Harvick not surprised by how well Bowyer has fit in at SHR

It shouldn’t surprise anyone really. During Bowyer’s entire career, wherever Harvick’s NASCAR career has taken him, Bowyer has not been far behind.

When team owner Richard Childress first brought Bowyer on board at Richard Childress Racing to run a handful of Xfinity Series races in 2004, Harvick was RCR’s premier driver in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

Learning from Harvick

Bowyer had limited experience in ARCA and the NASCAR Midwest series, but when it came to NASCAR national series competition, Bowyer had nothing to go on, so he basically started with what Harvick was using.

“Everything I have learned in this sport of racing and race cars was always in (Harvick’s) seat, with his pedals, where his steering wheel was,” Bowyer said. “Kevin always had it and I didn’t know any better. I had never drove one before.

“Everything I did when I learned how to drive these cars was how Kevin did it.”

Harvick is one of NASCAR’s top talents, winning championships in the Cup and Xfinity series. While Bowyer hasn’t won a Cup title yet, he finished second in the Cup series standings in 2012 with Michael Waltrip Racing and won an Xfinity title in 2008 while at RCR.

Both drivers eventually went their separate ways, with Bowyer moving to Michael Waltrip Racing.

When Tony Stewart announced in 2015 that the 2016 Cup season would be his last as a driver, there was a simultaneous announcement by Stewart-Haas Racing that Bowyer would take over as driver of Stewart’s No. 14 team in the 2017 season.

Teaming up again

That meant Bowyer would once again follow in Harvick’s footsteps. Harvick left RCR and joined a start-up team at SHR in 2014 and won the series championship in his first year working with crew chief Rodney Childers.

So, when Bowyer was preparing for his move to SHR, he once again turned to Harvick for advice.

“When I came to Stewart-Haas they asked me what I want to do with my pedals and seat and I said, ‘Hell, I don’t know, ask Kevin.’ It has been that way my whole career,” Bowyer said.

“I knew it would be a positive move. I am very well aware of Kevin, we are good friends and have done a lot of things off the race track together. I was very happy to get back working with him.”

So far, Bowyer has had an easy adjustment. He has one top-five and three top-10 finishes in the season’s first six races and is currently eighth in the series standings. He and Harvick (10th) are the highest SHR drivers in the standings.

Harvick knew he'd fit right in

Harvick said he is not surprised by how well Bowyer has fit in at SHR, considering their previous work together.

“I knew he could drive the car and we could work together as teammates and we would communicate and our teams had worked together from the fact that Mike (Bugarewicz), Bowyer’s crew chief) was an engineer on our car,” Harvick said. “Our cars were put together in the shop and managed by the same people.

“I watched him drive his first stock car at RCR, and from that point on, he progressively learned and listened and brought a lot to the table as a driver. And we are good friends which is something you can’t really buy. You either get along with somebody or you don’t. You communicate and drive like them or you don’t.

“It has been refreshing and fun to have him there and progress.”