New Hampshire Motor Speedway (NHMS) honored the career and legacy of Kevin Harvick as he prepares for his final NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) race at “The Magic Mile” as a full-time NCS driver in Sunday’s Crayon 301. NHMS Executive Vice President and General Manager David McGrath presented the veteran driver with a custom-designed musket handmade by Ed Parry of Black Hart Long Arms in North Stonington, Conn.
“Over the years, I’ve given you a lot of lobsters here at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, but I wanted to give you something different this time,” said McGrath. “So we have a custom-built musket, handcrafted out of Connecticut, that commemorates your record-tying four wins here at ‘The Magic Mile,’ and as a special thank you for being a great ambassador to our track and all of our fans, I present to you this beautiful musket.”
The commemorative musket represents the New England fowling guns of the 1700s, made with Yankee frugality of repurposed, imported and locally made components. The attractive stock is of local curly ash wood that is strong, stable and eye catching. The lock and hardware are reshaped French and English in origin and the octagon barrel is from Pennsylvania. Yankees also wanted a practical gun in a .62 caliber smooth bore that would shoot bird shot for small game or a round ball for bigger game and militia use. The steel components are rust blued and rust browned for ease of maintenance and a non-reflective stealthy appearance for the woodsman. The right side carries the silver commemorative plaque to Harvick and on the left side, a silver plaque of the Speedway Motorsports logo.
“That’s cool,” said Harvick. “This is the only musket that I own. Thank you. For me, New Hampshire has been a great place to race. We have a great fan following up here. It’s always a fun place to race in front of those fans that have followed you for so long.”
In addition, NHMS will recognize Harvick during his final visit to New England’s only NASCAR weekend with a “Thanks, Kevin” track wall decal just after the start/finish line and by renaming turn four “Harvick 4.”
Sunday’s Crayon 301 is scheduled for 2:30 p.m., with coverage starting on USA at 2 p.m. and on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio and the Performance Racing Network radio affiliates at 1:30 p.m.
In 39 career starts at NHMS, Harvick earned 23 top-10s, 14 top-fives and four wins (2006, 2016, 2018, 2019). The four wins at the 1.058-mile track tie him for most all-time with Jeff Burton, who will lead the field to green as the honorary pace car driver on Sunday.
Tickets:
Log on to NHMS.com for tickets and more information on the weekend’s lineup of action-packed racing. Doubleheader Saturday tickets start at just $45 for adults while kids 12 and under are free. Sunday’s Crayon 301 tickets start at just $59 for adults and $10 for kids 12 and under.
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