Bill Text: VA SR80 | 2024 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Commending Kevin Harvick.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2024-02-22 - Bill text as passed Senate (SR80ER) [SR80 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2024-SR80-Enrolled.html
WHEREAS, Kevin Harvick, one of the most successful drivers in the history of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, retired from racing in 2023; and
WHEREAS, Kevin Harvick received a go-kart at the age of five and soon after discovered his talents as a driver, going on to win several national championships on the go-kart racing circuit; and
WHEREAS, Kevin Harvick began racing late model cars in what was formerly the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) Featherlite Southwest Series while still in high school and made his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut in 1995; and
WHEREAS, Kevin Harvick began competing in what was then the NASCAR Busch Grand National Series, today the NASCAR Xfinity Series, in 1999 and the following year signed with Richard Childress Racing, winning Rookie of the Year honors that year; and
WHEREAS, following the tragic death of Dale Earnhardt at the 2001 Daytona 500, Kevin Harvick was tapped to replace the legendary driver for Richard Childress Racing; and
WHEREAS, Kevin Harvick won his third race in the NASCAR Cup Series and would go on to become the first driver to win the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship and NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year honors in the same season; and
WHEREAS, Kevin Harvick tallied 60 wins, 444 top-ten finishes, and 31 poles over his illustrious 23-year career in the NASCAR Cup Series, including the prestigious Daytona 500 in 2007 and the cup championship in 2014 in his first year with Stewart-Haas Racing; he would also win a second NASCAR Xfinity Series championship in 2006; and
WHEREAS, Kevin Harvick is third all-time for combined wins across the NASCAR Cup Series, the NASCAR Xfinity Series, and the NASCAR Truck Series with 121 wins, and he holds the all-time record for most wins at the Phoenix Raceway with nine wins; and
WHEREAS, Kevin Harvick won a total of five NASCAR Cup Series races in the Commonwealth, once at the Martinsville Speedway and four times at the Richmond Raceway; and
WHEREAS, Kevin Harvick also won eight NASCAR Xfinity Series races in the Commonwealth, including seven races at the Richmond Raceway and the only NASCAR Xfinity Series race he entered at the Martinsville Speedway; and
WHEREAS, with three NASCAR Truck Series wins at the Martinsville Speedway, Kevin Harvick tallied a total of 16 NASCAR series wins on racetracks in the Commonwealth over his storied career; and
WHEREAS, in 2023, Kevin Harvick was named one of NASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers as part of the auto racing company's 75th anniversary commemoration; and
WHEREAS, in 2010, Kevin Harvick and his wife, DeLana, established the Kevin Harvick Foundation with a mission to support programs that positively enrich the lives of children throughout the United States; and
WHEREAS, Kevin Harvick recently signed on to call NASCAR Cup Series races for the Fox Broadcasting Company beginning in 2024, ensuring that he will continue to make meaningful contributions to the sport for years to come; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the Senate of Virginia, That Kevin Harvick, championship driver with the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, hereby be commended on the occasion of his retirement; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Kevin Harvick as an expression of the Senate of Virginia's admiration for his remarkable career and best wishes in his future endeavors.
