The first race of the playoff season soon approaches us at the ‘too tough to tame’, Darlington Raceway. With less than a week to go for the showdown, crews will be drawing out strategies and tuning engines in preparation for the fierce battle ahead. Tony Stewart co-owned Stewart-Haas Racing will be no exception. With just one of the 4 drivers actually breaking through the ranks, they will be deploying all their strength behind the soon-to-retire Kevin Harvick.

Despite the unpredictable nature of stock car racing and Kevin’s performance throughout the year, Kyle Petty has reservations that cast a shadow on Stewart-Haas Racing’s prospects. Speaking on the ‘NASCAR on NBC podcast, the NASCAR veteran disclosed his criticism.

Kyle Petty is not very confident about Tony Stewart’s team

Despite qualifying for the playoffs, Kevin and his No. 4 team remained winless in the regular season. With the driver set to retire at the end of this season, Tony Stewart will need to step up his crew’s game to fare better in the playoffs.

Kyle Petty, for one, thinks that neither the driver nor his team have shown him enough on the track to believe that they will last long going forward.

Expressing his views, Petty said, “SHR and Kevin Harvick have not shown me anything that lets me know that they are going to make it out of the first round. And that’s a sad state.”

“And I hate to say that but that’s my appeal.”

While the veteran did mention that he had become a huge fan of Kevin Harvick and desperately wanted to see him make it to the final 4, his criticism stood out at the end. Petty later softened his blow, saying that he would be cheering for Kevin should he make it all the way to the Phoenix Raceway.

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The roots behind Kyle Petty’s skepticism for Kevin Harvick and Stewart Haas Racing

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Kevin Harvick is not a newcomer to the playoff scene. In his journey with Stewart-Haas Racing since 2014, he has contested for the title in the season finale on 5 different occasions and won one of them. It can be said without doubt that Kevin’s marquee performances in the playoffs have played a big part in SHR’s rise to prominence. But the turn of the decade, in particular, did not befriend itself with Kevin. 2020 saw him get knocked out in the playoff round of 8. The following year, a crash sent him out in the stages of the playoffs. Last season proved even worse with the driver getting eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.

In 2023, the driver once again finds himself in the playoffs, but not in the best of positions. The last man standing for Tony Stewart, all hopes will be pinned on the winless driver after the devastating season that the team has had. All its younger drivers, including Chase Briscoe, Aric Almirola, and Ryan Preece, couldn’t find it in themselves to accompany Kevin. Providing support to Kyle Petty’s criticism is this crossroad that the driver and his team find themselves in.

Nevertheless, Kevin is one the most experienced drivers in the ranks and has often proved his playoff expertise. Let’s hope that this “one last run” for Kevin and Stewart-Haas Racing ends up with recreating the 2014 magic, when they won the championship together.

Read More: “We Have Enough Trouble” – Kevin Harvick Slams Tony Stewart’s Team as He Turns His Back on His Teammates