Kevin Harvick

Tragedy became opportunity for Bakersfield native Kevin Harvick, one of the shining stars of modern stock car racing.

The Bakersfield-bred Harvick got his start in a go-kart, a kindergarten graduation gift from his parents. Over the next decade he earned seven national championships and two grand national titles before moving on to bigger cars and bigger competition.

A switch to the Featherlite Southwest Series - a regional touring division of NASCAR – came in 1992. He ran a limited schedule for two seasons while completing high school, then competed in a full slate or races in 1995 -- earning Rookie of the Year honors. Harvick later joined the Winston West Series and in 1998 won five races on his way to the championship.

A brief stint in the Craftsman Truck Series introduced Harvick to acclaimed car owner Richard Childress, who offered him a ride in the Busch Grand National Series. When racing legend Dale Earnhard lost is life in a crash on the final lap of the Daytona 500 in 2001, Childress asked Harvick to assume driving duties on the Winston Cup circuit. Harvick became the first driver in NASCAR history to run full-time on both the Busch and Winston Cup series in the same season, and the first to be named Winston Cup Rookie of the Year the same season that he earned the Busch Series Championship.

Harvick is one of only 13 drivers who has won a race in each national series (Craftsman Truck, Busch and Nextel Cup) and is one of only two drivers who has won at least two races in each series.

But the crown jewel of his career to date came in the 2007 edition of the Daytona 500. Running fourth with half a lap to go, Harvick charged around the outside of turn four and nipped leader Mark Martin by .020 seconds to win NASCAR’s premiere event in one of its most thrilling finishes ever.