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Kevin Harvick is a Chevy man, having driven one his entire NASCAR career but Stewart-Haas Racing is moving to Ford in 2017.
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RUMOR: Kevin Harvick is mulling an offer to leave Stewart-Haas Racing after this season and move to Hendrick Motorsports in a deal that would keep him with Chevrolet and insert him into Kasey Kahne’s No. 5 car.
REPORTED BY: Tom Bowles, Frontstretch.com
THE DETAILS: Harvick is a Chevy man, having driven one in NASCAR's Sprint Cup competition his entire career. But Stewart-Haas Racing is moving to Ford in 2017 and could suffer some transition pains next season. Harvick has shot down rumors all season that he wants to leave Stewart-Haas but Bowles says the mulling of a switch isn’t new to NASCAR insiders despite being denied by both sides.
SINCE 2014: It's no secret Kahne has struggled over the past two seasons despite the successful nature of Hendrick Motorsports. Since the start of the 2014 season, Kahne has just one win to go along with 25 top 10s in 84 races and an average driver rating over 100 at just one (Indianapolis) of the 23 tracks on the circuit. Harvick, on the other hand, owns nine wins since 2014 with 57 top 10s and an average driver rating over 100 at every track except Talladega and Daytona. Since the start of the 2014 season to date, Harvick has led 5,119 laps to Kanhe's 284 (zero this season).
OUR TAKE: If Harvick does make the shift, it would mean Kahne, who is under contract at Hendrick until 2018, would be looking at a possible buyout situation. Harvick is under contract with Stewart-Haas through the 2016 season with an option for the 2017 season. Harvick's move to Hendrick would be a win-win for both sides as the team needs a difference maker to challenge the recent dominance of Joe Gibbs Racing. The downside for Harvick would be the parting ways with crew chief Rodney Childers, who has been with the No. 4 team since Harvick's championship season.
REPORTED BY: Tom Bowles, Frontstretch.com
THE DETAILS: Harvick is a Chevy man, having driven one in NASCAR's Sprint Cup competition his entire career. But Stewart-Haas Racing is moving to Ford in 2017 and could suffer some transition pains next season. Harvick has shot down rumors all season that he wants to leave Stewart-Haas but Bowles says the mulling of a switch isn’t new to NASCAR insiders despite being denied by both sides.
SINCE 2014: It's no secret Kahne has struggled over the past two seasons despite the successful nature of Hendrick Motorsports. Since the start of the 2014 season, Kahne has just one win to go along with 25 top 10s in 84 races and an average driver rating over 100 at just one (Indianapolis) of the 23 tracks on the circuit. Harvick, on the other hand, owns nine wins since 2014 with 57 top 10s and an average driver rating over 100 at every track except Talladega and Daytona. Since the start of the 2014 season to date, Harvick has led 5,119 laps to Kanhe's 284 (zero this season).
OUR TAKE: If Harvick does make the shift, it would mean Kahne, who is under contract at Hendrick until 2018, would be looking at a possible buyout situation. Harvick is under contract with Stewart-Haas through the 2016 season with an option for the 2017 season. Harvick's move to Hendrick would be a win-win for both sides as the team needs a difference maker to challenge the recent dominance of Joe Gibbs Racing. The downside for Harvick would be the parting ways with crew chief Rodney Childers, who has been with the No. 4 team since Harvick's championship season.
Harvick's move to Hendrick would also initiate what is expected to be a a busy offseason of driver swaps as Clint Bowyer joins the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing car and no extension has been announced for Ryan Newman in the No. 31 Richard Childress Racing car. Newman’s teammate Paul Menard will also be a free agent after this season.
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