The ride has finally come to an end for ‘The Closer’ Kevin Harvick. The 2023 season might not have gone the way the 47-year-old might have hoped but he made sure that he went out with a bang. In Phoenix, Harvick finished P7 and even led a few laps during which he received raucous applause from those in attendance. However, there was one race in the season which proved to be a tough pill to swallow both for Harvick and his #4 Stewart-Haas Racing crew.

Harvick made it into the playoffs despite having a winless season but he couldn’t advance far enough. In 36 races, he notched up 6 top-five and 14 top-10 finishes this season. Of course, these numbers are nowhere near his best. But considering that it was Harvick’s last season and given the litany of problems Stewart-Haas Racing has had this year, these results are pretty decent.

Kevin Harvick reveals his persevering competitive spirit

On a recent episode of The Dale Jr. Download podcast, Kevin Harvick sat down with Dale Earnhardt Jr to discuss his final season in NASCAR. The veteran revealed that he was always looking to be as competitive as possible simply because he did not want to run last. A lot of drivers lose their hunger when they’re in their retirement year but that was not the case for ‘Happy Harvick’.

However, he did end up running last in Bristol. That is something that the former driver of the #4 revealed was embarrassing. But apart from that, he never ran last.

“For me, it was the competitive mindset and how do we do it by being as competitive as possible last year because I didn’t want to go out and run last. So we only did that once this year, we ran last at Bristol but that was really the only time that we absolutely sucked so bad that it was embarrassing,” Harvick said.

The veteran race car driver also revealed that running last was more miserable for the people around the driver than the driver themselves, at least as far as he is concerned. “That’s that miserable mindset that you live in and it’s not miserable because I enjoyed it but it’s miserable for the people around you that are with you every day and I think for me, being able to just get to the end and say, “Alright, that’s the end, now we’re gonna go do these other things,” but man there is a lot that consumes your mind when you do it right,” the 2014 Cup Series champion added.

The 47-year-old has always been a competitive man ever since he was thrown full-time into the big leagues. Kevin Harvick had no choice but to be competitive right from the get-go as he was the great Dale Earnhardt’s replacement in Richard Childress Racing in 2001. So it is no surprise that that mentality has persevered.

Read More – “It Got Me”- Even “Happy” Harvick Gets Caught up in Whirlwind of Emotions During Retirement Week

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Going out competitively is what Kevin Harvick would have dreamed of and that is exactly what he achieved in Phoenix. After the race, the 47-year-old revealed that that indeed was his objective and that he wouldn’t have changed anything about his last race.

“I’d rather walk away compared to rather than walk around looking for a paycheck. That’s always been one of my goals, to walk out as competitive as possible. We did that, so I wouldn’t change anything,” the driver of the #4 said.

It will be unusual to not see Kevin Harvick racing in the #4 for next season. The Closer has given a lifetime of memories for fans to cherish. Fans have wished the very best in his future endeavors and will look forward to his return to the track in whatever capacity.

Watch this story: Kevin Harvick’s Last NASCAR Race