Harvick said:

I’m looking forward to finishing out this season on a strong note with RCR and continuing to build our program going into the 2013 season with the ultimate goal of winning a championship. Anything beyond that, once I know what my future plans are set, I’ll let you know.

In 2014, Harvick will join the SHR stable, which includes Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman, and Danica Patrick.

RCR owner Richard Childress wouldn’t talk about the rumor:

I’ve got a contract for 2013 and this is 2012. I’m not talking to you about nothing (regarding that).

Harvick has 18 career Sprint Cup victories, and has driven for RCR since his Cup career began, the week after Dale Earnhardt Sr was killed in a crash at Daytona International Speedway.

In 2010, Harvick considered leaving the team, but decided to stay in good faith. This time, he chose to leave because he thinks SHR will provide motivation that seems to be lacking at RCR.

RCR shrunk to three cars this season, after Clint Bowyer left due to a lack of sponsorship. Reports indicated that Bowyer had a sponsor lined up, but RCR wasn’t interested. As a result, Bowyer left to join Michael Waltrip Racing and had arguably the best season of his career.

Childress’ grandsons both drive in NASCAR’s lower levels. Austin Dillon is driving in the Nationwide Series, where he sits third in points. Dillon will drive the No. 33 in the Daytona 500 next season.

Ty Dillon drives in the Camping World Truck Series, where he sits second in points.

Childress is grooming RCR for his grandsons to eventually take over. While there is nothing to indicate that this has anything to do with Harvick’s decision, it is possible that it does.

Paul Menard and Jeff Burton have been struggling this season, with both out of the top 15 in the standings and winless.

Elliott Sadler, who drives the team’s Nationwide Series entry, is tied for the N’Wide series points lead. He will not return to RCR next season. He is rumored to be close to a deal with Joe Gibbs Racing. Ty Dillon could move up to the Nationwide Series next season.

Update: Stewart was asked to comment on the rumor. He said:

Well, it’s actually Dale, Jr. And (NASCAR reporter) Marty Smith is actually going to be in the fourth car. Yes, that’s where we are at. I will tell you this, when we have something to tell you guys, we’ll tell you. I’ve always said that. You guys can throw darts, but when we have something to tell you that’s different than what we’ve got going on, we’ll obviously tell you.

Update 2: Kevin Harvick is said to be taking Budweiser and Jimmy Johns with him to Stewart Haas Racing in 2014.

Related Stories

• Sadler Reportedly Close To Deal With JGR
• Sadler Not Returning To RCR In 2013
• It’s Official: MWR Signs Bowyer To Multi-Year Deal
• Bowyer To Leave RCR At Season’s End?

As I watched Dale Jr drive that famed No. 3 to the front and take the checkered flag, I was emotional. It was an incredible sight to see a man who has been scrutinized so heavily due to his lackluster results in the Sprint Cup Series go out and honor his father with a win. More impressive when you consider that he hasn’t won a Nationwide Series race in four years. Everything seemed right with the NASCAR world.

Fast-forward 10 days…

As I watched Austin Dillon take the checkered flag in the famed No. 3, I wasn’t emotional. I wasn’t connected to it. As a matter of fact, I felt more upset than anything else.

I have nothing against Austin Dillon – I don’t know much about him. Nor do I have anything against Richard Childress deciding to let his grandson run the legendary number — it’s his number to use as he sees fit, and it’s the number he drove before Dale Sr drove it.

But something about seeing someone not named Earnhardt drive the No. 3 in one of NASCAR’s top three series didn’t feel right — seeing that person drive to victory made it even more unsettling.

If Dale Sr retired, I wouldn’t be writing this column. If he had passed on due to natural causes, I wouldn’t be writing this. But he didn’t. He died doing what he loved, in a car that he made famous, at a track that he battled through his entire career. And that makes his connection to the No. 3 special. In some ways, it’s more than just a number.

And, putting Austin Dillon in a truck with that number is like putting a target on his back. It’s almost ensuring that he will never be judged as Austin Dillon. I don’t think he’ll ever be able to get out of that number’s shadow.  

David Newton, of ESPN, wrote in a column:

Let Dillon be Dillon, not Dillon the driver of the 3. If Richard Childress wants his grandson in the 3, then let him be without all the Earnhardt hubbub. … He’s just carrying on the family tradition that began when Childress took the number in 1976 and drove it for six years before turning it over to Earnhardt late in the 1981 season.

Again, I think the Childress should use the number as he sees fit. He has the rights to it. But, given the way Dale Earnhardt Sr died, and his seemingly eternal connection to that number, it seems certain that anyone running the number not named Earnhardt will forever be known as “driver of the 3.”

Why would Childress want that for his grandson?

At this point, I don’t think it’s as big of a deal. Seeing a No. 3 — a black No. 3 — in the Camping World Truck Series is not like seeing one in the Nationwide Series or the Sprint Cup Series. Seeing a truck with the famed three on the track doesn’t elicit the same kind of emotion that seeing a car with that number on the track will.

And, if Dillon doesn’t perform up to that number’s reputation, it’s sure to subject him to more scrutiny than any rookie that’s come before him. Again, why would Childress want that kind of pressure for his grandson?

I hope at some point Childress will realize that the No. 3 is a liability more than it is an asset, and will decide to run Dillon in another number. If he doesn’t, I think Dillon will always be “driver of the 3.”

So, if in the future Childress decides to run Dillon in the No. 3 in N’Wide or Cup, Dillon will not be judged on his own merits, as Newton hopes. He never will as long as he has that number.  He’ll always be “driver of the 3.”

The opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Lead-Lap.com.

In her column dated yesterday, she wrote:

If Obama can tell GM and Chrysler that their participation in NASCAR is an “unnecessary expenditure,” isn’t having public schools force students to follow Muslim rituals, recite Islamic prayers and plan “jihads” also an “unnecessary expenditure”? Are all those school condom purchases considered “necessary expenditures”?

Upon further reading about this story, it looks like Car and Driver didn’t originally label the article a joke.

Media Matters for America features a Live Search cache snapshot of the article, which does not include the later-added Happy April Fools text under the headline.

Knowing that, it’s no wonder so many people are up in arms about the article, and were so easily duped.

I apologize for being under the impression that the article was clearly marked all along. This explains why C&D said they went “too far,” and pulled the article.

C&D is a reputable magazine, and most people would take their reporting at face value. I know I would. And other than the computer-generated image of Richard Childress Racing’s No. 3 Chevy, driven by the late Dale Earnhardt Sr, there was no indication that something was fishy with this article.

I point to the image because it is not authentic in that the supposed Chevy is supporting a Mercedes Benz-like grill, not the Chevy front with the bowtie. But is that really enough to know the article is fake? No.

Regardless of whether or not I think that article was in poor taste, it is certainly understandable to take it at face value.

And, in this case, C&D used its reputation to trick people, and for that they should be sorry. 

Several media outlets are still covering this story. They are: ESPN, Newsday, Investor’s Business Daily, and CNBC, just to name a few.

For the first time in a long time, I saw Dale Sr in Dale Jr. Like his father, I saw Jr do whatever he needed to do to get the position. Dale Sr built his entire racing career, fan-base, and empire with that driving style.

I think that Jr made a conscientious effort to drive differently. Over the course of his career, he’s been a fairly passive driver. He’s rarely called out drivers, and even handled last year’s incident with Kyle Busch at Richmond with indifference.

So, for this NASCAR fan, it was refreshing to see him be more aggressive on the track, like Sr.

When Dick Bergren was interviewing him, I could have predicted his answer to the question, “Was it an accident?”

When I listened to his answer, I didn’t hear Jr, I heard Sr. And maybe that’s just what Jr needs to go from fan favorite to championship caliber.

Martin Truex Jr. seems to be dragging his feet on signing that extention, and is rumored to be considering joining Stewart Haas Racing in a third car. He’s said to be furious with the team’s recent penalty that knocked him out of Chase contention.

Also, the team is considering shutting down the No. 01 of Regan Smith if it cannot lock up sponsorship dollars for the entry.

The U.S. Army, which sponsors the No. 8, is said to be looking at other teams for its sponsorship. That team recently lost Mark Martin, but does have Aric Almirola slated to be full time in the ride next season.

And now, I’ve read that Paul Menard and his father, John Menard, are rumored to be considering moving over to Yates Racing next season, leaving DEI without sponsorship and a driver for the No. 15 car.

With all of these rumors, the only certain thing is that Almirola will be in the No. 8.

If that’s the case, Teresa Earnhardt has to be considering selling DEI, despite comments that the team is not considering a sale.

Recently, Dale Earnhardt Jr. said that he had no interest in buying the team. What? Come on! Jr. is telling us that if DEI was put up for sale, he wouldn’t have any interest in buying it. BS, I say. How could he not? First, it’s his father’s team. Second, it’s a team he helped build through winning races and being NASCAR’s most popular driver. He put DEI on the map.

It’s the family business in a sport where family is central to most everything and he’s going to try to convince us that he hasn’t thought, for one second, about purchasing the team since hearing about it? Come on Jr., be honest. You would definitely consider buying the team because it is your father’s legacy.

But, there’s a reason Jr. said he is not interested in buying the team: he knows that Teresa would make it very difficult for him to purchase. Read his comments:

I didn’t ever feel like [Teresa] would be interested in selling the company. I don’t think that is in [her] character to give that company up. She feels that strong about it. She felt that strong about it a couple of years ago.

I think he knows how difficult she would make it for him to buy the team. I could see her taking a lesser offer from someone rather than letting Jr. buy it. Why? Because of the high profile control battle last season. In some ways, letting Jr. buy the company would be like conceding defeat.

Another reason he said he has no interest is because he’s learned to keep his mouth shut on his thoughts when talking to the media. If he were to express an interest, no matter how minor, he would be fielding questions about it for the remainder of the season.

He is in contention for the championship this year, and needs to focus on that. He’s trying to minimize the distractions, and any possible rumor about interest in buying the team would certainly be a distraction.