Forget the Bad Luck, Kevin Harvick Is Still My Pick for the Sprint Cup Title
Back in February, before the start of the current NASCAR Sprint Cup season, I took a stab at predicting what this yearโs Chase field of 16 drivers would look like.
You can take a look at who I picked and why. I missed the field by three drivers, but Iโm especially proud that I had AJย Allmendinger in the field.
My pick for champion back then was and still is Kevin Harvick.
Now, it seems that every time I write something about Harvick winning the championship this season, it gives my readers a reason to respond. I like that.
Unlike many Sprint Cup drivers, Harvick doesnโt have a large group of haters. I suppose he does have his detractors. But the driver they call โHappy Harvick," with the ever-present blond-haired son and wife by his side, is a genuine fan favorite.
That might be because many fans believe that Harvick has continued the legacy of their fallen hero, Dale Earnhardt. After the sportโs most popular star died on the final lap of the biggest race of the year in 2001, it was Harvick who climbed behind the wheel of the car when the team resumed competing. That car may have had a different number, but it was still the manโs team.
Now, Harvick is racing for good friend Tony Stewartโs organization, Stewart-Haas Racing, and the 38-year-old transplanted Californian has been recast with a new attitude and a new opportunity to finally win a championship.
The change in scenery has been exactly what Harvick needed.ย
While much attention has been cast in four-time champion Jeff Gordonโs direction for the rekindling of his passion and drive this season, Harvick is also in the midst of a career renaissance, enjoying one of the best seasons of his career. Heโs driving with a conviction and confidence that heโs not shown in years. He has won more poles (7) this year than he did in his entire 13-year career at Richard Childress Racing. His other stats (two wins, 10 top-fives and 15 top-10s), while not the best of his career, are the fruits of a successful season.
But the stats wonโt matter if there isnโt a championship at the end of the season. And, justifiably, there are reasons to doubt that that will happen.ย
The No. 4 team got its heavy lifting out of the way early by winning at Phoenix, on just the second stop on the schedule. The victory secured Harvickโs seat on the postseason game bench.
Fast-forward to today, three races into the Chase, and itโs head-scratching time. Why? Because after every race, itโs easy to find Harvickโs name on the results sheetโjust look at the laps led column and search for the driver who has led the most laps.
Harvick has led more laps (406 of the 970) than anyone else in the Chase.
Except the most important lap: the last one.
The No. 4 hasnโt been to Victory Lane since Darlington in May. In a world of โwhat have you done for me lately,โ that was eons ago.
The mere fact that Harvick hasnโt won a race is raising eyebrows. Week in and week out, the No. 4 car has been among the favorites.
โBut if truth be told, you look at the No. 4 (Kevin Harvick)...those guys have been there,โ Jimmie Johnson said during a media session prior to the Chase opener at New Hampshire.ย
From Harvickโs side-by-side battle against Kyle Larson at Loudon that let Brad Keselowski squeeze by and take the checkers to the wheel problem in Dover last weekend, itโs almost like this team discovers another way to not win every week.
There might be a case to be made that Harvick, who has been in this situation before, is part of the problem. This is his eighth time in the Chase, and thereโs still no Sprint Cup trophy in his trophy case. He has 25 career Cup wins, including the Daytona 500 (2007) and Brickyard 400 (2003). And he is a two-time Nationwide Series champion (2001, 2006). The man knows how to win races, including the majors and championships.ย
Itโs easy to point fingers, and maybe there is some of that going on at team meetings behind closed doors. There is no one reason that you can pinpoint or one problem to solve. The pit crew, which started out the season as team owner Tony Stewartโs race day crew, has gotten the pit stops better. And Harvick is at the top of his game.ย
The reason may just be that there is no reason other than the consequences of a combination of events that have left the best-handling and fastest car on the track with bad track position. Once there, it's difficult to make it back to the front, either because it's hard to pass in the turbulent air or the laps just run out.
The biggest challenge facing this team right now is to go back and look at the positives. The No. 4 team fieldsย arguably the fastest setup every weekend given Harvickโs seven pole wins. And it hasย one of the best drivers to ever turn a wheel in NASCAR in the seat and a smart and focused crew chief in Rodney Childers running the show. Childers, by the way, deserves a hearty pat on the back for not allowing an environment to develop that could end up with Harvick having a complete meltdown by now.
Earlier in the season, just after the win at Phoenix, this team went through an even worse run of bad luck, caused by parts failures and misfortune.ย The Darlington win ended a five-week run of bad luck, and a win this weekend in Kansas would do the same for the current situation.ย
You need not remind me that Gordon (4) has won more races, and so haveย Keselowski (5), Joey Logano (4) and Johnson (3).ย Harvick is still The Closer. Watch the Darlington video again. It's still the same guy behind the wheel.
There may be a dozen reasons why Harvick canโt or wonโt win the title. But thereโs also a dozen more that say that he can and why I think he will.ย
All quotes are taken from official NASCAR, team and manufacturer media releases unless otherwise stated.
Bob Margolis is a member of the National Motorsports Press Association and has covered NASCAR, IndyCar, the NHRA and Sports Cars for more than two decades as a writer, television producer and on-air talent.ย
On Twitter: @BobMargolis
