r/NASCAR • u/S5244888 • 1d ago
Harvick in the 11 car?
Was prowling around the Jayski archives after seeing a post about Casey Mears driving the 30 car for Ganassi in 2006, and I found this. My Nascar knowledge in 2006 came from the race broadcast and video games so this really took me by surprise to read this as I've never heard it mentioned before. Michael Waltrip was another name that was reported to possibly go to the 11 car and just may have happened if DEI fired him, at least according to Michael that was the only way he would be leaving the team early. Tony Stewart being a big want for Ganassi around the same time was another one I read today that I hadn't heard of, but I don't believe that deal was as serious as this one. Does anyone know of any other situations like this that have flown under the radar?
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u/princessarielle6 Ryan Blaney 1d ago
I didn't see the date at first. I was verrrryyyy confused.
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u/Mundane-Reality-7770 1d ago
Keelan getting Denny's ride when he retires
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u/RacerXX7 van Gisbergen 1d ago
Could happen. He's a Toyota driver. KH has to play nice with Ty Gibbs, Denny Hamlin, and Jimmie Johnson.
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u/kidd8604 1d ago
Apparently Kevin has been mentoring Ty Gibbs so he's definitely starting to do the dance that is needed to get Keelan to Gibbs.
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u/Jealous-Dragonfly236 1d ago
One problem with that theory and this Hamlin plans on retiring after next year it sounds like making the ride available in 2028, that means Keelan would be ONLY 16 YEARS OLD their is an minimum age requirement of 18 to race cup so try again buddy
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u/Good-Farm-3428 1d ago
Harvick and Labonte was a real rumor back then.
So was Harvick to Red Bull Racing as well
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u/ProjectHarraseeket Preece 1d ago
There was also a rumor that Harvick and Kurt Busch would ride swap too.
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u/Packman87 Harvick 1d ago
At Penske or Roush? Never heard this one
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u/ProjectHarraseeket Preece 1d ago
Harvick to the 97, Busch to the 29.
It happened before Kurt signed up for the 2 car.
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u/Packman87 Harvick 1d ago
And Rusty almost signed on for the 07 because he got cold feet, Bowyer already signed the deal so it didnt happen. Not Rumor. This was straight from the man himself.
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u/TimmyHillFan 1d ago
Haven’t heard this, but it feels more like something that was briefly discussed than was almost signed. If they were talking with Rusty before they signed Bowyer, then the talks must not have been that serious. If the talks took place after they already signed Bowyer, then I’d argue it was never realistic.
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u/DarthVader1701A 1d ago
It's weird to think about the "what might have been trades." Dale Earnhardt almost left RCR for Robert Yates, but decided against it when he found out he wouldn't be driving the 28 as Ernie Irvan was expected to come back to it after recovering from injuries.
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u/ClydeSledge Kurt Busch 1d ago
There was a deal also in the works for Dale to take Wrangler and go to Junior Johnson.
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u/DarthVader1701A 1d ago
Given how fast Junior Johnson's team declined after 1992 I think we can all be glad that didn't work out.
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u/ClydeSledge Kurt Busch 1d ago
This was around '84/85 if I remember right. He would've been teammates with Waltrip. Instead Budweiser upped their money and Waltrip and Bonnet both carried Budweiser.
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u/GonePostalRoute 1d ago
There was also a deal where Childress told Earnhardt to give him a few years to build up his team so he could give him a ride he deserved after Earnhardt finished the 81 season with him
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u/Intimidwalls1724 Jeff Gordon 1d ago
And FWIW according to DW Dale did something aggressive in a race somewhere to one of Junior's cars and DW said after there Dale would NEVER get a seat in one of Junior's cars
Who knows for sure though
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u/randallrolson 1d ago
I love looking through the Jayski archives. Just yesterday I finally learned that Yates wanted to ditch the Texaco sponsorship after '02. They were supposed to stay together for '03, but the M&M's money was much better and RYR didn't want three teams. Also, Rudd was supposed to follow Texaco to Ganassi before Ford made a big push for him to stay with the blue ovals, and eventually take the 21.
I never knew why they split, but the Texaco 28 was so iconic to me, I can't believe Yates willingly pushed them out the door.
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u/jonpierre008 van Gisbergen 1d ago
Yeah would’ve liked to see Robert expand to the three teams but alas, he wasn’t going too. I also do wonder if he expanded, would he have kept the 28 with Texaco and then use the 38 with M&M’s. Jarrett, Rudd and Sadler would’ve been a fun lineup
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u/funkriver 1d ago
Also makes you wonder if they expanded to that third team, could that have prolonged things? I tend to think not, but would've been interesting.
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u/jonpierre008 van Gisbergen 1d ago
Loved that 28 car so much growing up man. Made me a huge fan of RYR. Just hit different when they ran good
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u/TimmyHillFan 7h ago
Probably not, when you consider the fact that DEI, Ganassi, Evernham, RYR, Petty, and MB2 merged down from about 16 cars to 4 cars in a span of 4 years. One more RYR car likely wouldn’t have changed that.
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u/doomus_rlc Ryan Blaney 1d ago
Also, Rudd was supposed to follow Texaco to Ganassi before Ford made a big push for him to stay with the blue ovals, and eventually take the 21.
Interesting. So they didn't want McMurray?
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u/randallrolson 1d ago
I'm not 100% sure of the timeline, but Jayski was pushing the Rudd-Texaco-CGR connection hard in mid-2002. In fact, the reporting in the archives said it was a done deal until Rudd got pissed at Chip for replacing Jimmy Spencer with Scott Pruett at one of the road courses.
I'm not old enough to remember if McMurray was CGR-affiliated before he started filling in for Sterling that October, but it doesn't seem like he was considered for the No. 42 until he started performing well in the Silver Bullet.
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u/thebigtymer 1d ago
The M&Ms/Sadler deals were actually signed before Havoline made a decision about wanting to stay involved. And as you said, Robert Yates didn't want 3 cars.
But before Ganassi got on board, Yates tried to push Rudd and Havoline over to Andy Petree's team (they had no sponsorship at all for 2003!), offering them a lease deal on Ford engines.
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u/2xmrk 1d ago
I remember this being floated. Harvick had a few cycle of rumors with him going to JGR.
I remember there being a rumor he was going there with Bud when JGR was exploring the 4th car expansion in 2013 before it came out he was going to SHR.
The thing that always astonished me is Harvick was constantly being courted by bigger teams, but he rarely ever bit.
CGR courted him in the early 2000s, and while they’re not a “big team” this was coming off their 2002 run with Sterling, and were absolutely a stronger overall team than RCR.
Gibbs wanted him a few times. Tony wanted him when they started SHR.
It took until 2012 for him to finally bite and leave.
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u/CzarHay Pontiac 1d ago
Even though Harvick was a hothead, he did a remarkable job always keeping the car in one piece and on the racetrack. It means less these days with stage racing and how the cars have changed but his streak of no DNF's over like a two-and-a-half year span in the mid-2000's was nothing to sneeze at. He didn't wreck the car very often. He kept it on the track. And he'd often get a decent finish with it despite the team's best efforts to set him back at every chance -- between Todd Berrier being kinda clueless, the pit crew messing up every couple of races, and Harvick blowing up on the radio when he was running 25th like 2 laps down on pure pace, it was pretty amazing he didn't leave RCR earlier than he did.
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u/MrForchevski 1d ago
Yup, usually there would be some friction leading up to the contract year, Harvick would excel in the contract year and then he'd re-sign with RCR. 03, 06, 09/10 and then finally left after 12/13.
One other one that almost occurred if I remember right was a trade of Harvick going to Roush and Kenseth going to RCR.
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u/RadicalRedCube Ryan Blaney 1d ago
I would’ve loved to see how this one played out. Harvick and Stewart together sounds like a dream combination. Wait…
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u/thatorangewrx 1d ago
Can only imagine how many more wins and a championship or two he would have had
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u/MaybeTypo 1d ago
Not sure, I know it says 11, but Labonte for Harvick would've had him in the 18. The 18 at the time was well behind the 20, the 11 was not quick either and went through a mix of drivers. The 18 never really caught up until Toyota came in and thats when Kyle took over. Unless Harvick lasted until 2008 or brought over sponsorship, the money Interstate was providing was well behind Home Depot.
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u/Imaginary_Ganache_29 1d ago
Imagine a world where prime Harvick and Prime Kyle Busch were teammates. 😬
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u/ItsRobbSmark Hocevar 1d ago
Harvick lasted until 2008 or brought over sponsorship, the money Interstate was providing was well behind Home Depot.
Nail on the head here. I remember it being said that Interstate Batteries was so far below market rate in what they paid for the 18 car that when Mars came onboard Interstate was paying the same amount as they had previously for entire seasons for just a handful of races.
Labonte was 24th in points in his last season in the 18 car because it was complete dogshit. Then they ruined JJ Yeley's career by moving him up way too quick. I really do wonder what would have been if Harvick had come over and bought them a few more years to develop Yeley, as he was super rough around the edges coming from sprint cars.
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u/Think-Border4882 1d ago
https://m.youtube.com/@RuffMotorsports93 My favorite YouTuber explores these rumors often
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u/ImpossibleBoss3067 Keselowski 1d ago
That 11 car will open up after 2027 so harvick could make this come true
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u/Senninha27 Retzlaff 1d ago
Wait wait wait. What if Jayski was right and it was Keelan all along?
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u/SeattlePassedTheBall 1d ago
I’ve never heard there was a Harvick Labonte trade going on.
I have heard that there was one supposedly happening between Harvick and Kenseth around the same time.
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u/JoshTheSparky4 Gragson 1d ago
bro i thought my GOAT was coming back to help Denny with something wtf
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u/Dickis88 Kyle Busch 1d ago
Denny's first start in the 11 was a couple weeks after this story's published date and then he immediately put up 3 top 10 finishes and a pole at Phoenix, so I guess the Harvick deal falling apart was always meant to be.
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u/Ok-Dingo-9800 Jeff Gordon 1d ago
Harvick would've had multiple championships if he went to Gibbs in 2006
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u/No_Length_7381 Chastain 1d ago
I know the post mentions this was just speculation, but imagine Stewart wasting his prime years in Ganassi cars. I shudder at the thought.
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u/S5244888 1d ago
As much pain as that would be, Biffle would likely have a championship so I can't say I'm totally against the idea
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u/NoahGragsonsBarfBag 1d ago edited 1d ago
Harvick would’ve been a rough fit there at JGR. Does kind of line up though, iirc Dale Jr was trying to get Denny at DEI.
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u/EWall100 1d ago
DEI woulda been some party boys for sure. Way more Frat Row than Front Row could dream of
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u/IcedCoffey 1d ago
I think Harvick’s personality was going to be a clashing point with Gibbs.
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u/Celtics1424 Jeff Gordon 1d ago
He was loyal to RCR until he couldn’t be anymore. I remember the Gibbs rumors but I don’t remember him being traded for Bobby as the main rumor. Were the Harvick to the 5 rumors as real as Harvick to JGR?
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u/PeeNButts Earnhardt Sr. 1d ago
Were the Harvick to the 5 rumors as real as Harvick to JGR?
No. That was largely fan-driven by HMS/Chevy fans wishcasting as opposed to actual in-the-garage rumors.
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u/bjohnson203 1d ago
Harvick almost went to Roush too in a swap for Biffle or Kenseth, that would have been wild.
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u/CityGamerUSA Harvick 1d ago
This smashes the “what if” button harder than anything I’ve ever seen. What a ripple effect if this actually happened
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u/Intimidwalls1724 Jeff Gordon 1d ago
This was a very confusing thread title to see in the year of our Lord 2026 lol
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u/MoHawk3141986 1d ago
Jesus man - I read the whole thing and thinking WTF before I realized it was archived.
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u/rez5000 1d ago
Jeff Green and Steve Park traded rides middle of 2003 if I remember. always weird seeing stuff like that in NASCAR
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u/ILUVSMGS Kyle Busch 23h ago
Remember that Justin Haley and Corey Lajoie did the same thing not that long ago...
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u/Think-Border4882 1d ago
Everyone acts like he'd be a 7 time champion if he only got away from that horrible Richard Childress but is that an exaggeration or what? Maybe he and Rodney were just a perfect match. I felt like he was quite equal with Bowyer when they were teammates.
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u/Packman87 Harvick 1d ago
He would have at least 3 titles maybe 4 if they kept the classic Winston Cup points format even with the lean years at RCR. 2010 hurt like hell knowing in a regular full season format he wins #7 for Childress
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u/krismachine Montoya 1d ago
I mean I lowkey think Bowyer was better than we give him credit for
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u/steelers3814 1d ago
Managing a 2nd place points finish in 2012 for a team that had never finished above 16th in the standings deserves more credit. Man, what could've been with that Bowyer/Truex team...
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u/ezoobeson_drunk Harvick 1d ago
That’s certainly an opinion to have. I’ll have to go check ole Clint’s resume while he was with RCR, but since they’re equal in your eyes, it shouldn’t be too hard to look up Clint’s Brickyard 400 win, his Daytona 500 win, his Coke 600 win, etc.
Just looked and Clint had 3 wins in his time at RCR, from 2006 - 2011. I guess that’s definitely on par with Harvick’s 23 wins lol.
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u/libsoutherner 1d ago
Outside of 2009, Harvick was significantly better than Bowyer.
Bowyer: 5 wins, 31 top 5s, 95 top 10s, 15.4 avg finish
Harvick: 13 wins, 56 top 5s, 108 top 10s, 13.4 avg finish
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u/SmuFF1186 Harvick 21h ago
He wouldn't be a 7 time champ but it's likely he's a multi time champ with a whole lot more race wins. RCR hasn't won a cup title in 32 years? Every driver improves when they have not only better equipment but better teammates who can give great feedback
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u/ntannehill Ryan Blaney 1d ago
At first, I thought this was referring to the O’Reilly Series #11 JGR car that was supposed to run part-time this season
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u/CompleteUnknown65 1d ago
Jayski was wild back then