Kevin Harvick

Birthday: Dec. 8, 1975
Hometown: Bakersfield, Calif.

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

2008 -- Finished fourth in series points, tying career-best points finish. ... 19 top-10 finishes tied for series' fifth-best total. ... Best race finishes were seconds at Bristol spring race and the season finale at Homestead. ... Led 80 laps at Richmond in September en route to seventh-place finish. ... Second consecutive season of having no DNFs.

2007 -- Finished 10th in series points. ... Started year in grand style, winning Daytona 500 by merely .020 seconds over Mark Martin. ... Qualified for Chase, but never got higher than fifth. ... Finished second in road-course race at Sonoma.

2006 -- Finished fourth in series points. ... Qualified for the Chase for the first time, and won second Busch Series crown. ... Victory at Watkins Glen was first road-course win in Cup. ... Won first Chase race, at New Hampshire, to take over the series points lead. Engine problem the following week at Dover led to 32nd-place finish and a drop to fifth in the Chase standings. ... Five victories included a sweep of the two Phoenix races.

2005 -- Finished 14th in series points. ... Sole victory came at Bristol spring race. ... Had poles at Talladega spring race and Richmond fall race. ... Season-high points position was sixth, after Bristol win. ... Fell out of contention for Chase with only one top-10 finish in the 10 races preceding cutoff race at Richmond.

2004 -- Finished 14th in series points. ... Scored career-best finish at Daytona 500 with a fourth-place finish. ... Posted five top-fives and 14 top-10s, his best a second-place effort at Talladega. ... First season without a win. ... Placed on probation in June and November for separate incidents.

2003 -- Finished fifth in series points. ... Season highlight was winning the pole and the race at Indianapolis. ... Crew chief Todd Berrier replaced Gil Martin beginning with Bristol event in March. ... Win at Indianapolis began a five-race streak of top-five finishes, solidifying him as a title contender. ... Improved to second in points after a fourth-place finish at Dover in September. ... Slid to sixth in the championship race after finishing 20th at Atlanta and 34th at Phoenix.

2002 -- Finished 21st in series points. ... Won at Chicagoland, his second in a row at the track. .... Finished season with five top-fives and eight top-10s. ... Started on the pole at Daytona for the Pepsi 400. ... Placed on probation in April for incident in Truck Series.

2001 -- Finished ninth in series points. ... Earned Raybestos Rookie of the Year honors in Cup and won the Busch Series championship. ... Competed in 35 races, taking over as driver of the Chevrolets owned by Richard Childress after the death of seven-time champion Dale Earnhardt in season-opening Daytona 500. ... Won in his third career start, edging Jeff Gordon at Atlanta by .006 seconds. ... Won inaugural race at Chicagoland. ...Counting one start in the Truck Series, ran 69 races in NASCAR's top three series.

PREVIOUS RACING HISTORY

Won Raybestos Rookie of the Year honors in the Busch Series in 2000, winning three races and two poles on his way to a third-place finish in points. ... Ran the Truck Series in 1999, with 11 top-10 finishes. ... Won 1998 NASCAR Grand National Division, West Series championship. ... Was rookie of the year in the NASCAR Southwest Series in 1995, winning at Tucson and finishing 11th in points. ... Won the 1993 Late Model championship at Mesa Marin Raceway in his hometown of Bakersfield, Calif. ... Began racing go-karts at age 5, winning seven national titles and two Grand National championships.

NOTEWORTHY

Kevin and his wife, DeLana, were married in Las Vegas in February 2001, two days after he made his debut in the Cup Series. ... Won the 2002 IROC championship in his rookie season. ... Favorite track is Bristol Motor Speedway.