USA Today via Reuters
Sep 27, 2020; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Kevin Harvick (4) during the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
USA Today via Reuters
Sep 27, 2020; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Kevin Harvick (4) during the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Recently, former racer Jeff Burton spoke about the onset of road course races. With more of them incoming, the drivers had to ensure that they were good at them. He cited the example of Kevin Harvick, who struggled at road events, especially at the Charlotte Roval.
Burton said, “To me, he’s a really good road racer, I was teammates with him, but it hadn’t shown up recently”. He insisted that if Harvick has to be a perennial contender, he has to get better on road courses. However, the #4 driver is just one example out of several.
The former racer even mentioned Austin Cindric and Chase Briscoe, who are exceptional road course racers. That explains why they are being considered by Cup teams as future viable options. Since road courses will be the future of NASCAR, the drivers have no choice but to adapt and be good at them.
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Can Kevin Harvick do well on these road courses?
Burton insisted that no driver can afford to be subpar on these road events. This would ultimately hurt them in their road to the playoffs, especially since five road courses will be sprinkled throughout the regular season.
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via Getty
DAYTONA BEACH, FL – FEBRUARY 19: Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Jimmy John’s Ford, stands on the grid during qualifying for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series 59th Annual DAYTONA 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 19, 2017 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
In the 2020 season, Harvick was in sublime form, winning nine races in the season. Owing to this, many believed that he would be one of the favorites for the championship. So it came as a massively rude shock when he got eliminated in the Round of 8.
At the Martinsville Speedway, Kevin Harvick needed just one place to reach the Championship 4. The only man standing in his way was Kyle Busch, and he threw everything at him. However, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver held firm and forced Harvick to resort to desperate tactics.
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In the end, those tactics failed and he missed out on that spot. To be precise, he tried to take out Busch, but it backfired spectacularly. Now, he has to try again and hope that he can recreate his 9-race-winning season in 2021.
READ MORE – Kevin Harvick Replaces Jimmie Johnson as New Leader for an Important Record in the NASCAR Cup Series
