Kevin Harvick, the 2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion, announced Thursday morning that the 2023 season will be his last as a full-time driver. The Athletic reported Wednesday that his announcement was planned for Thursday.

“It’s time to call time. To enjoy all that we’ve achieved as a race team and to savor it with the ones who have made this journey possible,” Harvick said in a video on social media. “A new chapter is calling. One where being a dad and a husband takes precedence over being a driver. But that chapter is still a year away. There’s still more to be written.”

#4EVER pic.twitter.com/iH5dzpt4HY

— Kevin Harvick (@KevinHarvick) January 12, 2023

The coming NASCAR season, which officially begins Feb. 19 with the Daytona 500, will be Harvick’s 23rd as a competitor in NASCAR’s premier series and his 10th with Stewart-Haas Racing.

When Harvick, 47 and the oldest active full-time driver at the Cup level, would retire has been an often-asked question over the past few years and a source of much speculation. He acknowledged in December that he was considering stepping away after the 2023 season.

“Right now, I’ll know that answer before we get to Daytona,” Harvick said when asked on Dec. 1 about possibly retiring. “I don’t really have a clear answer on that right now. I think as we get to Daytona, I know 100 percent that we will have a direction because I’m not gonna start the season without knowing that direction. Just because of the fact that there’s just a lot of layers to unfold and really go through and evaluate. So we’ll see. I think it could go either way at this particular point.”

“We’re at a point where everybody needs to know what’s going on,” Harvick continued. “There’s too many tentacles to everything that happens, whether it’s the race team, driver management company, every element needs to know. It’s not fair to anybody to have to start the season not knowing.”

Harvick began racing in the Cup Series in 2001 when Richard Childress Racing named him to immediately replace the late Dale Earnhardt, who had been killed in the previous week’s Daytona 500. Harvick won two races that season and earned Rookie of the Year honors. He drove for RCR through the 2013 season before departing to join SHR, co-owned by good friend Tony Stewart.

Since aligning with SHR, Harvick enjoyed a high level of consistency that had been largely absent during his tenure at RCR. He won the Cup championship in his first season with the organization and advanced to the final playoff championship round in 2014, ’15, ’17, ’18 and ’19. His 37 wins during that span led all drivers, while his 60 career wins overall are tied with Kyle Busch for ninth all-time.

Harvick won two races in 2022 and again qualified for the playoffs for a 12th consecutive season. His first victory occurred at Michigan International Speedway in August, which snapped a 65-race winless streak. He again won the following week at Richmond Raceway.

Harvick goes into the season just 10 starts shy of reaching 800 career starts, something only nine other drivers have accomplished.

What’s exactly next for Harvick beyond driving is unknown. The entertainment management agency he founded, Kevin Harvick Inc., represents Cup drivers Harrison Burton, Ryan Preece and Ricky Stenhouse Jr., in addition to various MMA fighters, professional golfers and entertainment artists, and his involvement with the company is expected to continue. Nor would it be surprising to see Harvick expand his role on the television side where his work as a broadcaster for Fox Sports has earned him widespread praise.

Harvick’s departure creates a plum vacancy at SHR, one of NASCAR’s top organizations. The team is not expected to name his replacement Thursday.

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(Photo: Mark J. Rebilas / USA Today)