Photo Credit: Noel Lanier
The rumor mill was shut down on Thursday when Stewart-Haas Racing and Kevin Harvick announced the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion will return to the seat of the No. 4 car as part of a long-term extension. There is no word on how many years the long-term extension will last.
Rumors have run wild over the last few months the champion would leave Stewart-Haas Racing over the announcement that the team would switch to Ford, after both Harvick and team owner Tony Stewart have had a long standing relationship with Chevrolet. However, Harvick officially ended the rumors when he and SHR announced the contract extension.
Since joining Stewart-Haas Racing in 2014, Harvick has racked up nine wins, led more than 5,000 laps and scored his first series championship. Harvick made the move to SHR from Richard Childress Racing in order to put himself in position to win multiple series titles.
“It was a big decision to join Stewart-Haas Racing and it has turned out to be my best decision,” said Harvick. “I came to Stewart-Haas Racing to win championships. We have one, but that only made us hungry for more. I’m very happy to have my future secure with a team so dedicated to winning.”
Stewart-Haas Racing co-owner Gene Haas wanted to make sure he held onto Harvick, and keep him within his organization.
“When you have talented people who consistently deliver results, you hold on to them,” Haas said. “Kevin Harvick is an exceptional talent and we’re very proud to have him a part of Stewart-Haas Racing for years to come.”
The rumors of Harvick leaving SHR were fueled when some media outlets reported Harvick to leave his championship winning No. 4 team to take over Kasey Kahne’s seat at Hendrick Motorsports, which would keep him in Chevrolet’s camp. Harvick took to twitter this week to debunk those rumors.
Let's play a game. What has better information about things I do.
— Kevin Harvick (@KevinHarvick) May 17, 2016
Harvick sent one more tweet out after the announcement of his contract extension, just to prove the doubters wrong one more time.
Any questions now… https://t.co/eUuPagpOkH
— Kevin Harvick (@KevinHarvick) May 19, 2016
