Kevin Harvick's one final drive at Daytona 500

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Kevin Harvick has spent his entire racing career with success dependent on making the right decision in the fraction of a second.

He's done it well, and without that trait he wouldn't be here, with one final Daytona 500 (Sunday, 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports App) approaching, and a 2007 victory in the Great American Race and a 2014 NASCAR Cup Series title stashed on his résumé.

But when it came to the minor matter of choosing what the rest of his life would look like, and selecting the precise moment when it would begin, Harvick needed more time. And while racers so often can only make way for one voice — their own inner one — the 47-year-old's retirement planning came only after seeking informed opinion.

Harvick will be done at the end of this season, before throwing himself into an array of new projects, headlined by a spot in the FOX commentary booth and also including business, management and investment opportunities, plus the fledgling racing career of 10-year-old son Keelan.

[Kevin Harvick joining FOX Sports broadcast booth for Cup Series in 2024]

He thought long and hard over what to do and when to do it, but ultimately the wise words of former New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies baseball manager Joe Girardi, a close personal friend, stuck with him.

"Joe was very open with his advice and his time," Harvick told me this week. "He was very clear on this — you can't just sit around and play golf. He knows me. Racing has consumed my entire mindset for 30 years. This was about being able to step outside that and be comfortable with it.

"He told me that I should only do it, and go ahead and retire, if you are ready for it. There are only so many rounds of golf and so many vacations you can go on. There is a lot that goes into it. It takes over so much. NASCAR is similar to baseball in that we see a lot of action, a lot of competition, and you never really get to step away from it. Which means you need some things to replace it with, otherwise there is a huge void."

Whether it be 162 games or a stock car season spanning February to November, Girardi and Harvick are no stranger to years of long, relentless years of sporting activity.

Harvick is organized and intensely competitive — Dale Earnhardt jokes that he will be looking to settle some scores on the track in his final season and Harvick didn't necessarily disagree.

Now he is looking forward to being a little more spontaneous.

"As a driver your year is pretty much planned out," he added. "I am looking forward to being able to make some decisions more on the fly. It was a process to get there. I had a lot of things going around in my mind. I got to a point when I knew the time and the situation was right and this is it. Now I want to make my mark in the last season."

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Kevin Harvick announces he will be taking a broadcast analyst position with the FOX Sports NASCAR crew after he retires this season.

Harvick will drive the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 Ford on Sunday, and is +2500 with FOX Bet in what is seen as a wide-open contest. Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott are the bookies' favorites, each at +1200.

He has frequently run well in the 500, with a pair of second-place finishes in 2009 and 2015, and a fourth-place spot as recently as 2021.

He understands that this one will feel different, and it is only making him more determined to shine. Perhaps more than ever — maybe preparing for his broadcasting career — he is able to look from outside in and see the gravity of what this weekend means to a wider audience.

"The Super Bowl is over," he said. "Baseball hasn't started yet, the World Cup is over. It feels like America is ready for Daytona. And I'm ready for this race, one more time.

Martin Rogers is a columnist for FOX Sports and the author of the FOX Sports Insider newsletter. Follow him on Twitter @MRogersFOX and subscribe to the daily newsletter.

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