Kevin Harvick might be thankful to Dale Earnhardt for a lot of reasons. Both were integral parts of Richard Childress Racing back in 2001 when the tragedy unfolded. From revealing Dale Sr’s mentorship side to the emotional bond that they shared, Kevin Harvick reminisces about them all. He has always been vocal about these little memories of the legendary #3 driver of the RCR.

However, this time Harvick brings forward a new revelation that has the NASCAR world shocked. Something that was under the cards during Dale Sr’s final year of racing.

A discussion on wanting to go out on ‘positive terms’

Kevin Harvick opened up about a lot of factors in his recent Happy Hour episode, presented by NASCAR on FOX. He was joined by the founders of Realtree. In one part, Harvick discussed how the retirement plans of Dale Earnhardt were one of the hot topics back then. He also emphasized the intimidator’s wishes and plans before he might have retired.

“I think he was pretty close to. I think we all knew the time frame was kind of right around the 50 number. Like a lot of people would just wanted to go out on positive terms and do out the things on a positive note,” said Harvick.

The FOX analyst further explains how RCR and Dale Sr had put extra efforts into the cars’ infrastructure that year, and he wanted to make that work on track. “They put a lot of effort into the car. We’ve tested a lot in 2000 and had everything squared away. And really that’s part of the reason that we are able to get in the car next year and we were able to run and headed off right off the back. Because General Motors and RCR and Dale and just everybody had said, ‘Okay we need to escape the roads but we can’t go out on running good can’t just go flap around’,” said Harvick.

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Recollecting how the team had no problem with racing immediately after Dale Earnhardt’s death, he said, “So then they put a lot of effort into the car and the programs. Like I say, after Dale died and we were able to go out and run for the first few weeks, because it was just everybody putting in so much of effort and we’ve been in the cars a lot.”

The aftermath of Dale Earnhardt’s demise

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Kevin Harvick rose to immense popularity after the Intimidator’s unfortunate loss of life. He was still the rookie of the year in 2000, but that Daytona incident changed things for him forever. Harvick stepped into the shoes of the legendary Dale Earnhardt, as his replacement. Needless to say, the immense pressure to keep up with the legacy was burdened on him.

Even team owner Richard Childress lost hope initially after losing his best friend. Harvick almost helped RCR survive the 2001 season, by taking a huge chunk of responsibility on his shoulders. He displayed excellent grit, self-control, and determination to overcome this pressure. Harvick did not just survive; he won the next race in his #29 car at the Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Kevin Harvick & Wife DeLana Saved Richard Childress’ Downfall After Dale Earnhardt’s Tragic Passing