"We're sacrificing our name to get rid of theirs" - When Kevin Harvick's sponsor cleverly leveraged rivals Kurt and Kyle Busch's name
Back in 2019, Busch Beer devised an interesting plan to take a dig at Kurt and his brother Kyle Busch during the Cup Series season. Busch Beer, the sponsor of Kevin Harvick, decided to change their paint scheme name from Busch to Harvick on the #4 driver's Ford Mustang and take the free publicity from the Busch brothers.
Kurt and Kyle Busch were two of the most prominent rivals of the Harvick during his days as a Cup Series driver. Interestingly, the then-Stewart Haas Racing driver also had Busch Beer as his primary sponsor, which made things more captivating.
However, Busch Beer had a different plan in mind ahead of the 2019 Drydene 400 at Dover International Speedway in Dover, Delaware. Busch Beer decided to replace 'Busch' with Kevin Harvick's surname for the particular race.
Busch Beer shared a post on X with the caption:
"Turns out we’re not the only ones named “Busch.” So, we’re taking a break from giving those other guys free advertising and giving @KevinHarvick the spotlight. Look for the Harvick car this week at Dover!"
Furthermore, emphasizing the same, they released a video with the post, where they sent a message in which they said,
"We love sponsoring Kevin Harvick, that's why we put our name all over him. But while the Busch name is associated with refreshment, it's also associated with two of Kevin's biggest rivals. So, for one race only, we're sacrificing our name to get rid of theirs, because we're going all in on Kevin. It's all Harvick."
Kevin Harvick qualified in fourth place for the Dover race and put his #4 Harvick Ford Mustang on the second row for Sunday's race. Whereas nascar" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-is-sponsored="false">Kurt Busch qualified in ninth place, and his brother in 18th place.
In the race, the #4 driver finished his race in fourth place. Whereas, the younger of the Busch brothers came home in sixth place, and the older Busch finished in the same position (ninth).
Kevin Harvick praised Busch Beer's idea for Dover
During the time of Busch Beer's #4 Ford Mustang Harvick paint scheme launch, Kevin Harvick praised his sponsor's idea. He loved the fact that he got his name on the car as well as on the beer can.
Here's how he reacted to the change:
"Now this is a paint scheme. Got my name on the car, got my name on the beer can. I can support this one, it's about time."
Harvick retired from NASCAR at the end of the 2023 Cup Series season. In his illustrious Cup Series career took part in 826 races, and raked in 60 wins, 31 pole positions, and 444 top 10s.
He won the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, was the 2020 Cup Series Regular champion, and was named one of NASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers.