title: Carlisle United F.C.

text: Carlisle started the 2007-08 season with a 1-1 draw at newly promoted Walsall but manager Neil McDonald was sacked on the Monday after the match. Greg Abbott took over as caretaker manager with Cheltenham Town manager John Ward taking over on a permanent basis in October 2007, with both clubs agreeing a six figure compensation package. Ward signed a four year deal. Ward took Carlisle to the top of League One on October 28 and they were still looking likely for automatic promotion at the beginning of April as they occupied second place but could only manage a draw on the final day of the season and finished fourth. On May 12, 2007, Carlisle United played Leeds United in the League One play-off first leg at Elland Road and won 2-1 with Danny Graham and Marc Bridge-Wilkinson scoring the goals. Dougie Freedman scored a controversial injury time goal (in the 96th minute; only 4 minutes were shown on the fourth official's board) for Leeds to set up an enthralling second leg. In the Brunton Park return, Leeds took an early first half lead through a Jonny Howson goal, and then Howson scored his second with only seconds to spare to put the match at 3-2 on aggregate to Leeds, meaning Carlisle would spend another season in the third tier of English football. Leeds were beaten by Doncaster in the play-off final.


title: Carlisle United F.C.

text: The 2008–09 season saw Carlisle start promisingly but it was soon followed by one of the worst runs of form in the club's history. Because of this manager John Ward was sacked and replaced by caretaker manager Greg Abbott, signing him permanently after he uplifted the club's form in the following games. On 9 January 2009, Graham Kavanagh was released by Sunderland and returned to Carlisle on a permanent basis as a player-coach. Carlisle eventually avoided relegation that season.


title: Carlisle United F.C.

text: Carlisle completed two full seasons with Abbot at the helm, and achieved comfortable mid-table finishes in both. More noteworthy were the two runs in the Football League Trophy which took place in those seasons. The team were beaten in the final in 2010 but returned the following year, with new signings including François Zoko and James Berrett, to win the trophy in 2011. The following season started successfully for the Cumbrians with Rory Loy, Lee Miller and Zoko all forming a hugely successful strike-partnership. They sustained a considerable play-off push throughout the season. Having occupied 6th place (final play-off position) for a period of the season, a dip in form towards the end of the seasons saw The Cumbrians miss out by just two points to Stevenage, meaning a successful seasons for the Cumbrians couldn't be rounded off with an appearance in the League One play-offs.


title: Carlisle United F.C.

text: The following season began in disappointing manner. Following a number of heavy defeats the club found themselves drafted into a relegation battle, occupying the final relegation spot for a period of the season. However, a resurgence of form in the New Year following the return of target man Lee Miller, and fellow front-man Rory Loy saw Carlisle string together a number of good results to claw themselves clear of the relegation zone, eventually finishing the season in 17th position. The club retained Greg Abbott as manager, offering a 1-year extension to his current deal, whilst also extending assistant Graham Kavanagh's contract for another season.


title: Carlisle United F.C.

text: The 2013-14 season started in disastrous style, with a 5–1 home defeat against Leyton Orient in which striker Lee Miller was sent off for violent conduct. A 4–0 drubbing away at Bradford City followed, before another 4–0 defeat at the hands of Coventry at home, before scraping points against Colchester and Brentford. Another heavy defeat in the League Cup followed as Championship side Leicester City secured a 5–2 victory at Brunton Park, before a narrow 1–0 home defeat to Port Vale spelled the end of Abbott's 5-year reign as United manager, just 2 points from 6 games had been the final straw for the club's Board.


title: Carlisle United F.C.

text: Following Abbott's sacking, assistant manager Graham Kavanagh was installed as caretaker manager, appointed on a permanent basis on 30 September 2013, signing a two-year contract.


title: Carlisle United F.C.

text: Following three-straight League Wins under Kavanagh and some much improved performances, Kavanagh was installed as permanent boss on a two-year deal. In May 2014, Carlisle were relegated, ending an 8-year spell in the third tier having finished 22nd following a disastrous run of results under Kavanagh, meaning the club would compete in League Two for the 2014–15 league season. Kavanagh removed assistant manager Davie Irons from his post as assistant manager early in pre-season as work to overhaul the playing, and backroom staff was underway in Kavanagh's project to turn Carlisle into a top footballing side.


title: Carlisle United F.C.

text: Graham Kavanagh was sacked in September 2014, following a winless start to the season, a 5–0 away defeat to newly promoted Cambridge United proved to be the final straw; alongside a record run of 15 league matches without a win for the club, ultimately culminating in Kavanagh being removed from his role as manager. He left the club having one of the worst records of any manager in the club's history, with a win ratio of only 25% and a relegation under his name. In September 2014, Keith Curle was appointed as Carlisle United manager, along with his former assistant Colin West. They signed a deal until the end of the 2015–16 season.


title: Carlisle United F.C.

text: Curle got off to a flying start, winning his first full-match as manager 1–0 against fellow strugglers Tranmere Rovers. This was followed by a 3–0 victory over rivals Hartlepool United, and another home 3–0 victory against Stevenage. The run of form lifted Carlisle from the foot of the table, and out of the relegation zone. The surge in form soon petered out however, and United again found themselves near the trapdoor of the Football League's basement division. 7 points from 3 games towards the back end of the season meant that Carlisle secured their Football League safety with 2 games to spare, following a 2–0 home victory over promotion-chasing Plymouth Argyle, just 4 days after a courageous 1–1 draw away at Burton Albion. The next season was a much better one but not enough for a promotion push, with the team finishing 10th. A highlight of the season was a visit at Anfield for the third round of the League Cup and a famous 1–1 draw against giants Liverpool, but lost 3–2 on penalties.


title: Carlisle United F.C.

text: The first half of the 2016–17 season was excellent for the club, with just one loss (against then-bottom Newport County) in their first 23 league fixtures. The play-offs seemed almost guaranteed. However a disastrous sequence followed, with only 4 wins in the next 21 games including 10 losses resulting in a drop from 2nd to 10th with only two games remaining. But a comeback home win against Newport County combined with favourable results elsewhere were enough to put them back into the play-off positions. Then, another comeback at play-off bound Exeter City in the last game proved enough for a final position of 6th, and a play-off semi-final showdown with the same opponent. However, Exeter beat them 6–5 on aggregate to condemn Carlisle to another season in League Two.


title: Carlisle United F.C.

text: Keith Curle left Carlisle United at the end of the 2017–18 League Two season after over four years in charge. He was replaced by John Sheridan. In January 2019, John Sheridan resigned as the Carlisle manager in order to become manager of National League side Chesterfield with the club in the last play-off position. Sheridan was replaced by Steven Pressley who saw the Cumbrians finish the 2018–19 season in 11th place.


title: Carlisle United F.C.

text: In November 2019, Pressley was sacked with the Cumbrians in 19th place. Pressley was replaced by Chris Beech. The 2019–20 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic with the Cumbrians in a disappointing 18th place. Chris Beech then set about the task of re-building the squad following the disappointing 18th-placed finish, bringing in a raft of new signings and developing a new football system. The 2020–21 season started in positive fashion for the blues with the club sitting top of the table at Christmas, resulting in Beech signing a new contract extension. However, a poor run of form saw the side slip from top to 14th in the table, nevertheless, results picked up towards the end of the season seeing the Cumbrians finish in 10th place.


title: Carlisle United F.C.

text: The 2020–21 close season saw a number of first team regulars depart the blues including club captain Nick Anderton, goalkeeper Paul Farman and winger Omari Patrick. Beech set about again rebuilding his squad for the 2021–22 season to try and mount a further promotion push. In October 2021, manager Chris Beech was sacked due to a poor run of form for Carlisle and replaced by Keith Millen. However, Millen could not turn the blues' season around and after a 3–0 defeat at home by Swindon Town and a run of bad results Keith Millen was sacked in February 2022. Paul Simpson was announced as the new manager the same day. "Simmo" led the blues to 8 wins, 1 draw and 6 defeats which was enough to pull the club from the relegation zone and keep Carlisle in the football league finishing 20th place.


title: Carlisle United F.C.

text: Upon the decision to change the name of Shaddongate F.C. to Carlisle United in 1904 the club also changed their shirt colours from gold and navy stripes to blue. In 1907 white shorts were introduced and since then various combinations of blue and white have been used by the club. In 1973 the first shirt to feature a sportswear sponsor was worn by United. Made by Admiral, the shirt was based on an earlier Birmingham City shirt and was the first to feature red detailing. Since then red detailing became a common feature on Carlisle shirts.


title: Carlisle United F.C.

text: The first evidence of Carlisle wearing a crest dates to the 1950/51 season, first adorning it in a FA Cup tie against Arsenal. The design itself was based on the city's own coat of arms which was registered at the College of Arms in 1924. The crest itself may have been derived from Sir William de Carlyell of Cumberland, in the reign of Edward II, who bore a red cross. The supporting red wyverns to either side of the shield are a symbol of the British Kingdom of Cumbria. The motto on the underlying scroll reads: ‘Be just and fear not’, which is a quote from Shakespeare's 'Henry VIII'.


title: Carlisle United F.C.

text: Carlisle were often referred to as 'The Foxes' due to the local connection with huntsman John Peel. In 1970 the club badge changed to reflect this and featured a golden fox jumping over the abbreviation C.U.F.C. The fox further became part of the club's image with a mounted stuffed fox named Olga (an anagram of "goal") which is traditionally carried onto the pitch by the mascot before the match. Later versions of this badge featured a fox's head with a castle (representing Carlisle Castle) and a fox jumping through a ring of stars, somewhat resembling the European Union emblem.


title: Carlisle United F.C.

text: Since 1995 the club has reverted to using the city's coat of arms. However the club still sell merchandise with branding similar to their former fox badge and the club mascot (who is now Olga the Fox also) still carries the stuffed fox onto the pitch.


title: Carlisle United F.C.

text: Stobart Group, which is a locally based and founded business, had been the club's main shirt sponsor since 1995. Before 2007 the shirt displayed the 'Eddie Stobart' name associated with the haulage arm of the business (with the exception of the 1997–2000 shirt), in 2007 this changed to just 'Stobart' in order to reflect the wider company. The Stobart deal ended for the 2014-15 season, ending one of the longest-running sponsorship deals in English football.


title: Carlisle United F.C.

text: The Stobart Group have been strong supporters of the club in general also. In 2010, to celebrate the company's 40th anniversary, the group bought 4,000 tickets for the League One game against Rochdale and gave them away to the general public. On 3 April 2011 Carlisle United wore black armbands in the Football League Trophy final in respect of Edward Stobart (son of Eddie), who died three days earlier.


title: Carlisle United F.C.

text: As Shaddongate United the club played at two grounds, Millholme Bank, to the south of the city, and Devonshire Park, where Trinity School now stands. In 1909, five years after becoming Carlisle United, the club moved to Brunton Park and have been residents ever since.


title: Carlisle United F.C.

text: The stadium has a capacity of 18,202 and comprises both seated and terraced areas. The four stands are known as Main (West) Stand & Paddock, the East Stand, the "Waterworks" Petteril Stand and the Warwick Road End which usually hosts the most vocal supporters on match days. In the past the stadium has been the victim of severe flooding and a fire which burned down the wooden grandstand which stood until 1953.


title: Carlisle United F.C.

text: In 2011, a plan was introduced to move to a 12,000 capacity all-seater stadium to be built in the Kingmoor Park area of the city which was to be locally known as project Blue Yonder. Though considerably smaller than Brunton Park, the new ground could be upgraded to a larger capacity if demand was met. An extension of this 12,000 capacity is thought to rely on the club achieving promotion to the Sky Bet Championship. The proposals have received mixed responses from Carlisle fans. There has since been no news as to whether the project has any advancement.


title: Carlisle United F.C.

text: In December and January of the 2015–16 season, Carlisle played their home games at Deepdale in Preston, Bloomfield Road in Blackpool and Ewood Park in Blackburn, as Brunton Park recovered from flooding caused by Storm Desmond.


title: Carlisle United F.C.

text: In December 2021, the club announced that the stadium capacity would be temporarily reduced to 9,999, after the government required attendees at events with a capacity of greater than 10,000 to show Covid certification.


title: Carlisle United F.C.

text: Carlisle United operates through the limited company Carlisle United Association Football Club (1921) Ltd which is currently controlled by local businessmen Andrew Jenkins, Steven Pattison and John Nixon, who have a controlling 74.6% stake in the club's holding company, CUFC Holdings Ltd. A minority (25.4%) stake is held by The United Trust, formed by supporters in 2001. Jenkins is the owner of local business Pioneer Foods while Pattison owns local Hardware company Carlisle Glass – Longhorn. Jenkins has been involved with Carlisle United for over fifty years and has served in various roles within the backroom during previous ownership. Nixon is former MD of Pirelli Tyres. Jenkins became the majority shareholder ahead of John Nixon and Steven Pattison, through the transfer of shares from former owner David Allen.


title: Carlisle United F.C.

text: Allen, the owner of a local accountancy agency, left the board acrimoniously in 2009 when he made public a feud with fellow owners on the board stating "Unfortunately, a lot of people perceive elements within Brunton Park’s hierarchy as an "old boys’ club" that is not receptive of change. I am unhappy being associated with that as it is not my style either personally or professionally." Since Allen left the club has gone from strength to strength having two Wembley finals under their belt including winning the JPT in April 2011 also posting healthy profits. Carlisle United released plans to move to a modern all seater stadium, however these plans fell through. Recent years have seen the club stagnate and decline both in terms of league position and attendances. The club has recently gone through its longest period in history without promotion, the last being the 2005-06 season.


title: Carlisle United F.C.

text: In 1992 property developer Michael Knighton bought the club which was then playing in Division Four, the lowest tier of the Football League. Then began a ten-year ownership in which much of the talk around the club concerned Knighton himself. At one point he was even featured in the local paper claiming to have seen a UFO, local paper the "News and Star" ran the story with the headline: 'Knighton: Aliens Spoke To Me'.


title: Carlisle United F.C.

text: In 1997 Knighton dismissed popular manager Mervyn Day, who had won promotion to the Second Division and the Football League Trophy earlier that year. Knighton placed himself in charge of the club's management with the uncredited help of Dave Wilkes and John Halpin. The club was relegated to the English fourth tier that season and only narrowly avoided losing Football League status due to a last minute goal by goalkeeper Jimmy Glass in 1999. Knighton became increasingly unpopular with the fans in the following years and the supporters' 'United Trust' was formed to push for better ownership, this came in the form of John Courtenay after a seven month battle in July 2002, ending Michael Knighton's controversial 10 year reign


title: Carlisle United F.C.

text: The main area of Carlisle support can be found within and around Carlisle itself and, due to being the only professional football club for a long distance, it attracts fans from across the county of Cumbria, South West Scotland and parts of West Northumberland. The club's supporters are known as the "Blue Army". The most vocal supporters on match days reside in Brunton Park's Warwick Road End, known affectionately to the fans as 'The Warwick.' In addition to generic English football chants Carlisle's supporters sing "Proud to be a Cumbrian", "Super Carlisle from the North" and an adapted version of Peggy March's, "I Will Follow Him".


title: Carlisle United F.C.

text: Carlisle's traditional rivals are Workington and Barrow. However, both clubs were voted out of the Football League in the 1970s and consequently competitive matches between the teams have been rare. Barrow were promoted back to the Football League in 2020, reinstating competitive matches between the two teams. Prior to 2008, the club's nearest professional football club was Gretna, owned by Carlisle United fan, Brooks Mileson. Gretna were residents of the Scottish Football League however and, therefore, the chance of meeting in competitive competition remained highly unlikely. Gretna was eventually liquidated in 2008.


title: Carlisle United F.C.

text: In 2012, market research company FFC surveyed fans of every Football League club across the country to find who they consider their main rivals to be. Carlisle United fans were unusually shown to consider the more distant Preston North End, Hartlepool United and Middlesbrough as their main rivals. This is most likely explained by the fact that the survey did not include the option of choosing non-league clubs.


title: Carlisle United F.C.

text: "A selection of the people we have all watched from the terraces, often in awe, through the ages here at Brunton Park." - carlisleunited.co.uk


title: Carlisle United F.C.

text: To date Carlisle United have played 82 seasons in the Football League, their relegation in 2004 and reinstatement the following year remains the only departure from the Football League since the club was first admitted in 1928 (excluding wartime). United are currently the only club to have reached the final of the Football League Trophy on six occasions. This, alongside their two wins, makes them the most successful club in the competition's history. The club's highest achievement outside of cup competitions came in 1974 when the club was promoted to the first tier of English football and spent a short period of time at the top of the division. Carlisle still remains the smallest location in England, by local population, to have had a resident top-flight football team since 1906.


title: Darla Hood

text: Darla Jean Hood (November 8, 1931 – June 13, 1979) was an American child actress, best known as the leading lady in the "Our Gang" series from 1935 to 1941. She was born in Leedey, Oklahoma, the only child of music teacher Elizabeth Davner, and James Claude Hood, who worked in a bank.


title: Darla Hood

text: Hood's mother introduced her to singing and dancing at an early age, taking her to lessons in Oklahoma City. Just after her third birthday she was taken to New York City, where she was seen by Joe Rivkin, a casting director for Hal Roach Studios, who arranged a screen test. She was then taken to Culver City, California, to appear in the "Our Gang" movies.


title: Darla Hood

text: She played "Darla" in "Our Gang" except for her Our Gang debut in which her character's name was "Cookie". She made her debut at age four in the 1935 film "Our Gang Follies of 1936" and was soon given a role in "The Bohemian Girl" with Laurel and Hardy. From 1935 to 1941, she continued to play in "Our Gang". She is well remembered for her coquettish character, typically the love interest of Alfalfa, Butch, or (occasionally) Waldo. One of her most memorable moments was singing "I'm in the Mood for Love" in "The Pinch Singer".


title: Darla Hood

text: When she outgrew her role in "Our Gang," Hood appeared in several other movies and attended school in Los Angeles. While at Fairfax High School, she organized a vocal group called the Enchanters with four boys. Shortly after graduation, the quartet was booked by producer and vaudeville star Ken Murray for his famous "Blackouts", a stage variety show. The group remained with Murray's Blackouts during its long run in New York City and Hollywood.


title: Darla Hood

text: Darla Hood then went solo with singing engagements in nightclubs and guest appearances on TV. She was a regular on "The Ken Murray Show" from 1950 to 1951. In 1955, she was a leading lady in the act of ventriloquist Edgar Bergen. In 1957, Darla was a regular performer on The Merv Griffin Show for the American Broadcasting Network. Other credits that year include a hit record, "I Just Wanna Be Free." and a duet with Johnny Desmond in the Sam Katzman movie "Calypso Heat Wave." Between 1959 and 1962 she recorded several singles for the small Ray Note and Acama labels.


title: Darla Hood

text: In January 1959 Hood released a new record, "My Quiet Village" (Ray Note Records). Joe Rivkin, who discovered her as a child, saw the cover and cast her in her final film role —her first adult role in a movie— playing a secretary in the suspense drama "The Bat" with Vincent Price and Agnes Moorehead. In 2018, along with Hood's recording of "Silent Island," "My Quiet Village" was re-released by The Numero Group both on the Exotica compilation "" and on "Silent Island," a digital-download-only retrospective of Hood's vocal music.


title: Darla Hood

text: Hood was a guest on such TV shows of the early 1960s as "You Bet Your Life" and "The Jack Benny Show," where she appeared on October 30, 1962 as "Darla" in a spoof of the "Our Gang" comedies with Jack Benny (who appeared as Alfalfa), and "The Charlotte Peters Show" in St. Louis. She did singing and voice-over on TV commercials, which included Campbell's Soup and Chicken of the Sea tuna. She was also featured in "The Little Rascals Christmas Special" (1979) as the voice of Spanky and Porky's mother. She appeared in her own nightclub act at the Coconut Grove in Los Angeles, the Copacabana in New York, and the Sahara Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.


title: Darla Hood

text: Hood was married twice, first to singer and insurance salesman Robert W. Decker (1949–1957), then to record-company executive Jose Granson (1957–1979). She and Granson had three children. Tommy "Butch" Bond mentioned that her marriage to Granson was difficult because he used a wheelchair following a stroke.


title: Darla Hood

text: Hood was busy organizing the 1980 "Little Rascals" reunion for the Los Angeles chapter of The Sons of the Desert when she underwent an appendectomy at Canoga Park Hospital, Canoga Park, California. After the procedure, she died suddenly of heart failure on June 13, 1979, at age 47. An autopsy disclosed that Hood had contracted acute hepatitis from a blood transfusion given during the operation which led to her death.


title: Darla Hood

text: The "Our Gang" community was stunned at Hood's unexpected death. Fellow "Our Gang" member Billie "Buckwheat" Thomas said "I hate to hear it. It's a shock. She was an awfully nice person, a fine woman. We got along real good as kids." Thomas died a little over a year later.


title: Beverly Johnson

text: Beverly Ann Johnson (born October 13, 1952) is an American model, actress, singer, and businesswoman. Johnson rose to fame when she became the first African-American model to appear on the cover of American "Vogue" in August 1974. In 1975, Johnson became the first black woman to appear on the cover of the French edition of "Elle". In 2012, Johnson was the star of the reality series "Beverly's Full House" that aired on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN). "The New York Times" named Johnson one of the 20th century's most influential people in fashion in 2008.


title: Beverly Johnson

text: Born the first of two children to Gloria Johnson, a surgical technician, Johnson was raised in a middle-class family in Buffalo, New York. During her youth, Johnson was a champion swimmer and aspired to be a lawyer. Johnson attended Bennett High School, graduating in 1969. After high school, Johnson went on to study criminal justice at Northeastern University. While in college, Johnson tried modeling while on summer break in 1971. She quickly landed an assignment with "Glamour" and began working steadily. She went on to appear on more than 500 magazine covers, including the August 1974 issue of "Vogue", becoming the magazine's first African-American cover model for the US edition, after Donyale Luna's 1966 British Vogue cover. Her appearance on the cover changed the beauty ideal in US fashion, and by 1975, every major American fashion designer had begun using African-American models.


title: Beverly Johnson

text: In addition to modeling, Johnson has also written the books "Beverly Johnson's Guide to a Life of Health and Beauty" and "True Beauty: Secrets of Radiant Beauty for Women of Every Age and Color". Johnson's acting career consists of roles in the films "Ashanti" (1979), "The Meteor Man" (1993), "Def Jam's How to Be a Player" (1997), and "Crossroads" (2002). She has appeared in guest spots on 7 television series, including "Martin" (TV series), "Law & Order", "", "The Parent 'Hood" and the Super Bowl episode of "3rd Rock from the Sun" (1998). She served for two seasons as a celebrity judge on the TV Land series "She's Got the Look", a reality series, where women aged over 35 compete for a modeling contract and magazine spread. At the start of the series in 2008, Johnson shared that she and other models had suffered from anorexia and bulimia during her career. She had a brief singing career, releasing one album in 1979 on Buddah Records. Johnson has been a longtime hair and beauty influencer.


title: Beverly Johnson

text: In late 2014, she wrote an article for "Vanity Fair" in which she accused Bill Cosby of drugging her in a meeting at his Manhattan residence in the 1980s, although the incident did not result in a sexual assault. Johnson said that Cosby spiked a cup of cappuccino with an unknown drug. As she felt her "body go completely limp," she realized what was happening. Johnson said she then screamed and cursed at him several times before Cosby got angry and dragged her outside and hailed a cab for her. Johnson decided to tell her story in hopes that "by going public" she would "encourage anyone [who] has been sexually victimized to speak out." Her memoir, "The Face That Changed It All", which discusses the Cosby incident, was released on August 25, 2015.


title: Beverly Johnson

text: Subsequently, Cosby started a defamation lawsuit against Johnson, alleging that she was lying about the drugging incident and contending that Johnson's story, first told in the "Vanity Fair" article, had been repeated in numerous interviews. It seeks unspecified damages and an injunction preventing the model from repeating her claims and requests they be removed from Johnson's memoir. A friend of Johnson said, "She expected this to happen. She didn't seem upset 'with the news', but I think she's prepared to counter-sue." Cosby dropped the lawsuit on February 19, 2016, allegedly to devote more time to his criminal case.


title: Beverly Johnson

text: Johnson has been married twice. Her first marriage was to real estate agent Billy Potter in 1971, later divorcing in 1974. On May 8, 1977, Johnson, then aged 25, married 40-year-old businessman and music producer Danny Sims. She gave birth to their daughter, Anansa Sims on December 27, 1978, in New York City. Johnson and Sims divorced in 1979. Johnson and actor Chris Noth were in a five-year relationship until 1995. She filed a restraining order against Noth, accusing him of physical, verbal and racial abuse.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: Kevin Michael Harvick (born December 8, 1975) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 4 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: Harvick is the 2014 Cup Series champion, as well as the 2001 and 2006 Xfinity Series champion, and 2007 Daytona 500 winner. Harvick holds the all-time record for Cup Series wins at Phoenix Raceway with nine wins. Harvick's 121 combined national series wins currently rank him third all-time in NASCAR history, behind Richard Petty and Kyle Busch, respectively, while his 60 Cup wins are tied for ninth in series history. He is the longest-tenured active driver in the Cup Series. He began his NASCAR career in 1992, is the third of only six drivers that have won a championship in both the Cup Series and the Xfinity Series, and the fifth of only 36 drivers to win a race in each of NASCAR's three national series.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: Harvick is the former owner of Kevin Harvick Incorporated, a race team that fielded cars in the Xfinity Series from 2004 to 2011 and the Truck Series between 2001 and 2011. In the media, he has sometimes been nicknamed "The Closer" and "Happy Harvick".


title: Kevin Harvick

text: Harvick was born in 1975 in Bakersfield, California, to parents Mike and JoNell (Walker) Harvick, and has a younger sister, Amber. He began kart racing at an early age, after his parents bought him a go-kart as a kindergarten graduation gift. Harvick grew up a fan of IndyCar driver and fellow Bakersfield native Rick Mears, and raced go-karts with Mears' son Clint. He achieved considerable success on the go-kart racing circuit, earning seven national championships and two Grand National championships.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: While in high school, Harvick began racing late models part-time in 1992 in the NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Series. During the racing offseason, he competed on the North High School wrestling team, qualifying for a CIF Central Section title in his weight class his senior year. Harvick also played baseball, basketball, football, and soccer. After graduation, he attended Bakersfield College with the intention of majoring in architecture, but later dropped out in order to pursue a full-time racing career.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: Harvick made his Craftsman Truck Series debut in 1995 at the Mesa Marin Raceway, in his hometown of Bakersfield, where he started and finished 27th in his family-owned No. 72. He drove four races in the No. 72 the next season, his best finish was 11th at Mesa Marin. In 1997, he signed to drive the No. 75 for Spears Motorsports mid-season, posting two eighth-place finishes. He ran a full schedule the next season, posting 3 top-fives and finishing 17th in points. Harvick also moved up to the NASCAR Grand National Division, AutoZone West Series in 1997, and in 1998 Harvick won five races on his way to the Winston West Series championship while driving for Spears. He received his first real national exposure during the winter of 1997/1998 on ESPN2's coverage of the NASCAR Winter Heat Series at Tucson Raceway Park. In 1999, he drove the No. 98 Porter Cable Ford for Liberty Racing, finishing 12th in points with six top-fives.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: On October 23, 1999, Harvick made his first NASCAR Busch Series start in the Kmart 200 at the Rockingham Speedway in the No. 2 Chevrolet. He would start 24th and finish 42nd due to engine failure. The race would be his only start in 1999. In 2000, Harvick would sign with Richard Childress Racing to drive the No. 2 Chevrolet for his first full Busch Series season. Despite failing to qualify for the second race of the season at Rockingham, Harvick would go on to win the NASCAR Busch Series Rookie of the Year with three wins, eight top-five finishes, and 16 top-tens as well as garnering third-place points finish.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: For 2001, Childress planned to run Harvick in the No. 2 Chevy in the Busch Series full-time again, while developing him into the Winston Cup Series with up to seven races in the No. 30 Chevy. He planned to race Harvick for a full schedule in 2002. The death of Dale Earnhardt on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500 changed Childress's plans, and Harvick began his first Cup race the following week in the Dura Lube 400 at Rockingham, filling the seat vacated by Earnhardt's passing in the renumbered No. 29 Chevrolet.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: On March 11, 2001, in the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, only three weeks after Earnhardt's death, Harvick won his first career Winston Cup race in just his third start by narrowly edging Jeff Gordon. He won the race by only six one-thousandths of a second (.006). After the win, he paid tribute to Earnhardt, driving on the track backward with three fingers held aloft outside the driver's window as a show of honor and respect. At the time, this broke the record for earliest career start for a driver to win a race, since surpassed by Jamie McMurray and Trevor Bayne, both of whom accomplished the feat in their second starts.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: He won his second career Cup race at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois. At the end of the season, he finished with two victories, six Top 5s, and 16 Top 10s. Harvick was awarded the NASCAR Rookie of the Year Award and secured a ninth-place finish in the 2001 points standings. He also won the Busch Series championship, becoming the first driver to win the Busch Series championship while also driving full-time in the Winston Cup Series with a Top 10 finish. Harvick would end the season winning six pole positions, and making 69 starts: 35 in Cup Series, an appearance in the Winston, 33 in the Busch Series, and one in the Craftsman Truck Series at Richmond International Raceway for Rick Carelli.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: In 2002, Harvick would spend the season concentrating on running the Cup Series and would only start four races in the Busch Series. Harvick began the 2002 season making his first Daytona 500 start on the outside pole next to Jimmie Johnson, but his day ended after triggering an 18-car crash on lap 148 while running second to Jeff Gordon, relegating him to a 36th-place finish. Later in the season, he was fined for a post-race incident with Greg Biffle at Bristol Motor Speedway. Harvick was also suspended for rough driving in a Truck race at Martinsville, in which he announced on his radio that he intentionally spun out driver Coy Gibbs, prompting NASCAR to immediately take him out of the race. Even though it was heard on the radio that he did, Harvick lied in a post-race interview saying that he did not purposely wreck Gibbs. Harvick was banned from the Cup Series race the next day, with Kenny Wallace replacing him. Harvick rebounded and scored his first career Winston Cup pole position in the Pepsi 400 at Daytona. Later in the season, he took his third Cup win at Chicagoland Speedway. This would prove to be one of the only bright spots in a disappointing season, as he finished 21st in the 2002 points standings with one win, one pole, five Top 5s, and eight Top 10s. Harvick became the 2002 IROC Champion in his first season in the Series, winning at California Speedway. In Trucks, Harvick began fielding his own No. 6 truck, driving himself in five races and winning at Phoenix.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: In the 2003 season, Harvick teamed with crew chief Todd Berrier in the Cup Series, with whom he had won the Busch championship in 2001. Together, they won the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis. Harvick and his team jumped to fifth in the 2003 point standings, coming within 252 points of Matt Kenseth. In the Busch Series, Harvick was teamed with Johnny Sauter, driving the No. 21 Hershey's-sponsored PayDay car. The two would combine for three wins, 16 Top 5s, and 24 Top 10s, with Harvick posting all three wins. They would give Childress the NASCAR Busch Series owners' championship that season. Harvick competed in 19 of the 34 races, and Sauter competed in the other 15. Harvick also scored eight pole positions and finished 16th in the final drivers' standings.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: On August 28 during the 2004 Sharpie 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway, Harvick had one of the most bizarre sequences of events happen to him. On lap 323, Harvick radioed to his crew that his right arm had fallen asleep on him and had gone numb which made it difficult for him to operate his race car properly and needed a backup driver. The caution came out 5 laps later and Harvick made his way onto pit road and was pulled out of the car. He was replaced by Kyle Petty, who was involved in an earlier wreck in the same race. Petty finished 24th 6 laps down for Harvick. Harvick was still able to stay 8th in points but in the last 2 regular season races at California and Richmond, Harvick would fall from 8th to 15th in the standings missing out on the inaugural Chase for the Cup. While winless in the 2004 Cup season, Harvick placed third in the voting for Most Popular Driver. He had fourteen Top 10 finishes and finished 14th in points. Harvick was paired with another driver in the Busch Series, rookie Clint Bowyer. They combined for one win, 13 Top 5s, and 20 Top 10s in the No. 21 car, with Reese's Peanut Butter Cups as a sponsor. Harvick drove the No. 29 Busch car in the final race of the season at Homestead–Miami Speedway in the Ford 300, which he would claim his second win of the season. He finished 14th in the final standings. The No. 21 car finished fourth in the owner's standings.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: In the 2005 season, Harvick's only Cup win came at the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway, despite starting towards the rear of the field. He won without the assistance of crew chief Todd Berrier, who was serving a four-week suspension for a rules violation. In the Busch Series, Harvick was paired with Brandon Miller. Harvick and Miller combined for 3 wins, 15 top-fives, and 19 top-tens to give the No. 21 its second fourth-place finish in the owner's standings. Harvick would win his first "sweep" of his career at Bristol, winning both the Food City 250 Busch race and the Food City 500 Cup race, also giving him a record fourth Busch Series win at the track (tying with Morgan Shepherd). Harvick finished 14th in the Cup series standings and 18th in the Busch series driver's standings.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: In 2006, Harvick decided to run both of NASCAR's Top 2 series full-time. In the Busch Series, Harvick would be scheduled to run all 35 races, with three different cars. He ran four races for his team in the No. 33, the season opener at Daytona in Childress' No. 29, and the remaining 30 races for RCR's No. 21. He won his first Busch Series race of the 2006 season at Nashville Superspeedway. He followed the win with a weekend sweep of the Busch Series and Sprint Cup races at Phoenix International Raceway. Harvick had nine wins, 23 Top 5s, and 32 Top 10s in the Busch Series. He clinched the 2006 NASCAR Busch Series championship on October 13, 2006, at Lowe's Motor Speedway in the Dollar General 300. It was the earliest clinch of the championship ever in the Busch Series, locking up the title with four races to go. He ended the season with a record 824-point margin in the final standings.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: In the Nextel Cup series, Harvick, along with teammate Jeff Burton, scored the first berths for Richard Childress Racing in the Chase for the Cup. Harvick would have 3 wins, 11 top-5's and 14 top-10s going into the chase.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: After a dominant win at New Hampshire, Harvick would have a substandard Chase run. He fell to sixth place in the point standings until he finished third at Texas. Following that was another dominating performance in the Checker Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix International Raceway on November 12. Harvick would win that race, moving him up to third in points. At the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Harvick would finish fifth in the race and slip to fourth in the final standings to eventual 2006 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: Harvick opened the 2007 Sprint Cup series with a dramatic final lap pass in the Daytona 500, beating Mark Martin by .020 seconds in a green-white-checkered finish, the closest margin at the 500 since electronic scoring started in 1993. He would become only the fourth NASCAR driver to sweep both the Nationwide and Cup races in the opening weekend at Daytona. With the win, Harvick also became the sixth of eight drivers to win both the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400, following Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, Dale Jarrett, Bill Elliott, Jimmie Johnson, and preceding Jamie McMurray and Ryan Newman. Harvick would be quiet for the remainder of the season, his only other win coming in the Sprint All-Star Race and finishing 10th in points.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: In 2007, Harvick started the Nationwide Series season by winning the Orbitz 300 at Daytona, claiming his first win in a restrictor-plate race, as well as the first win for new sponsor AutoZone in NASCAR's Nationwide Series. He also won at New Hampshire International Speedway, winning the Camping World 200 presented by RVs.com. He also ended up unexpectedly winning the inaugural race at Montreal in August, the NAPA Auto Parts 200, after with two laps to go, leader Robby Gordon was black-flagged for intentionally causing a crash involving rookie Marcos Ambrose. The win was considered a bit of an upset as many expected the road course ringers to dominate and Harvick had started 43rd in the race due to a driver change.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: Harvick went winless in 2008, but he was still able to post a fourth-place ranking in the 2008 Chase for the Sprint Cup. The fourth-place finish in the 2008 standings tied 2006 for his highest points position at the end of the season. Harvick also went the entire season without a single DNF for the second straight year. In the Nationwide Series, he ran twenty-two races for his team with sponsorship from Camping World, Rheem, and RoadLoans. He did not win a race in this series either. His lone win came in a Truck race at Phoenix.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: Harvick started the 2009 season by winning the Budweiser Shootout with a last-lap pass on Jamie McMurray. After Harvick damaged his primary car for the 2009 Daytona 500, his team switched to his Shootout car and he finished second when the race was declared official early due to rain.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: This wasn't his worst season, despite the point standings. He didn't get a single win in the cup series this year knowing that he was successful in the Nationwide series and the truck series, having a total of 5 wins this season. Auto Club in California, Harvick blew his engine and suffered his first DNF in 82 starts. He won the first 2009 Nationwide Series race at Bristol, his first win in his car. In addition, he won the Camping World Truck Series race at Martinsville Speedway. During the season, Gil Martin became the new crew chief for Harvick as Childress decided to switch all team members of the No. 07 and No. 29 except the drivers and spotters, thus giving Casey Mears Harvick's crew chief Todd Berrier. In the first five races following the switch, Harvick finished with an average of 25.4, finishing 34th, 11th, 41st, 17th, and 24th respectively. A short time later, reports surfaced stating that Harvick had asked for a release of his contract at the end of the 2009 season to join Stewart-Haas Racing for the 2010 season. Harvick did not comment publicly on the subject of where he would be driving in 2010. His best race came at the Pep Boys Auto 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, where Harvick had the best car in a long run and led for most of the race, but was denied victory after a late-race caution from which later eventual race winner Kasey Kahne took advantage of when he went past Harvick on the restart; he finished second. He would miss the chase for the first time since 2005 and finished a disappointing 19th in the final standings.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: Harvick's 2010 season was considered a bounce-back year. He started the same way he did in 2009 by winning the Budweiser Shootout with a pass in the penultimate lap in a green-white-checkered situation. Harvick placed second in his Gatorade Duel by inches to Jimmie Johnson. He led the most laps in the Daytona 500 but ended up finishing seventh. He followed up his seventh at Daytona with a second at Auto Club Speedway again to Jimmie Johnson. After the race, Harvick told media members that the No. 48 team (of Johnson) "had a golden horseshoe stuck up their ass". Following the race, Harvick followed up with another second-place finish to Johnson at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He won the Aaron's 499 after three green-white-checkered situations, passing Jamie McMurray in what was the 88th lead change of the race, setting a new NASCAR record. On July 3, Harvick captured his second win of the year by winning the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona. On August 15, Harvick captured his third win of the year by winning the Carfax 400 at Michigan. His win at Michigan locked him into the Chase for the Sprint Cup for the fourth time. He finished the regular season first place in points but started the Chase in third after the points were adjusted. During the 10-race Chase, Harvick scored five top-fives and nine top-tens. Despite scoring an average finish of 5.8 (best in the 2010 Chase and third-best all-time in the Chase), Harvick finished third overall, 41 points behind 2010 Champion Jimmie Johnson.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: Harvick also won his first career Pole in the Camping World Truck Series at Gateway International Raceway in his own No. 2 Chevrolet Silverado. This added Harvick to the shortlist of NASCAR drivers who have won a pole award and a race in each of NASCAR's three major series.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: With the departure of Royal Dutch Shell at the end of 2010, the No. 29 teams were searching for a new sponsor. In August 2010, it was announced that for 2011, the car's primary sponsor would be with Budweiser for 20 races. Adding to Harvick's new sponsorship, on January 25, 2011, Jimmy John's and Richard Childress Racing reached a multi-year agreement to sponsor the No. 29 Sprint Cup team for 6 races in 2011. Harvick won his 15th career Cup race at Auto Club Speedway after passing defending series champion, Jimmie Johnson in the final turn in a finish resembling the previous race in 2010. As a joke to Harvick's words in 2010, Johnson asked Harvick in post-race ceremonies if "I can have my golden horseshoe back." Harvick took his second consecutive win of the year at Martinsville Speedway. Harvick then won the Coca-Cola 600 after Earnhardt Jr. ran out of fuel in the last turn on Lap 402. He would then later win at Richmond, narrowly beating Jeff Gordon due to a late-race pit stop that shuffled Harvick to the lead.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: During the 2011 season, Kevin Harvick and fellow driver Kyle Busch were embroiled in a feud. After Harvick intentionally wrecked Busch at the 2010 Ford 400 at Homestead, he and Busch tangled several times during the 2011 seasons. A post-race incident at Darlington in May 2011 led NASCAR to put both drivers on probation and fining them $25,000. Later that season, Kyle Busch tangled with a bunch of drivers connected to Harvick's team such as Elliott Sadler and Ron Hornaday Jr. Harvick was able to finish well in all three series, finishing 3rd in points in Cup, and clenching the 2011 Truck Series Owner's Championship in his final season as a team owner.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: At the season's end, Harvick announced that he would shut down Kevin Harvick, Inc. because he wanted to focus on winning a Sprint Cup Series championship. In his statement announcing the closure, Harvick said that the difference in costs of similar bodies between Nationwide and Cup Series cars made it mathematically impossible for a non-Cup-affiliated team to operate effectively. Harvick also admitted that his original goal in forming KHI was to achieve the success in the Truck Series that he wasn't able to get before driving in Winston Cup, and it blossomed into a venture to build drivers' careers. He sold KHI to Richard Childress.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: Although winless in the regular season, Harvick made the 2012 Chase through consistency. At Phoenix, Harvick avoided a chaos-filled race to collect his only win of the season and the 19th of his career. He went on to finish 8th in points.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: In 2013 at Daytona, Harvick dodged a practice wreck in the last session of practice, and the same in the Sprint Unlimited. Later, he would go on and tie Tony Stewart's and Dale Jarrett's record for wins in the Clash/Shootout/Unlimited. He also won his Budweiser Duel. He was caught up in a crash on lap 35 of the Daytona 500 and finished 41st. Harvick won his first race of the season at the 2013 Toyota Owners 400, which ended Kyle Busch's four-year winning streak in the spring Richmond race. At the Coca-Cola 600, Harvick took the lead on the last cycle of pit stops and held off Kasey Kahne to win his 2nd 600. Harvick won his first pole position since September 2006 in qualifying for the 2013 Hollywood Casino 400. He dominated the race, leading 138 laps, and survived a wreck-filled event to take his third win of the season. Harvick won his fourth race of the year at the Phoenix race, taking the lead at the white flag when Carl Edwards ran out of gas. His tenure at RCR came to an end the following week at Homestead-Miami with a 10th-place finish. Harvick finished the season third in points again, with four wins, nine Top 5s, 21 Top 10 finishes, and one pole position.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: It was officially confirmed on January 22, 2013, that Harvick would be switching teams and joining Stewart-Haas for the 2014 season. Harvick and Childress said the parting was mutual and that it was time for Harvick to move on. Stewart-Haas Racing did not confirm what sponsor or number Harvick would be given. During the official reports it was reported, but not officially told, that Budweiser was interested in staying with Harvick. On July 12, 2013, it was confirmed that Harvick would drive the No. 4 Chevrolet, and would replace Ryan Newman, who parted ways with Stewart-Haas Racing at the end of the season. Harvick retained Budweiser as his primary sponsor for 21 races, with Jimmy John's sponsoring the remaining races for the 2014 season. In October, it was announced that Harvick would also run a partial schedule in the Nationwide Series in 2014, competing in a minimum of 12 races for JR Motorsports. Despite a second-place finish in his Budweiser Duel in a photo finish against Matt Kenseth and Kasey Kahne, Harvick failed post-race inspection, and his Duel finish was disallowed. As a result, Harvick started the Daytona 500 in 38th, getting in the 500 on a Provisional. Harvick ran upfront during the Daytona 500, but was caught up in a last-lap crash leaving turn 4, and was scored in the 13th position.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: The following week at Phoenix, Harvick started 13th and dominated the race, leading 224 of 312 laps, holding off Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Brad Keselowski over the final seven laps to win. This was Harvick's first win for Stewart-Haas Racing and snapped a tie with Jimmie Johnson for most all-time wins at Phoenix.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: However, following Phoenix came a bizarre five-race stretch in which Harvick finished 36th or worse four times, due to a hub failure at Las Vegas (41st), a cut oil line at Bristol (39th), a blown tire at Auto Club (36th), and an engine failure at Texas (42nd) – each time squandering one of the fastest cars on the track, as well as leading the most laps.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: At Darlington, Harvick dominated the Bojangles' Southern 500 and overtook Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the final lap to win his second race for Stewart-Haas Racing. Harvick almost won the Coca-Cola 600 for the third time in four years, but a poor pit stop with 250 laps left cost him the race. He recovered to score a second-place finish but finished 5.55 seconds behind Jimmie Johnson.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: Harvick won the pole, both at Michigan and Indianapolis. In the Irwin Tools Night Race, Harvick controlled the race early. His race, however, turned for the worse when Harvick was later penalized by NASCAR for speeding on pit road, ensuring an 11th-place finish. During the Chase, now using an elimination format, Harvick went on to win the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte, giving him his third win of the season and ensuring his advancement to the next round.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: At Texas Motor Speedway, Harvick got a second-place finish but started controversy after instigating a fight between Jeff Gordon and Brad Keselowski on pit road immediately following the race.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: At Phoenix, Harvick won the race and swept both 2014 races Phoenix, allowing him to transfer into the final round of the Chase at Homestead.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: At Homestead–Miami Speedway, Harvick was consistent all day long, occasionally battling with Jeff Gordon for the lead. After a late caution, Harvick decided to pit with four tires. Rebounding after restarting outside the top 10, Harvick managed to reach the Top-5, when another caution occurred. Harvick took the lead away from Denny Hamlin, and in the end, held off fellow championship contender Ryan Newman to win the Ford Ecoboost 400 and the Sprint Cup Championship by one position over Newman. This was Kevin Harvick's first Sprint Cup Series championship in his career.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: In the Sprint Unlimited, Harvick scored an 11th-place finish despite receiving minor damage to his car from a wreck early in the race.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: Harvick started the season by finishing second in the Daytona 500. At Las Vegas, Harvick held off Martin Truex Jr. to win his first race of the season. Harvick won again the very next week for his fourth straight win at Phoenix and a record seventh win at the track overall. At Auto Club, Harvick managed to finish second, this time to Brad Keselowski. This brought his streak of Top 2 finishes to eight races overall. It appeared Harvick was on track to tie Richard Petty for most straight Top 2 finishes, but this streak came to an end with an eighth-place finish at Martinsville.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: Harvick then went on to collect four straight Top 10 finishes at Daytona, Kentucky, New Hampshire, and Indianapolis. In the first race of the Chase at Chicagoland, Harvick finished 42nd after getting a flat tire and spinning into the wall due to contact with Jimmie Johnson a few laps earlier on a restart. A confrontation took place after Harvick met with Johnson and lightly punched him in the chest. Harvick dominated next week at Loudon, leading 216 of 300 laps. However, he ran out of gas, allowing Matt Kenseth to win. Harvick finished 21st, putting him in danger of being eliminated from the Chase. The following week at Dover International Speedway, Harvick dominated a majority of the race to earn the third win of the season, leading 351 of 400 laps in the process. That win allowed Harvick to clinch a spot into the next round of the Chase, after narrowly avoiding being eliminated.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: In the final race of the Round of 12 at Talladega, Harvick was again in a tough situation. During a green-white-checker restart, Harvick's car was unable to accelerate, which triggered a multi-car wreck. Due to the caution being displayed quickly after the leaders crossed the line, the race was considered official, and Joey Logano was declared the winner. Denny Hamlin, who was competing with Harvick for a spot in the next round, was caught up in the wreck and was eliminated from the Chase. Harvick managed to avoid the wreck, and finished 15th, advancing him to the next round in the Chase. Trevor Bayne, who was hit in the quarter panel by Harvick which triggered the wreck, accused him of intentionally spinning him out to secure a spot in the next round. Kevin Harvick and his crew chief, Rodney Childers, claimed that they had tried to move out of the way during the restart, knowing that their engine was failing. In the first race of the Round of 8, Harvick finished 8th at Martinsville. The next week at Texas, he managed to finish 3rd, despite having a faulty shifter which forced him to drive with one hand for the last several laps.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: At Homestead, Harvick came up one spot short of the championship, finishing 2nd in the race and the championship to Kyle Busch. With 3 laps to go, Harvick was closing in on Busch but ran out of time, finishing 2nd to him by 1.5 seconds.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: Despite his second-place finish in the championship, Harvick had led the point standings for much of the regular season from the third race of the season at Las Vegas to the Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond (a span of 24 races). After the latter race, he fell to fourth in the standings, allowing Johnson to take over in the top spot. He then fell to 15th (11 positions back) after the Chicagoland race as Matt Kenseth took over the points lead. After the fall Martinsville race, Harvick went back up to fourth in the standings. When the fall Phoenix race was shortened due to rain, Harvick retook the points lead.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: In the 2016 Daytona 500, Harvick stayed upfront during a majority of the race and would end up finishing 4th.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: Harvick would earn his first win of the season at Phoenix by beating Carl Edwards in a photo finish by a margin of 0.10, the closest finish in the track's history. The win was Harvick's eighth win at Phoenix.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: Over the next several weeks, Harvick finished consistently in the Top 10. His first DNF of the season would soon come at Daytona, where he was involved in a big accident on lap 90. Another rough race would come five weeks later at Watkins Glen, due to heavy contact from David Ragan after spinning out with 7 laps to go. The next week, Harvick would nab his second win of the season at Bristol, where he held off Ricky Stenhouse Jr. for the last 50 laps of the race.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: In the first race of the Chase for the Sprint Cup at Chicagoland, Harvick would start at the rear of the field due to unapproved body modifications but quickly moved back up to the front within 30 laps. He would be put a lap down due to an untimely caution while Harvick was on pit road because he did not beat the leader, Martin Truex Jr., to the start-finish line. He never got back on the lead lap for the remainder of the race, and ultimately finished 20th. Harvick's third win of the season would come at the very next week at Loudon, where he passed Matt Kenseth on a late-race restart with 7 laps to go. Next week at Dover, Harvick would have a broken track bar and would have to go to the garage but he was already locked into the next round due to his win at New Hampshire. The next week at Charlotte, Harvick would win the pole and would lead 155 laps before having electrical problems on lap 154 at the same time Joey Logano had a tire problem and hit the wall. Coming into Kansas, Harvick sat 12th in the Chase standings and would be in a must-win situation to make the round of 8, but that was no problem for Harvick as he would dominate the race along with Matt Kenseth until Kenseth would fade after tapping the wall. Harvick would lead 267 laps to victory, late in the race, Carl Edwards, would get the lead and lead several laps, but after a few cautions and restarts, Harvick would get back the lead and while Edwards and Kyle Busch would battle hard for 2nd place, Harvick would pull away to get his 4th win of the season, and advance into the Round of 8 in the Chase but he would officially get eliminated in the Round of 8. He would wrap up his 2016 season by winning the pole and finishing 3rd at Homestead-Miami.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: For 2017, Stewart-Haas switched from Chevrolet to Ford. Harvick went on to win Stage 2 and lead the most laps in the 2017 Daytona 500. A large wreck on lap 129 would hinder Harvick from topping his solid day off, and would ultimately finish 22nd. Next week at Atlanta, Harvick continued his momentum by capturing the pole position. Once the green flag waved, Harvick held the lead and didn't look back. He would go on to lead 292 out of 325 laps, a race-high for him, and he would also sweep both race stages. With less than 20 to go, Austin Dillon's car received a power failure, setting up a late-race caution. The field would pit, and Harvick would receive a devastating pit road penalty. This put him at the tail end of the longest line and would prevent him from closing out the race and winning yet again. Harvick would only advance up to the 9th position. Despite his disappointing performances, he would lead the points standings heading out of Atlanta due to his stage wins and consistency during the two races.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: Harvick raced in the K&N Pro Series West event at Sonoma Raceway, his first race in the series since Iowa Speedway in 2007, driving the No. 4 for Jefferson Pitts Racing. Harvick took the lead from Michael Self on lap 42 to win the race. A day later, he won the Toyota/Save Mart 350 to sweep the weekend, his second-ever road course win, and first at Sonoma. Teammate Clint Bowyer finished second to mark a Stewart-Haas 1–2. During the chase, Harvick struggled during the first round finishing 36th at Loudon and 17th at Dover. Though his playoff points and stage points saved him from elimination. The second round fared slightly better for Harvick though he did suffer a DNF at Talladega, again his stage points would keep him from elimination. Harvick finished 5th at Martinsville after sliding to the finish after last-lap contact. The following week at Texas, Harvick would win stage 1, lead a total of 35 laps, and win the race. Harvick's win would secure him a spot in the Championship 4 at Homestead. The win was also Harvick's first at Texas, leaving Kentucky and Pocono as the only tracks Harvick has yet to win. The following week at Phoenix, Harvick finished 5th. This marked the first season since 2011 where Harvick didn't win a race at Phoenix. In the season finale at Homestead, Harvick started strong, leading the championship at one point, however, after hitting some debris and losing the handle of the car, Harvick was unable to run with the leaders Truex and Busch during the final green-flag run. He finished 4th in the race and 3rd in the final standings. With the retirements of Dale Jr. and Matt Kenseth, Harvick and his long-time rival Jimmie Johnson became the oldest full-time drivers in the Cup Series.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: Harvick would start the 2018 season with a DNF at the Daytona 500, after being involved in a crash just halfway through the race finishing 31st, but would earn dominant back-to-back wins at Atlanta (his first since 2001) and Las Vegas. This would be the first time Harvick would earn back-to-back wins since 2015 where he won at Las Vegas and Phoenix. It would also be his 100th career win across NASCAR's top three series. However, his win at Las Vegas would not count toward the playoffs as he received an L1 penalty for the rear window of the car not being braced at all times. He has docked 20 points, crew chief Childers fined $50,000 and car chief Robert Smith suspended for the next two races. Despite Childers being absent in the Phoenix race and the penalty from last week, Harvick was able to score his 40th career win and would finally earn three wins in a row after four previous attempts, for the first time in his career. Coming to California, four in a row would not work for Harvick, as he was involved in a wreck with Kyle Larson early in the race, and would finish 35th place, nine laps down. He finished fifth at Martinsville, second at Texas, seventh at Bristol, fifth at Richmond, and fourth at Talladega. At Dover, Harvick dominated by leading the most laps and scoring his fourth win of the year. The following week at Kansas, he was again dominant, scoring the pole, finishing second in both stages, and taking the lead with two laps to go to win his fifth race of the season. This tied the most wins for Harvick in a season. Harvick was the first driver to win five of the first 13 races since Jeff Gordon in 1997. A week later in the All-Star Race, Harvick continued his winning streak yet again, winning stages 1 and 3 and held off Daniel Suárez to win for the first time in 11 years after winning it in 2007 driving the No. 29 car for RCR. Over the next seven races, Harvick would finish outside the top five only twice: at Charlotte after a tire failure, and Daytona after getting caught in an Overtime wreck. At New Hampshire, Harvick stayed in the top 10 for most of the race and with less than 15 to go, Harvick used the bump and run on Kyle Busch and held onto the lead to get his sixth win of the year, the best in his career. He finished fourth at Pocono and 10th at Watkins Glen. Coming into Michigan, Harvick had finished second six times since winning there in 2010. He won both stages and led 108 laps en route to his seventh win of the season.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: In the playoffs, Harvick earned consistent finishes and used playoff points to advance himself toward the Round of 8, where he earned his eighth win of the season at Texas after winning both stages 1 and 2. However, he was penalized 40 points and had the win encumbered due to a spoiler infraction post-race, which put him 3 points above the cut-line heading to Phoenix. Harvick overcame a flat tire during the Phoenix race to secure enough points to make the Championship 4 at Homestead. In the season finale, Harvick ran up front for most of the early part of the race but his car got loose as the night went on. Harvick found himself in a position to win the race after pit strategy got him the lead in the final stage of the race but an ill-timed caution cost him the win. Harvick battled for the lead on the final restart but got overtaken by eventual winner Joey Logano. Harvick stated "We just got beat tonight" after the race. He finished the season third in the points standings, winning a career-high eight races and tying Kyle Busch for the most wins of the year.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: Harvick started his 2019 season by winning Duel 1 of the 2019 Gander RV Duels at Daytona. He finished 26th at the 2019 Daytona 500 after a late crash. Following Daytona, Harvick went on to finish in the top 10 6 straight times including 3 top-fives. Following Texas was an up-and-down stretch that lasted until race #19. At Bristol Motor Speedway, he finished a mediocre 13th after getting through traffic. Richmond was not bad as he was consistently in the top 5 all night and finished 4th. Things took a hard turn at Talladega where he earned his second DNF of the season, all on SuperSpeedways. Harvick bounced back with a 4th-place finish at Dover. He got the pole at Kansas and looked as if he was going to win but a poor stop by his crew members regulated him to finish 13th instead. Harvick almost won the All-Star race but finished second behind Kyle Larson. He then finished 10th at the Coca-Cola 600. A loose wheel at Pocono made him suffer a 22nd-place finish. Then in the next two races, he finished inside the top 7. He then finished outside the top 10 in the next three races. At Chicagoland, Harvick did well in both stages but a loose wheel got him to finish a mediocre 14th-place finish. Then next weekend, he finished 29th after getting collected in the Big One but still was able to run at the finish line driving his wrecked car. Then Kentucky was worse as he finished 22nd again. Heading into New Hampshire, Harvick had decent numbers but still was winless throughout the season after 19 races. Then in the next 7 races, he finished in the top 7 in 6 races. His only finish outside the top 10 was at Bristol as he suffered a DNF thanks to a transmission problem. He added this great momentum with wins at New Hampshire, Michigan, and Indianapolis. His Playoffs was also consistent as in the Round of 16, he finished 2nd at Las Vegas, 7th at Richmond, and finished third at the Charlotte Roval to advance to the Round of 12 and his average finish during those three races in the Round of 16 was an insane 4.0 during that stretch. At Talladega, Harvick made his 677th career start in the Cup Series, one more than the total career starts of Dale Earnhardt. His worse finish during the Playoffs was 17th at Talladega, after getting collected in the Big One but once again was able to finish the race. He scored his fourth win of the season at Texas to make his fifth appearance in the Championship 4 in the last six years. He went on to finish third in the standings for the third year in a row after finishing fourth at Homestead.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: To start the 2020 season, Harvick finished fourth in Duel 2 of the Bluegreen Vacations Duels at Daytona. Despite sustaining minor damage, he finished fifth at the Daytona 500, his first top-five in the race since 2016. He stayed consistently in the top 10 at Las Vegas, Fontana, and Phoenix before the season was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: On February 22, Harvick and Camping World CEO Marcus Lemonis offered a 100,000 reward to any full-time Cup Series driver who can beat Kyle Busch in the Truck Series. Corey LaJoie, Austin Dillon, Landon Cassill, and Timmy Hill were among those who showed interest in the challenge. Chase Elliott ultimately took up the bounty and won it in the Truck Series' first race back from the season pause at Charlotte.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: When racing resumed on May 17, Harvick scored his 50th career win at The Real Heroes 400 at Darlington. The win allowed him to surpass his car owner Tony Stewart to become the 12th winningest driver in Cup Series history. Further victories came during the summer in the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta (where he celebrated in a similar manner to his 2001 victory there), the Pocono Organics 325 at Pocono (his first win at the track), the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis (after fellow championship contender Denny Hamlin blew a tire late), and a sweep of the Michigan doubleheader (becoming the first driver to win Cup races on back-to-back days since Richard Petty in 1971).


title: Kevin Harvick

text: Following his seventh win of the season in the second Drydene 311 at Dover International Speedway, Harvick clinched the regular-season championship.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: After a 20th-place finish at Daytona, Harvick opened the first round of the playoffs on a high note by holding off Austin Dillon to win his second Southern 500 and outdueled Kyle Busch two weeks later to win the Bristol Night Race for the second time in his career, becoming the first driver to win at least nine times in a season since Carl Edwards in 2008. Despite these achievements, Harvick was eliminated in the Round of 8 after finishing 17th at Martinsville. He finished fifth in the points standings, and went the entire season without a DNF for only the fourth time in his career.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: Harvick began the 2021 Cup season with three consecutive top-ten finishes and was one of two drivers to do that, the other being Michael McDowell. His streak ended in the fourth race at Las Vegas when he finished 20th after starting on the pole. Harvick finished 37th at the inaugural Circuit of the Americas race after Bubba Wallace collided with him under rainy conditions, sustaining his first DNF since the 2019 Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race. He, later on, criticized NASCAR for allowing the race to proceed with poor visibility. Despite scoring no wins for the first time since 2009, Harvick managed to make the playoffs with his consistency.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: In March, he returned to the Truck Series for the first time since 2015 when he joined David Gilliland Racing to drive their No. 17 in the Bristol dirt race. Stewart-Haas also brought back their second Xfinity car for Harvick to run three road course races at Circuit of the Americas, Road America, and the Indianapolis Road Course, all of which were new to the Cup Series schedule that year. He ended up in the Nos. 5 and 99 for B. J. McLeod Motorsports in collaboration with Stewart-Haas Racing.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: Despite lacking the bonus points of the other playoff contenders, Harvick stayed consistent enough to make it to the Round of 12. At the Bristol Night Race, he tangled with Chase Elliott, causing the latter to fall out of contention after cutting a tire. Harvick led the race on the closing laps, but a lapped Elliott created enough traffic to slow down Harvick, allowing Kyle Larson to overtake him for the win. This resulted in a heated verbal confrontation between Harvick and Elliott after the race. Neither driver was reprimanded by NASCAR. During the Charlotte Roval race, Harvick bumped Elliott and sent him to the wall with rear-end damage. Harvick later experienced brake failure and crashed head-on to the turn 1 wall. As a result, he was eliminated from the Round of 12, the earliest elimination from Playoff contention in his career. Despite this and going winless for the first time since 2009, he once again finished fifth in the final standings.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: Harvick began the 2022 season with a 30th place finish at the 2022 Daytona 500. Aside from four DNFs, he stayed consistent with his finishes until he won at Michigan, breaking a 65-race drought to become the 15th different winner in the season. Harvick then scored his 60th career victory at Richmond a week later. At the Southern 500, Harvick finished 33rd after his car caught fire, which resulted in being relegated to 16th and last in the Playoff standings. The following week at Kansas, Harvick slammed the wall on lap 33 after Ross Chastain made contact with Bubba Wallace, resulting in Harvick's third consecutive DNF for the first time in his career. Harvick was eliminated in the Round of 16 after finishing 10th and being in a must-win situation at the Bristol night race. On October 5, Childers was suspended for four races and fined 100,000 for an L2 Penalty during post-race inspection after the Talladega playoff race. The penalty came under Sections 14.1 (vehicle assembly) and 14.5 (body) in the NASCAR Rule Book, both of which pertain to the body and overall vehicle assembly rules surrounding modification of a single-source supplied part. In addition, the No. 4 team was docked 100 driver and owner points. Harvick finished the season 15th in the points standings, his first points finish outside the top 10 since 2009.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: On July 21, 2008, Harvick won $37,300 at the 35th annual TD Bank 250 presented by New England Dodge Dealers in Oxford, Maine. Harvick defeated tour regulars; Glen Luce and Joey Polewarczyk Jr to become the first active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver to win the 250. The event is traditionally one of New England's major short track races. Since his 1998 West Series championship, he has competed in four races with one win. He also made two starts in the ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series in 1999 for Childress in the No. 20 Invinca-Shields/Realtree Chevrolet, finishing in the top-five both times.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: On January 25, 2015, it was reported that Harvick, along with Jeff Gordon, Brad Keselowski, and Danica Patrick, would serve as a rotating analyst for Xfinity Series races with "NASCAR on Fox". Harvick was the first of the four to commentate, starting at Daytona; he also worked at Las Vegas, Dover, and the Truck Series race at Talladega.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: In June 2017, Harvick was the play-by-play commentator for the "Fox NASCAR" broadcast of the Xfinity race at Pocono as part of a Cup drivers-only coverage, he worked alongside Joey Logano and Clint Bowyer in the broadcast booth. Fox brought back the Drivers Only broadcast in 2018 at Talladega and 2019 at Charlotte in May, and the trio reprised their roles in the booth both years.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: Harvick was not one of Fox's guest analysts in 2020, and "Drivers Only" was not done that year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, in 2021, Harvick was included in the lineup of guest analysts, and he served as a color commentator at Darlington in May.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: Harvick married DeLana (Linville) Harvick on February 28, 2001, in Las Vegas, Nevada, shortly after his Cup Series debut. They had met the previous year at Michigan International Speedway where at the time she was working in public relations for fellow driver Randy LaJoie. DeLana had worked in a similar capacity for Jeff Gordon previously and had even dabbled in race driving herself. DeLana is an active participant in Harvick's career, co-owning and working with KHI Management LLC, as well as frequently appearing on Harvick's pit box during Cup races.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: The couple live in Charlotte, North Carolina with their son Keelan, who was born on July 8, 2012, and daughter Piper Harvick, born on December 28, 2017. Keelan competes in kart racing. In April 2021, Keelan joined his father in an eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series race.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: Harvick is an avid fan of the Philadelphia Flyers of the NHL. He also stated during the ESPN broadcast of the 2011 5-hour Energy 500, while there was a rain delay, that he was a fan of the New York Yankees baseball team. On August 10, 2011, Harvick threw out the ceremonial first pitch between the Yankees and the Los Angeles Angels at Yankee Stadium.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: Established in 2010 by Harvick and his wife, DeLana, the mission of the Kevin Harvick Foundation (KHF) is to support programs that enrich the lives of children throughout the United States. The foundation works to not only improve the quality of life, but to help underprivileged youth find and realize their dreams by supporting programs such as the Kevin Harvick Athletic Scholarship Fund at California State University, Bakersfield, a camper cabin at Victory Junction, Baptist Children's Homes of NC, Boys & Girls Clubs, and Kevin's Krew.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: Harvick has made several TV talk show appearances during his career on shows such as "Late Show with David Letterman", "Live with Regis and Kelly", "Jim Rome is Burning", and "The Tony Danza Show". He was also on the first season of FX's "". It took an in-depth look at NASCAR drivers outside the track and the preparation it takes to be a NASCAR driver. Harvick has also been on "MTV Cribs".


title: Kevin Harvick

text: In 2004, game show "Family Feud" hosted a NASCAR special involving Harvick, with help from fellow Californian and then-host Richard Karn. In the special, Harvick faced off against fellow race-car driver Jeremy Mayfield and his foundation, playing Family Feud on behalf of the Kevin Harvick Foundation. Although they did not win, Harvick and his team were able to score off 276 points, winning $276 for their charity.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: On February 19, 2011, Harvick's sponsor, Budweiser hosted "The Roast of Kevin Harvick", which had some of Harvick's opponents and teammates give their thoughts and opinions on the Sprint Cup driver.


title: Kevin Harvick

text: Harvick was nicknamed "Happy Harvick" ironically due to his occasional temper outbursts. His pit sign, which is a smiley face, is a play on the nickname. He also received the nickname "The Closer" for his ability to make late passes for the win (often with the commentators asking "Where did he come from?" because he often made them from a considerable distance behind, usually taking advantage of the leader running out of fuel in the last few corners).


title: Grading in education

text: Grading in education is the process of applying standardized measurements for varying levels of achievements in a course. Grades can be assigned as letters (usually A through F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), as a percentage, or as a number out of a possible total (often out of 100).


title: Grading in education

text: In some countries, grades are averaged to create a grade point average (GPA). GPA is calculated by using the number of grade points a student earns in a given period of time. GPAs are often calculated for high school, undergraduate, and graduate students, and can be used by potential employers or educational institutions to assess and compare applicants. A cumulative grade point average (CGPA), sometimes referred to as just GPA, is a measure of performance for all of a student's courses.


title: Grading in education

text: Yale University historian George Wilson Pierson writes: "According to tradition the first grades issued at Yale (and possibly the first in the country) were given out in the year 1785, when President Ezra Stiles, after examining 58 Seniors, recorded in his diary that there were 'Twenty "Optimi", sixteen second "Optimi", twelve "Inferiores" ("Boni"), ten "Pejores".'" Yale later converted these adjectives into numbers on a 4-point scale, and some historians say this is the origin of the standard modern American GPA scale.


title: Grading in education

text: Bob Marlin argues that the concept of grading students' work quantitatively was developed by a tutor named William Farish and first implemented by the University of Cambridge in 1792. That assertion has been questioned by Christopher Stray, who finds the evidence for Farish as the inventor of the numerical mark to be unpersuasive. Stray's article also explains the complex relationship between the mode of examination (oral or written) and the varying philosophies of education these modes imply to both the teacher and the student. As a technology, grading both shapes and reflects many fundamental areas of educational theory and practice.


title: Grading in education

text: It is criticized that grades are only short-term snapshots of how much a student has learned in a given period of time, which only partially reflect the actual performance and does not take sufficient account of the individual development of students. Likewise, poor grades over a longer period of time would give students the impression that they would learn very little or nothing, which jeopardizes the innate intrinsic motivation of every child to learn. Children who have already lost their desire to learn and only study for their grades have no reason to continue learning after they have achieved the best possible grade. In addition, poor grades represent destructive feedback for students, since they do not provide any constructive assistance, but only absolute key figures. It is also criticized that the way of thinking, which can often be traced back to the grading system, that bad grades lead to poor future prospects, leads to perplexity, pressure and stress and depression among parents and children.


title: Grading in education

text: It is criticized that students often do not learn for their future life or out of interest in the material, but only for the grades and the associated status, which promotes bulimic learning.


title: Grading in education

text: German philosopher and publicist Richard David Precht criticizes the system of school grades in his book "Anna, die Schule und der liebe Gott: Der Verrat des Bildungssystems an unseren Kindern". He believes that numbers from 1 to 6 do not do justice to the personalities of the children. In his opinion, grades are neither meaningful nor differentiated and therefore not helpful. For example, the questions whether a student has become more motivated, is more interested in a topic, has learned to deal better with failure and whether he has developed new ideas cannot be answered with grades. Instead, Precht suggests a differentiated written assessment of the students' learning and development path. In his opinion, the grading system comes from a psychologically and pedagogically uninformed era and does not belong in the 21st century.


title: Grading in education

text: German educational innovator Margret Rasfeld criticizes the system of grades as unhelpful and, in her opinion, the resulting competitive thinking in schools and says: "School is there to organize success and not to document failure."


title: Grading in education

text: German neuroscientist Gerald Hüther criticizes grades for being responsible for ensuring that students cannot specialize in any topic that they are enthusiastic about and have a talent for, since otherwise their grades in other areas would deteriorate. He also believes that "our society will not develop further...if we force all children to conform to the same evaluation standards".


title: Grading in education

text: Most nations have their own grading system, and different institutions in a single nation can vary in their grading systems as well. However, several international standards for grading have arisen recently, such as the European Baccalaureate.


title: Grading in education

text: In the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) exam taken by secondary school students in England and Wales, grades generally range from 9 (highest) to 1 (lowest). These replaced earlier A, B, C... grading. However, in GCSE Science, Mathematics Statistics, and any Modern Foreign Language, there are two tiers (higher and foundation). In the higher tier, grades 9 to 4 can be achieved, while in the foundation tier, only grades 5 to 1 can be awarded. The new 9–1 qualifications saw some more subjects such as English language and English literature go 'tierless,’ with the same paper covering all levels of demand. Generally, a 4 or above would be considered a pass and a 3 or below would be considered a fail by most institutions: for Mathematics and English Language and English Literature, and possibly Science, this would require a resit.


title: Grading in education

text: If a candidate does not score highly enough to get a grade 1, their results slip will have the letter U for "ungraded", meaning no grade was secured. Other letters such as X also exist in special circumstances.


title: Grading in education

text: Most colleges and universities in the United States award a letter grade A (best), B, C, D, or F (fail) for each class taken (potentially with + or − modifiers). These letter grades are then used to calculate a GPA from 0 to 4.0, using a formula where 4.0 is the best. The average GPA is 3.3 at private institutions and 3.0 at public institutions.


title: Grading in education

text: Various colleges, such as Evergreen State College and Hampshire College, do not use traditional grades. Brown University, an Ivy League school, does not calculate grade point averages, and all classes can be taken on a pass/fail basis. Another university that does not follow the grade point average is Antioch University, a private university with multiple locations in the United States. Antioch University focuses on knowledge and learning; professors write a written assessment of students regarding their academic performance in the class. Students' transcripts show a pass/fail, or they can request that their narrative assessments accompany their official transcript.


title: Grading in education

text: A small percentage of high schools also do not use traditional grades. A notable example is Saint Ann's School in Brooklyn, which was ranked by "The Wall Street Journal" in 2004 as the number one high school in the country for having the highest percentage of graduating seniors enroll in Ivy League and several other highly selective colleges,


title: Grading in education

text: For college admission purposes, in addition to grades, colleges also typically review other material submitted by applicants and others, such as student essays, letters of recommendation, assessments of sports program potential, transcripts identifying which courses a student has taken, and scores from standardized test programs such as the SAT, ACT, Advanced Placement tests in particular subjects, and state-established testing scores.


title: Grading in education

text: According to a study published in 2014, a one-point increase in high-school GPA is correlated with an 11.85% increase in annual earnings for men and 13.77% for women in the United States.


title: Grading in education

text: College students often wonder how much weight GPA carries in their employment prospects. In many fields, work experience (such as internships) gained during one's time in college are the most important factors that employers consider. Other factors include choice of major, volunteering, choice of extracurricular activities, relevance of coursework, GPA, and the reputation of one's college. The relative importance of these factors do vary between professions, but for a graduate's first job out of college, GPA is often quite high on the list of factors that employers consider. There is also criticism about using grades as an indicator in employment. Armstrong (2012) claimed that the relationship between grades and job performance is low and becoming lower in recent studies. Grade inflation at American colleges over recent decades has also played a role in the devaluation of grades.


title: Grading in education

text: Different educational boards use different metrics in awarding grades to students, along with the marks obtained in most cases. Central Board of Secondary Education follows a positional grading system where grades are given on basis of the position of the student, if the student is in the top 1/8 of the rank of the no. of passing candidates, grade is A1, next 1/8 A2, next 1/8 B1, and so on. This grading system is based on the relative position of the student rather than the actual marks, it compares marks of different students and then a grade is given.


Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good! is the debut studio album by American thrash metal band Megadeth, released on June 12, 1985, by Combat Records. At the beginning of 1985, the band was given $8,000 by Combat to record and produce its debut album. The band was forced to fire their original producer and produce the album by themselves, after spending half of the album's budget on drugs, alcohol, and food. Despite the poor production, the album was a well-received effort that obtained strong reviews in various music publications. "Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good!" played an essential role in establishing thrash metal as an authentic subgenre of heavy metal music. It explores themes of death, occultism, and violence.


The album features the track "Mechanix", a song that frontman Dave Mustaine would perform with Metallica during his time in the band, and a controversial cover of the 1965 song "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'". A deluxe edition, completely remixed and remastered with several bonus tracks, was released through Loud Records on February 5, 2002. It features vastly different artwork, with its cover based on the version originally designed by Mustaine in 1985. All songs from the album were performed frequently during Megadeth's initial tour but have been steadily dropped from the setlist since. A new remastered version of the album called "Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good! - The Final Kill" was released on June 8, 2018, which includes a remastered version of "These Boots", redone to Lee Hazlewood's version.


title: Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good!

text: Dave Mustaine was the original lead guitarist for Metallica. However, due to drinking, substance abuse, violent behavior, and personality conflicts with bandmates James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich, Mustaine was eventually fired from Metallica. Two months after being fired from Metallica, Mustaine met bassist David Ellefson and together they formed Megadeth in Los Angeles. Mustaine later recalled: "After getting fired from Metallica, all I remember is that I wanted blood. Theirs. I wanted to be faster and heavier than them." Fueled by the desire for revenge, Mustaine elevated the intensity of Megadeth's music in order to challenge his former band. He sped up existing songs such as "Mechanix", which Metallica's new line-up adapted into the slower paced "The Four Horsemen". Mustaine included his original version of the song on the album to "straighten Metallica up", as Metallica referred to Mustaine as a drunk, and said that he could not play guitar.


text: After not being able to search for a vocalist for nearly six months, Mustaine decided to handle the vocal duties himself, while also serving as the band's primary lyricist, main songwriter, and co-lead and rhythm guitarist. Megadeth recorded a three-song demo tape early in 1984 titled "Last Rites", engineered by Karat Faye, and released it on March 9, 1984. On the strength of the demo, the band was asked to sign with the New York-based independent label Combat Records in November 1984. Early in 1985, Megadeth was given $8,000 by Combat to record and produce its debut album. However, this proved not to be enough, and the band was given a further $4,000. Instead, a majority of the budget was spent on drugs, alcohol, and food, prompting the group to fire the original producer, and produce the record themselves. The album was successfully recorded at the Indigo Ranch Studios, in Malibu, California.


text: The album's artwork, featuring a plastic skull with tinfoil, was not intended to be the original artwork. Both Mustaine and Ellefson had many phone conversations with Combat Records to get the cover artwork properly reproduced from a sketch given to them by Mustaine of a picture of Megadeth mascot Vic Rattlehead on the cover. However the studio lost the artwork, and instead made their own improvised and low-budget replacement, with which Mustaine and the whole band were mortified.


text: Megadeth began with live performances before the record was released. Although not a member of the band, Kerry King of Slayer played lead guitar for a short period because Mustaine had not recruited a full-time guitarist yet. In mid-1985, the group toured the United States and Canada for the first time, supporting "Killing Is My Business..." with Canadian speed metal band Exciter. During the tour, guitarist Chris Poland abruptly left the band, and was replaced by guitarist Mike Albert. However, Poland rejoined Megadeth in October 1985, and stayed with the band up after the tour of the next album.


text: The album was released on June 12, 1985. To date it remains the only Megadeth album that did not chart on the "Billboard" 200, primarily because it was released through an independent label with little promotion. Nevertheless, the album still went on to become one of Combat Records' highest selling releases. Later that year, Capitol Records signed Megadeth as they began working on their second album, "Peace Sells... but Who's Buying?", released the following year. A limited edition of "Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good!" was released in 2009. The CD itself is pressed on black plastic with grooves on the top to imitate an LP. This version's cover is redesigned to match Mustaine's original sketch, and the song "These Boots" was removed. Over 254,000 copies of the album were sold in the United States since the beginning of the Nielsen SoundScan era. On April 6, 2018, it was announced that the album would once again be remixed and remastered, this time by Mark Lewis and Ted Jensen. Titled "Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good! - The Final Kill", the deluxe reissue features new mixes and masters of the original album, a new version of "These Boots" featuring Lee Hazlewood's original lyrics (albeit with the song downtuned as a result), the original 1984 demos featured on the 2002 remix, and newly-discovered live tracks sourced from VHS tapes found in Dave Mustaine's attic. The new remaster was released on June 8, 2018.


text: According to writer Peter Buckley, the record presented a faster, "thrashier kind of heavy metal". Steve Huey of AllMusic opined that the music on "Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good!" is predominantly "chaotic", accompanied by "lightning-fast" solo sections. Sputnikmusic's Mike Stagno said that the original pressing greatly suffered from the poor production, which made the record difficult to listen to. However, he noted that the music is performed at rapid speed, with precise riffing by both Poland and Mustaine. In his book "", editor Jeff Wagner wrote the album displayed unusual rhythms and unorthodox guitar riffs, which carried "like a runaway train". Speaking about the intensity of the record, Ellefson said that "extreme speed was deemed the cool factor in thrash metal back in those days". Although Ellefson considers the album as a solid debut release, he wanted some of the songs to be recorded in slower tempo.


text: The album explores gloomy lyrical subjects such as death, violence, and occultism. Speaking about the themes on the album, author Bob Larson asserted that Megadeth "cranks out songs about spilling blood and stomping guts with venomous anger". The album's title, as well as its lyrics, led to accusations whether the band was promoting Satanism. These allegations were rigidly denied by Mustaine, who said that the band consciously kept away from the Satanic image. "I mean, it's great to thrash and pound, cut yourself up, scream and have fun, but you don't have to take out a Pagan attitude. Why support the Devil? He's already there. I'd rather just fucking thrash and be a metalist and listen to whatever I want to than be forced to listen to one style of music."