Kevin Harvick has started 658 point-paying races in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and has raced 18 times in the non-points All-Star Race at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. In those 676 races, he’s never driven a car quite like what he will pilot this week.
Last week, Busch Beer officials released the No. 4 Busch Beer Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) that is “Millennial Pink.” Yes, Millennial Pink.
How did this occur?
Well, Busch Beer was so confident in Harvick at last year’s season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, it tweeted the following on November 15, 2018:
“Old guys will rule again at Homestead. In fact, Busch is so confident that Harvick will win that if he doesn’t, we’ll give millennials the v lit paint scheme they always wanted in a race next year. Don’t @ us.”
Unfortunately, Harvick did not win Homestead or the Cup Series championship and, if that wasn’t bad enough, now he has to drive a Millennial Pink racecar in this Saturday night’s All-Star Race at Charlotte. The car also features things like avocados and toast, emojis, Snapchat filters and stickers reading “Squadgoals,” “Skrrrt Skrrrt,” “Busch is bae” and “AF.”
One can only imagine what the car would look like in victory lane after the All-Star Race, but that thought shouldn’t be brushed off.
In Harvick’s previous All-Star Race appearance, he has two wins, three second-place finishes, five top-fives, 11 top-10s and led 124 laps. He is the defending winner, having led 36 laps en route to victory in 2018.
And, Harvick hasn’t been bad in 35 career points-paying races at the Charlotte oval, either – two poles, three wins, four second-place finishes, eight top-threes, 16 top-10s and 528 laps led His average start there is 16.0, his average finish is 15.5 and he has a lap-completion rate of 94.2 percent, completing 11,863 of the 12,591 laps available.
As usual, this year’s All-Star Race will feature a different format and other significant wrinkles. The cars will feature two new technical elements that NASCAR may incorporate into the series’ Generation-7 stock car that is slated to debut in 2021. The event also will be five laps longer than the previous year’s running, increasing from 80 to 85 total laps split among four stages.
One new technical component is a single-piece carbon fiber splitter/pan that is expected to offer dramatic improvements in ride-height sensitivity for competitors. The splitter also is expected to provide a more stable aero platform and create more consistent performance in traffic.
The other element requires cars to be configured with a radiator exit duct through the hood. This will separate aerodynamic performance and engine temperatures, creating more parity across the field.
Despite the technical and race format changes, the All-Star Race is meant to be a fun event and nothing would be more fun for Harvick and the Busch Beer team than a Millennial Pink car pulling into victory lane.
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