Gold Line: Kevin Harvick, '2016 Busch Fishing' Chevy SS

Shortly after Kevin Harvick left Richard Childress Racing and joined Stewart Haas, (bringing powerhouse sponsor Anheuser-Busch with him), the company began to change their marketing tactics. Gone were the days of the omnipresent Budweiser car. The mega-brewer shifted their strategy to showcasing the more approachable and affordable, Busch and Busch Light brands. Seasonal themes transcended into how the product was marketed, and the Busch Fishing car was born, for a closer look, read on...

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Above: Kevin Harvick crushes the outside wall on the Talladega front stretch on the least lap of the GEICO 500 on May 1st, 2016. The accident would force a yellow flag to end the race. (Photograph courtesy of nbcsports.com/Getty images).

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I have eight Kevin Harvick 1/64s in my collection, and this is one of my favorite examples from his racing career. This car has all the makings of a great and memorable paint scheme. Bold colors, a clear logo, great ratios and an effective use of space on the design, along with good construction quality from Lionel make this highly prized possession. 

Harvick only drove this car on one occasion. While he did race every lap of the spring race at Talladega, the car met a calamitous end on the last lap of the race. You can see that all unfold here. Because the field was frozen upon the throwing of the yellow flag, Harvick still managed to secure a decent finishing position (15th) and the day was somewhat hilariously successful because with the top-15 finish, Harvick retook the points lead at that point of the season. More on that, here. This is another great looking car with an interesting history, now nearly a decade old!

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Sources:
-Jayski.com
-Lionelracing.com
-Nascar.com
-nbcsports.com
-racing-reference.info