, that there's some tire conservation, tire strategy?
KEVIN HARVICK: It can be exciting. It can be exciting, but you know, it could come down to‑‑ look, I lapped the whole field up to third place one time and lost the race at Atlanta because one guy in the whole field had a set of tires left. You have to pay attention to what you're doing because this is going to be just like Atlanta, and you can't get off sequence with the guys that you're racing against for the championship because of the fact that you cannot have one less set of tires than they have, and if you do, you'd better figure out a way to get it back or hope that there's not a caution that allows them to come in and put the tires on because you'll be done.

Q. There would be two sides: One that says this would be great for the competition, and the other that says, you should have all the tires you need. Which side to you fall on?
KEVIN HARVICK: How much does a set of tires cost?

Q. $2,000.
KEVIN HARVICK: Exactly. We're doing things that are making a huge impact with the engine rules and cutting crash carts and saving $2,000 at a time is‑‑ can go both ways I guess you could say for argument's sake. It can make it exciting, but I could argue it both ways, and that's one thing I've learned since doing this radio show, that you have to be careful of going one way or the other because there's always going to be somebody that comes up and says, what about this, and you're going to be like, it's a good point. But it can be exciting, you just don't want to be the guy without the tires.

Q. Given your record at Homestead‑‑
KEVIN HARVICK: It's not bad, is it?

Q. It's fabulous. I think it's pretty damned sporty‑‑
KEVIN HARVICK: I'm excited to be here.

Q. I bet you are. How can Las Vegas possibly have you ranked third among the four drivers with your record at Homestead when it all comes down to one race?
KEVIN HARVICK: Well, you know, obviously I don't know that‑‑ it would be hard‑‑ I haven't looked at them. What are they?

Q. They have Truex, Kyle, you and Keselowski.
KEVIN HARVICK: Okay. Well, you know, I think that's just how they intrigue people to come spend more money. They think it's a good buy. But I think as you look at that stuff, Kyle and Martin have had great years. I mean, they really have, and there's nothing that you can take away from those guys. We were late bloomers to the party just for the fact that we had a lot of work to do, and we had a lot of change and we had a lot of things that we had to navigate and maneuver and get to the point of being competitive like we are right now wasn't how we were in the middle of the year. So we feel good about where we are, won Texas, and have run good really at every mile‑and‑a‑half racetrack that we've been to, and we're back to the point of being able to lead laps, and that's when you can win races is when you can lead laps.

Q. You guys have been kind of off on horsepower all year‑‑
KEVIN HARVICK: Who said that?

Q. Other people.
KEVIN HARVICK: Let's not say we, let's say they.

Q. Toyota?
KEVIN HARVICK: Yeah, we have everything that we need to compete. I think we proved that two weeks ago at Texas. You know, it's one of those deals where I don't have to say much, all I've got to do is look back two weeks. We did exactly what we needed to do on the racetrack to go out and win the race. I think for us as a team, our confidence is as high as it's ever been, whether we've won 10 races this year or two. That has been our strong point throughout the playoffs or the mile‑and‑a‑half racetracks. Like Lee said a minute ago, Phoenix and Homestead, the last two races, and for us that makes you smile because they're two of our best.

Q. Was that a wake‑up call to the other four contenders, what you guys did at Texas?
KEVIN HARVICK: I don't know, but it sure made us happy, when you look at the results and how we won and who we passed. That's kind of like winning the seventh game of a championship series headed to the Super Bowl or the World Series. I think as you look at that, I mean, that couldn't have come at a better time for us. We went to Charlotte and felt like we could do that, and then we did it. So the confidence that it gave us as a team, you can't put a price on it, that's for sure.

Q. Do you feel that tiger red meat thing that Tony alluded to? Is that a thing? Is that a feeling?
KEVIN HARVICK: We like challenges. (Laughter.) I think the unique part about Stewart‑Haas Racing is the fact that you have an owner like Tony, and he's very good at helping us as a team realize the things that we should realize, and at that particular moment‑‑ he was very‑‑ we were all very aware and he re‑emphasized that the fact that the timing couldn't be better.

Q. Brad has spoken about how a second championship would elevate his career to another plain. Do you feel the same way?
KEVIN HARVICK: Honestly I just want to win for all the people that build the cars and Ford. I think Ford coming to Stewart‑Haas Racing, they wanted to win races, and they wanted to compete for more championships and win a championship. I'm the type of person that has to have those, I guess, carrots to dangle in front of you to really motivate yourself on a yearly basis, and every year it's a little bit different, but switching to Ford this year has been a huge motivation to not only myself but the team because I think there's a lot of people that would tell you that it wasn't the right move when we did it. Now that we've done it and are in position to win a championship, it's really not about me and my legacy. I want to win it for my guys and the organization more than anything and Ford, because of the fact that that to me is more gratifying than what my legacy is or isn't, because that part really doesn't mean a lot to me. I feel like I've done a lot in this sport, and at this particular point, it's about making people happy and being around people that have taken a chance in you and the things that you do. I feel like as a company we took a chance going to Ford, and Ford took a chance that we could do it. I think that at this point, I think it's proven that we can do it together, and that would be‑‑ that would be the ultimate feather in the cap to the company, and I'm a part of that company. The ultimate feather in the cap to do it in the first year.

Q. Does that make it sweeter almost in a way?
KEVIN HARVICK: Oh, absolutely‑‑ well, nothing will ever match the first one, you know, because of the fact that I spent a long time trying to get to the point of winning the first one, and there's leaving a stable environment and taking the chance that we took to come to Stewart‑Haas and Stewart‑Haas starting a team. Never really knowing where it was going to go to‑‑ there's nothing that will ever‑‑ nothing sweeter than the first one. Nothing sweeter than the first win, the first championship, and it's just‑‑ there's just nothing that can match that.

Q. You mentioned that you were a little bit of a late bloomer‑‑
KEVIN HARVICK: Calling me old?

Q. Was there a point in the racing year where you thought (indiscernible), and was there another point where you thought we can win this championship?
KEVIN HARVICK: Chicago we turned it around. We were competitive and racing in the top three all day. Charlotte I thought we could win a championship. We went out and won both stages, led the most laps and did everything that we needed to do that day, we just made a couple mistakes. But those two moments are really when I was like, all right, we have the legitimate speed to go out and contend and do what we need to do.

Q. Does Keelan remember your first championship?
KEVIN HARVICK: Funny you ask that. We asked him that this morning. I don't think he remembers. The only thing he remembers is he says he remembers taking a picture sitting on the ground with the trophy, and I think he only remembers that because it hangs in my closet. You know.

Q. How much would it mean to bring‑‑ he's a little older now, to bring some real memories back‑‑
KEVIN HARVICK: Well, I think even if it's just winning a race, to have him around and to have all that time out and to have him in Victory Lane and have those memories is something that would obviously be pretty special. But my favorite moment from winning a championship was when he and I were sitting up against the wall, and he could care less about what happened. He thought it was cool that there were rocks and rubber up next to the wall and he could throw them down the banking. That's all he really cared about. But that picture of he and I giving the thumbs up winning the championship is one of the coolest thing that you'll probably ever get a picture of, and then myself and Keelan and Delana with the trophy. You know, it's little things like that mean a lot and go a long ways.

Q. Is there any part of you that kind of laughs or chuckles, the fact that we've been talking about young drivers all year and none of them are here in the final?
KEVIN HARVICK: Look, sometimes it's all about the hype. You've got to build it up. You've got to build everything up to where it needs to be, and the young guys, they did a great job. But got 118 wins sitting here racing for a championship.

Q. Do you think that experience mattered?
KEVIN HARVICK: Absolutely. Experience will always matter in this sport. Obviously there will be a day that I can't do it and Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott are going to have great careers and they're going to be sitting here answering these same questions 20 years from now. But experience will always matter because that experience goes in a lot of things within those walls of the race shop, and how you help guide the company in a direction of performance and things that are good and things that are bad and how you navigate things with the company. You're going to have the experienced guys within those walls to help guide those scenarios for years to come if you want to make the right decisions, but experience will always matter.

Q. After that late race wreck that took out the contenders last year and Jimmie sailed off to the championship, what can you and Rodney control come Sunday?
KEVIN HARVICK: Well, you know, our goal is always just control the things that we can control from making our race car run as fast as we can, getting the most out of our preparation of video and notes and all the things that you do on a weekly basis to prepare for a race. If you're in the wrong place, wrong time in an accident, those are just not things that you can control. Don't wear yourself out trying to think of those scenarios, of things like that that you can't control, and some days it's just not your day, but some days it is your day, and like last year with Jimmie, I felt like he had the fourth best car of all three, but you still have to finish, you still have to survive, and you still have to get yourself to the end of the race. You just never know what circumstances are going to be, but just control the things that are in your control. That's our main concern.

Q. (Indiscernible) said he can't imagine racing in the Cup Series without stages. What do you think about that?
KEVIN HARVICK: I think for me, I think the stages have been a great addition to our sport, just because of the fact from the very first race of the year, it mattered how many stage points you scored, and now you realize how important they are when you look at the way that the stage points have lined up from the year. And you just can't let your guard down. It actually prepares you more for this point in the season because of the fact that after you win a race, you can't just kind of doink around and try things. You have to legitimately try to keep scoring stage points and playoff points because you just never know how many points you need. I mean, ask Kyle Larson. You never know how many points you need as a cushion and when you're going to have a bad round and when you're going to blow an engine or you're going to get caught up in that accident. You know going to Daytona that you need to score all the points that you can to put yourself in position for the end of the year.

Q. Gibson said he told you a couple weeks ago if you make it to Homestead the championship is yours. He really is the ultimate cheerleader, isn't he?
KEVIN HARVICK: He is the ultimate cheerleader.

Q. First off, is that true? Did he tell you that?
KEVIN HARVICK: He did, yeah. He told me that. But Tony Gibson is Stewart‑Haas Racing's biggest cheerleader, and still for me one of my favorite moments of the year was after Texas when I drove down pit lane and he was standing there, and I stopped to congratulate him, and those big ol' checks and everything that he had were just flapping everywhere and excited and he's shaking and screaming and hollering. That image sticks in front of me.

Q. He said you thought he was going to have a heart attack.
KEVIN HARVICK: I did. I did. I told him, dude, you've got to calm down or you're going to have a heart attack. He said, no, don't you worry about it, I'll be fine. That is one awesome dude.

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