Nov 4, 2026 · 1h 27m
Harvick bets on a national future for short-track racing
Kevin Harvick and Dale Jr Have a Plan to Fix Short Track Racing
The CARS Tour experiment tests whether unified rules, stronger purses, and better coverage can make grassroots racing sustainable.
- 1Kevin Harvick is consolidating regional asphalt series under a national CARS Tour structure built around trust and communication.
- 2The Platinum Program targets stronger start money and purses so short-track teams can operate as sustainable businesses.
- 3Harvick’s return to racing and competition with Keelan reveal how retirement shifted racing from professional pressure toward family and perspective.
Don't miss
Harvick explains how expecting to race no more after retirement turned into competing in more than a dozen events, without the pressure of professional results.
The brief
Kevin Harvick joins Dale Earnhardt Jr. to discuss life after full-time NASCAR, where broadcasting, business, sponsors, and family have made retirement busier than expected.
Harvick’s central project is a broader CARS Tour that brings fragmented grassroots divisions under one national structure, with unified rules and stronger communication with teams.
The plan depends on economics as much as branding: streaming through FloRacing and Track TV, plus better start money and purses, are meant to support viable teams.
Harvick also describes returning to competition after expecting to race no more, learning to compete without professional pressure and finding a different rhythm alongside Keelan.
The episode’s larger argument is that grassroots racing needs durable systems, investment, and delegation—not just famous drivers or isolated events—to preserve its future.
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