Kevin Harvick finds himself in a tricky situation. Sure, he won two races back-to-back in the regular season, the only driver to do so as he made it into the playoffs late into the season. But two playoff races in, and the Stewart-Haas Racing driver is on the verge of being knocked out.
Unless he wins at Bristol, a track where he almost won last season if not for someone that goes by the name of Chase Elliott.
We all know what happened between the two last season.
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But while in 2021, it was Harvick who came out worse against Elliott, this time around, he might have to turn that narrative in his favor if he is to progress ahead.
This was something that Freddie Kraft, the spotter of Bubba Wallace, touched upon in the recent episode of the Door Bumper Clear podcast.
“Harvick should have won this race last year,” Kraft said about Bristol, 2021. “And this is the race Chase Elliott, they got together, Chase blocked him long enough for (Kyle) Larson to get around him.”
“But Harvick can do the same thing.”
Kevin Harvick's likely in a must-win situation at Bristol next weekend. Be prepared. #NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/iaaqUzSLo9
— nascarcasm (@nascarcasm) September 11, 2022
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Kevin Harvick has no option but Kyle Busch has one
Two of the biggest names in modern-day NASCAR, Kevin Harvick, and Kyle Busch find themselves on the verge of being knocked out quite early in this season’s playoffs.
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But while Harvick is in a must-win situation at Bristol, Busch has some breathing space, not much, but some.
“Kyle Busch needs a couple good stages and guess what? He puts himself in a position that Daniel Suarez doesn’t get stage points, Daniel Suarez is out of the playoffs,” spotter Brett Griffin described.
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“This is why the playoffs is exciting.”