Obama honors NASCAR champ Kevin Harvick

President Obama and Kevin Harvick

Getty Images for NASCAR

President Barack Obama honored Kevin Harvick and his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing team members Tuesday at the White House for winning the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup championship.

Harvick was accompanied by Rodney Childers, his crew chief, and Greg Zipadelli, his competition director, at the festivities on the White House South Lawn.

Harvick, a 39-year-old resident of Charlotte, N.C., won the championship for the first time after his first season driving for the Stewart-Haas Racing team.

“As the season started, Kevin had a new team, a new crew chief to adjust to. It usually takes more time for a driver and a crew chief find their groove," said Obama. “But Kevin and Rodney seemed to figure out each other in a hurry – sort of like when Joe Biden joined my team.

“As Kevin can tell you, when you have a trusted partner shout world-class advice into your ear at every turn, you can’t lose," Obama added.

Harvick began racing go-karts in his hometown of Bakersfield, Calif., at age 7, earning several national championships during adolescence. He started out racing part time in NASCAR at 17, advanced to full time at 20, and spent almost his entire NASCAR career at Richard Childress Racing before he joined the Stewart-Haas Racing in 2013. He’s won two championship titles in NASCAR’s semi-professional XFINITY series and is a three-time Truck Series owner champion.

The president honored Harvick not only for his achievements in driving, but also for his efforts to give back to the community away from racing.

Harvick and his wife, DeLana, established the Kevin Harvick Foundation in 2010 to help underprivileged youth realize their dreams as students and young athletes. This year, the foundation supported an anti-bullying program at the high school that Harvick formerly attended, and helped remodel the gym and the outdoor playground at the Boys & Girls Club in his hometown, according to material provided by the White House.

“Kevin – like so many others across NASCAR – is working to make a difference," Obama said. Charlotte Observer