Kevin Harvick Bakersfield to Indianapolis

Kevin Harvick was born and raised in Bakersfield, California. So was his childhood hero.

 

Rick Ravon Mears, who actually was born in Wichita, Kansas, but grew up in Bakersfield, was one of the great IndyCar drivers in the long history of automobile racing.

 

Mears is one of only three drivers to win the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race four times – 1979, 1984, 1988 and 1991. And he won IndyCar season-long championships in 1979, 1981 and 1982. He also holds the record for most pole positions at Indy, taking the No. 1 starting spot six times.

 

Harvick, who never competed in IndyCar, has said Mears was his hero growing up. And if you ask Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, they will tell you the same thing.

 

When Harvick won the 2003 Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, it was one of the biggest races he had ever won.

 

Harvick is hoping to score his second Brickyard 400 victory this week in the No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR). Mobil 1 was actually a sponsor and technical partner of Team Penske for Mears’ 1991 Indianapolis 500 victory.

 

And Harvick is coming off a victory last month at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn in the No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang. As always, he’ll have the support of Mobil 1 technology on board as a sponsor and technical partner.

 

Mobil 1 isn’t just the world’s leading synthetic motor oil brand, it also provides the entire SHR organization with leading lubricant technology, ensuring that all SHR Mustangs have a competitive edge over the competition on the track. In its 17th consecutive season as the “Official Motor Oil of NASCAR,” Mobil 1 is used by more than 50 percent of teams throughout NASCAR’s top three series.

Harvick is hoping he can lead Mobil 1 and Ford to another victory as this year’s NASCAR playoffs are set after Sunday’s final regular-season race at Indianapolis.

 

Then the real fun begins.

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