NASCAR: Harvick returns as Fox analyst for select Xfinity, Trucks races

Kevin Harvick is already looking at life beyond racing.

Fox Sports has announced Harvick will return to the broadcast booth this season to help call five Xfinity Series races and three Camping World Truck Series as an analyst. He will begin his 2017 schedule with the season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 25 alongside Adam Alexander and Michael Waltrip.

Harvick has been an analyst for multiple Xfinity races throughout the past two years, and his reasoning for gaining experience in the broadcast booth is simple: a career after driving.

"I really enjoy calling races," Harvick said in a statement released by Fox. "I enjoy the perspective of sitting up there and trying to figure out what's going on. I also want to be a part of watching these young guys come up through the NASCAR Camping World Truck and Xfinity Series and have the experience of having been in the booth when they raced because, ultimately, it's something I want to do down the road when I'm done driving."

Harvick is a two-time Xfinity Series champion, having won the title in 2001 and 2006. He is also the 2014 Monster Energy Cup Series champion. Across all three NASCAR national series, Harvick has 95 victories and has also spent time as an owner in both the Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series.

Harvick is scheduled to be in the booth for Xfinity Series races at Phoenix, Bristol, Talladega, and Pocono, as well as for the Camping World Truck Series races at Kansas, Eldora and Talladega. Harvick is also scheduled to be an analyst on Fox Sports 1's "NASCAR Race Hub" throughout the season.

"In his first few minutes in the Fox NASCAR booth at Daytona in 2015, Kevin Harvick quickly proved himself a natural as an analyst," said Eric Shanks, Fox Sports president, COO and executive producer. "He offers though-provoking analysis each time he speaks and does so in a concise and entertaining manner. We are thrilled to have him back this season for an expanded schedule of races."

Other drivers who have rotated in the Fox NASCAR booth include Brad Keselowski, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Danica Patrick, Clint Bowyer, Joey Logano, Carl Edwards and Denny Hamlin.

Fox carries the first half of the Xfinity Series schedule and the entire Camping World Truck Series season. Additional Cup drivers scheduled in the booth this season will be announced at a later date.