HAMPTON, Ga.—Twenty-two years after Kevin Harvick scored one of the most historic victories in NASCAR, his former team owner Richard Childress will serve as Grand Marshall for the Quaker State 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday.
Childress will pace the field and give the command to fire engines behind the wheel of the historic No. 29 Goodwrench Chevrolet that Harvick wheeled to his first Cup win just three races after Dale Earnhardt lost his life in a last-lap crash in the 2001 Daytona 500.
Over 13 seasons, Harvick contributed 23 wins to Richard Childress Racing, but none would be more cathartic than the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store 500 at Atlanta.
“Kevin Harvick meant so much to RCR over the years, and we want to congratulate him on a successful career in NASCAR,” said Richard Childress, Chairman and CEO of Richard Childress Racing.
“The No. 29 Chevrolet has a home at the RCR Museum in Welcome, North Carolina, but we know that this Chevy has history at Atlanta Motor Speedway and we’re looking forward to bringing it out to the track so that fans can see this historic car take one more lap around the track.”
Sunday’s race also should prove quite emotional as Harvick takes the green flag for the 36th and final time on the 1.54-mile track. He scored two additional Atlanta wins in 2018 and 2020, although neither could compare to his first career win. Still, at 25, Harvick couldn’t grasp the immensity of his accomplishment.
“Not at that time,” Harvick said. “At that time, we were just plugging along going from race to race, test to test and just trying to survive. I think the perspective you put on it now is much different then what it was at the time because you really didn’t know what you were in the middle of until you look back on it and you see the magnitude of the situation for the sport and the team.
“It was really not about my first win or anything that had anything to do with my driving career. It was much bigger than that. I think when you look back at it now, you understand just how many people it affected and the things that it did, the inspiration that it gave to a lot of the race fans. It was just a huge moment.
“At that particular time, you didn’t know which end was up. So you didn’t know whether to be happy or be sad every time you got out of the car. It’s much different now when you look back on it 20-some years later.”
Childress’ grandson, Austin Dillon, was 10 years old at the time of Earnhardt’s death and Harvick’s victory at Atlanta. Although he wasn’t at Atlanta Motor Speedway for the win, he remembers the moment vividly.
“I was in the car with my mom and my brother riding down th road on the way home from a baseball tournament,” Dillon said. “My mom was screaming at the radio and she pulled over on the side of the road. When he crossed the start-finish line and they announced it over the radio, she started balling into tears.
“Just knowing how big it was for our family. As kids, we were in the back seat and when an adult cries, you know it’s emotional. The heart that our family puts into this whole thing and to know the significance of where RCR was at that time and for Kevin to get that win, it was a huge moment for us.”
In 2014, Harvick moved on to Stewart-Haas Racing and RCR resurrected the No. 3 with Dillon behind the wheel. Dillon understands the responsibility of carrying such an iconic number on a weekly basis. He also realizes the significance of his grandfather’s moment come Sunday.
“It’s very cool,” Dillon said. “My dad (former driver and current RCR executive Mike Dillon) said he’s more nervous of the 29 car going around the track this weekend than he is about the Cup cars. He wants to make sure that that car makes its laps. Then he’ll be relaxed for the rest of the race.
“Our whole shop has dug into that car and put a lot into getting it running.”
RCR has scored 15 wins at Atlanta throughout NASCAR’s top three tours. Of Childress’ nine Cup victories, Earnhardt earned eight of the wins, Harvick one.
“To be the grand marshal for Atlanta, one of my favorite racetracks as a driver and a car owner, is an honor,” said Childress.
Follow Lee Spencer on Twitter @CandiceSpencer or email her at: [email protected].
