Gone are those days when Kevin Harvick’s dramatic antics spiced up NASCAR’s Cup races. The Fox broadcaster was usually known for his aggressive brawls with rivals. Fans will remember especially his 2002 fisticuff with Greg Biffle or his recent tussle with Chase Elliott in 2021. Similarly, he pulled off another risky move during the 2010 Talladega race to send a message to a departing sponsor.

An angry young man as he was, the 60-time Cup winner was also a formidable racer. And Kevin Harvick used that talent to settle a score with a deserted benefactor.

Kevin Harvick recalls making his wealthy sponsor regret

By the time Kevin Harvick hung up his racing helmet in 2023, his resume was golden. No sponsor would have said no to the veteran driver in the twilight years of his career. Yet once upon a time, things were different.

After Kevin Harvick stormed home the 2007 Daytona 500 title, he faced a long winless streak of nearly three years. Fans began dropping off, and his $228 billion sponsor Pennzoil was going to leave as well. But Kevin Harvick was determined to take control at the 2010 Talladega race. In the final lap, Jamie McMurray was ahead with about 200 yards to go, but Harvick remained tucked behind McMurray and made his move. He broke draft with McMurray just enough to loosen him up a little and squeezed by him to take the win in the final seconds.

Kevin Harvick recalled his desperate actions, which were a result of him wanting to prove a point. “We were in the tandem drafting. You see myself and Jamie McMurray here. And this exact move that happened, I actually tried it in practice, where you just slide across the back bumper and just get the car to wiggle a little bit. And I got the back of Jamie’s car to wiggle just enough to get underneath him…But I was on like a 109, 110-race winless streak at that time.” 

The win was Harvick’s first Sprint Cup victory in three years and broke a barren spell of 115 races dating back to 2007. That drab record was why Pennzoil-Shell dropped a bomb on race day. “Shell had told us that we were not coming back. They were out as the sponsor and then we go out,” Harvick added.

Caitlyn Vince quipped angrily, “Why would someone do that the day of a race? Is that normal?” And Harvick explained, “I think it’s probably just when that meeting was scheduled.”

But Vince’s curiosity was satisfied with the story’s climax. Kevin Harvick won the race and ended up with a new sponsor. “So in that fashion, we went back. And as we typically did at that time to just really show them how we felt about it. We went out on the race so that we could get a new sponsor…Wound up with Budweiser. So that was a wild race.”

Pennzoil’s decision to move away from Harvick did raise some eyebrows, but it was even more surprising when later in that season, Harvick was atop of the standings for the Sprint Cup. One of the officials from Pennzoil did admit to feeling a little indifferent about the move.

The deserting sponsor admitted to feeling ‘awkward’

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After leaving Kevin Harvick’s No. 29 car, Pennzoil became the primary partner for Penske Racing’s No. 22 car driven by Kurt Busch. But Harvick’s restored energy gave them second thoughts, and by the end of 2010, a unique situation developed. There was a strong chance that Harvick could win the 2010 Cup championship, and that put Pennzoil in a tight spot.

Harvick was leading the Sprint Cup standings and had the chance to deliver his and the sponsor’s first Cup championship. This was also the first time since the Chase for the Sprint Cup was launched in 2004 that a primary sponsor for one driver at the top of the standings, was transitioning to another team and driver for the following year.

“It’s definitely awkward,” said Heidi Massey-Bong, Pennzoil’s senior business adviser for NASCAR sponsorships in 2010. “We’re leaving somebody who I very much respect and appreciate what they’ve done in the sport, and going to somebody else.” Harvick would eventually finish the season in third place, with Jimmie Johnson taking the championship. 

Such a comeback story is why we stay glued to Kevin Harvick’s podcast as he recollects more such gems from his past.