Racing legend Kevin Harvick is ready to begin his new career in the Fox broadcast booth, joining Clint Bowyer and Mike Joy, for the Daytona 500 this weekend.
Harvick is no stranger when it comes to announcing races, having called about 30 races in the Xfinity and Craftsman Truck series over the past eight years. But it was his stint as a guest analyst during the 2015 Xfinity Series opener at the Daytona International Speedway that guaranteed him a future in broadcasting.
It was during this race, with nine laps remaining, that Kyle Busch slammed into a concrete wall and broke both of his legs.
"We've been lucky as competitors to [see] this sport evolve with the safety, and when you hit one of those concrete walls, and you've been hitting these SAFER barriers, you have no idea the difference in what it feels like," Harvick said during the broadcast two minutes after the crash. "When you hit them head-on like that, it is a violent, violent impact."
Lead broadcaster Adam Alexander would later say that it was this moment that he knew Fox had found a future television personality.
"I just remember that day, watching the way Kevin reacted to that and how he handled an adverse situation," Alexander told The Associated Press. "I felt at that time, 'Man, this guy's got a lot of upside when it comes to knowing how to be a broadcaster.'"
After that race, Harvick continued to be a guest analyst with Fox Sports specifically for its "Driver Only" broadcasts for the Xfinity Series. But because he was still a full-time racer, his airtime remained limited.
Last year was Harvick's final season of racing, and he made his Cup broadcast debut earlier this month at the Busch Light Clash at the L.A. Coliseum. This will be the first time since 2002 that Harvick will not be part of the Daytona 500 field.
"We were really able to close the page on the driver piece of it, and that was a relief, I think for me, going to the racetrack and actually being able to walk into the garage and not have to worry about how fast my car is gonna go," Harvick told AP. "It just felt like there was no stress. There was no anxiety of getting ready for the race ... ."
The rest of the broadcasting team is equally excited for Harvick to join. Mike Joy said that Harvick is a "fountain of information," and Fox producer Pam Miller called Harvick the "perfect personality."
"They all know me well enough to know that I'm going to shoot it straight and tell it like I see it," Harvick said.
A guaranteed future NASCAR Hall of Famer, Harvick just wrapped up a 23-year Cup career, highlighted by the 2014 championship and 60 Cup wins, including the 2007 Daytona 500.
