by Moe Zilla

Created on: March 08, 2010

He began his racing career at the age of five, when he received a go-kart after graduating from kindergarten. That sounds like a joke, but it's not. Kevin Harvick began competing in the national go-kart championships, where he raced for the next 10 years. He earned seven National Championships and two Grand National Championships. And he's been a professional racer ever since...

Racing go-karts taught him "the value of dedication," according to Kevin's official web site, "and he discovered "the joy of success that would transform into fierce determination." By the age of 17, he'd moved to real cars and stock car racing, winning the NASCAR Late Model Champion-Mesa Marin Raceway in Bakersfield, before trying the Featherlite Southwest Series - which is one of NASCAR's regional touring divisions. According to Wikipedia, it was his father who built Harvick's car, using money he earned for his own garage . Kevin hadn't even finished high school, but he still raced in both his junior and senior year on a limited schedule. He did his first complete season as soon as he'd  graduated, and in 1995 he won the division's award for "Rookie of the Year."

He'd finished 11th in the Featherlite point standings, but he won at Tucson Raceway Park, and Kevin Harvick was ready for more. So he put aside his previous career path - being an architect - to become a professional racer, starting in the Winston West Series. He won five races in 1998, ultimately winning the championship. But his career finally took off in 2000, when he raced in the NASCAR Busch Series.

In 2000, Kevin Harvick started breaking records. He tied two of the NASCAR Nationwide Series Rookie Records - highest final-finishing position, and most wins. And he also broke two other series rookie records. He scored the most points overall (4,113), and also won a record amount of money: $995,274. He was named Rookie of the Year.

Richard Childress hired him to be a full-time driver, and the next year Harvick won Childress his first Nationwide Series championship. (This made him the first owner to ever win a championship in NASCAR’s three major series.) But Harvick broke an even more important record that season. No other NASCAR driver had ever competed in 70 races in a single season - but Kevin Harvick did.

Over the next decade, he'd win trophies nearly every year. He was 2002 IROC champion, and also the champion of the 2006 Busche Series. After 10 years, he was named the Nationwide Series' driver of the decade. But ironically, despite all the racing victories, on his official web site Harvick still remembers to mention one of his other favorite hobbies.

Go-kart racing.

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