As Kevin Harvick prepares for his final NASCAR race, he’s taking it all in, and using advice from a myriad of different sources.
One of the places Harvick is getting advice from is former driver Carl Edwards. While Edwards didn’t get a retirement tour like Harvick has, the former Roush and Joe Gibbs Racing star had some wisdom to impose on the former NASCAR champion.
“The things that I will miss the least I will probably respect a lot more as I go into the next piece of my career,” Harvick responded, asked what he’ll miss the least as he enters retirement, via FOX’s Bob Pockrass. “I think that competition mindset is still the thing I’m going to miss the least because it’s just so consuming.
“I talked to Carl Edwards last week and he’s like, ‘Kevin, I can’t tell you how much more in-tune you’re going to be with your kids and your family and the conversations that you have when you don’t have to think about everything else that you have going on with that car, and that team and those sponsors and those people.’ There’s nothing against any of the people or the team or anything else, he’s like, but in order to do what you do, you don’t even realize what you’re doing. To remove myself from that and just be more present with everybody and the things that you’re doing because you don’t have to think about all that.”
That’s pretty awesome to hear, that Edwards is helping Harvick begin to adjust to a major change in his life. Nevertheless, there are things Harvick will miss, which far outweigh what he won’t.
“I love the competition with people,” Harvick added. “I love being around my team and the guys and gals that put the cars on the racetrack. Love that piece of competing. But it’s also the thing that I’m looking forward to the most — not having to worry about it. Because it consumes you for 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It just consumes the mindset that you have and everything that you do. In order to do it well, you have to think about it all.
“And so getting out of that competition mindset, for me, is something that’s just going to be such a relief that I can’t even stand it. And it’s going to be the first time that I can ever walk into the garage and say, ‘Man, I can really enjoy the race today.’ I can look around and I can look at the fans and the campers and people and not be aggravated by somebody yelling at me because qualifying did good, because they want an autograph or whatever it is. You can just enjoy all the sights and sounds of everything that’s happening and take it all in. I want to take it in. I love the sport.”
Kevin Harvick gets behind the wheel one final time at Phoenix on Sunday. We can’t wait to see how he goes out.
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