CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The biggest news of the 2012 Sprint Media Tour wasn't that Danica Patrick will run the Coca-Cola 600 or the unveiling of the 2013 Ford Fusion. It wasn't that NASCAR has eliminated secret fines -- as far as we know -- or that Wal-Mart will sponsor Bill Elliott for the July Daytona race.
It wasn't that Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48 team are "pissed off" over not winning a sixth straight Sprint Cup championship or that team owner Rick Hendrick will be disappointed if he doesn't get all four cars into the Chase.
Harold Hinson PhotographyKevin Harvick announced Wednesday night that his wife, DeLana, is 14 weeks pregnant.The biggest news was DeLana Harvick is pregnant.
Fourteen weeks.
Yes, sometime in July, a little "Happy" will join the NASCAR family.
You scoff, but look at all the things the decision to start a family triggered. As Kevin Harvick revealed during Richard Childress Racing's tour stop in Welcome, N.C., on Wednesday, this is the main reason he and DeLana shut down their Truck and Nationwide Series race shop in Kernersville, N.C.
That led to a consolidation of much of the Nationwide program with RCR, which worked out perfectly with Richard Childress' grandson Austin Dillon, ready to run full-time in the series. It led to Eddie Sharp forming his own Truck team with KHI equipment.
This also ended the speculation that Kevin Harvick Inc. was shut down because the couple's marriage was in trouble.
And it cemented what we've all known for years, that DeLana really does wear the fire suit in the Harvick household.
"There were a lot of factors that went into the KHI decision, but when your wife tells you she's not starting a family unless you get out of the race team business, that's a pretty big factor in things that are going on," Harvick told reporters on Wednesday night.
"It was kind of like it was all meant to be, Austin coming up in the Nationwide car, us wanting to do the family aspect of life and Eddie Sharp starting his team. It all lined up perfectly."
And get this for planning: The due date is during a rare off week in the Cup schedule.
Maybe that golden horseshoe Harvick once claimed Johnson owned really has changed hands.
We don't know if it's a boy or a girl, but we are confident either way the baby won't be named Kyle. Harvick made it clear his feud with Kyle Busch isn't over.
The sad news is we likely won't see DeLana in her familiar fire suit on pit road for long. Kevin doesn't really want his wife climbing those steep steps to the pit box.
The good news is the Harvicks really are Happy.
Congratulations.
Big news.
David Newton | email
ESPN Staff WriterABOUT THIS BLOG
David Newton
David Newton, an award-winning NASCAR writer, began as a national motorsports columnist at ESPN.com in December 2006. Prior to joining ESPN.com, Newton served as the lead writer for NASCAR.com.
Newton previously covered NASCAR, the Carolina Panthers, Clemson University and University of South Carolina athletics for The State in Columbia, S.C., from 1984 to 2006. He also served as a correspondent for Sports Illustrated, and covered seven Super Bowls, dozens of college bowl games, five Masters, two U.S. Opens, two men's Final Fours, one women's Final Four and every major race on the NASCAR circuit.
The 1981 Wofford College graduate has won numerous state and national press association awards, including the 2009 Aflac Motorsports Journalism Award and second place in the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) columnist category. He also grabbed second-place national honors for his coverage of University of South Carolina football from the Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE) in 1992 and the award for excellence in news reporting from the South Carolina State Press Association in 2002. He has broken major national stories, including the Carolina Panthers' steroid scandal in 2004.
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