Early season title contender Kevin Harvick has already claimed pole position ahead of Sunday’s race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
For quite a few years now, Harvick has been the torchbearer for the Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) team. He represents the outfit’s best chance to win a Cup Series championship, having won it once back in 2014.
But of course, there is still a long, long way to go in the season, which includes qualifying for the Playoffs at some stage. Speaking in an interview, the NASCAR veteran opens up on expectations and talks about balancing them to stay in contention for results.
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Have to really balance those emotions and expectations, said Kevin Harvick
The No.14 stated, “It’s so funny that people talk about the first few weeks, and I think as you come off of the off-season… And when you have so many expectations in your mind, you have to be very careful to balance that to the point of making sure that you don’t do something out of character.”
“It’s almost like the start of the Daytona 500, you have to really balance those emotions and expectations to just go out and drive.”
Harvick also goes on to mention about the importance of keeping oneself in the Top 5 places. By staying in and around those valued track positions, there is hence a greater chance of seizing the latter phase of the race and eventually, driving into Victory Lane at the end of it all.
Harvick holds an extremely outstanding record at Las Vegas
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While there have been no wins for the SHR superstar so far, he has secured solid results that see him sit 5th in the drivers’ standings. With a Top-10 finish in each of the three rounds in 2021, Harvick only needs some more momentum before he begins winning races.
The Las Vegas clash hence could not have come at a better time considering the 45-year-old’s record at the location. Harvick has seven Top-10 finishes in his last ten starts, including two race wins in 2015 first, and later in 2018 as well.
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So there is no doubt that having achieved pole for this weekend will give him a shot of confidence. But Harvick knows with all his experience that the job is not done until he aces the final stages of the 267-laps race.
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