Kevin Harvick signs contract extension with Stewart-Haas Racing

Demonstrating that his loyalty to his current team outweighs any loyalty he may have towards a particular manufacturer, Kevin Harvick announced a “long-term” contract extension with Stewart-Haas Racing Thursday.

The deal ends speculation that Harvick was seeking to leave SHR to remain with a Chevrolet-affiliated team for 2017. SHR announced in February the organization would change manufacturers from Chevrolet to Ford next season, provoking questions whether the 2014 Sprint Cup champion, who’s driven Chevrolet cars since 2001, would pursue other avenues or stay with SHR.

“It was a big decision to join Stewart-Haas Racing and it has turned out to be my best decision,” Harvick said in a statement. “I came to Stewart-Haas Racing to win championships. We have one, but that only made us hungry for more. I’m very happy to have my future secure with a team so dedicated to winning.”

Although Harvick repeatedly denied such move -- “To not be committed to (SHR) would be foolish on my part,” he said in March -- rumors persisted he would sign with Hendrick Motorsports for 2017, the organization that provides SHR with engines, chassis and technical data.

Tired of the scuttlebutt surrounding his future, Harvick showed his frustration on social media this week. One Twitter post included a poll asking followers if they believed him or “media sources” when it came to knowing his future plans. Of the 5,900 responses, 82 percent voted in Harvick’s favor.

On Thursday, Harvick quoted SHR’s tweet announcing his re-signing saying, “Any questions now...”

That Harvick would have temptation to sign with Hendrick is sensible on some level when you consider Hendrick is Chevrolet’s No. 1 organization and continually fields competitive cars that regularly win races and championships including that of Jimmie Johnson, who’s won six titles and 77 races since 2002.

But since Harvick left Richard Childress Racing to join SHR in 2014, he’s emerged as a standard bearer on the track leading the Cup Series in laps led, top fives, top 10s and average finish and is tied for third in wins over the past two-plus seasons. He also won a career-first championship in his first year with the team co-owned by Tony Stewart and Gene Haas, and won three times and finished runner-up in points last season.

That dominance, plus the tight bond Harvick shares with good friend Stewart and crew chief Rodney Childers, who was handpicked by Harvick, overrode any desire to continue a relationship with Chevrolet.

Childers signed a contract extension with SHR last summer.

“When you have talented people who consistently deliver results, you hold on to them,” Haas said. “Kevin Harvick is an exceptional talent and we’re very proud to have him a part of Stewart-Haas Racing for years to come.”