Kevin Harvick Replaces Jimmie Johnson as New Leader for an Important Record in the NASCAR Cup Series

When the 2020 season concluded, Jimmie Johnson, Clint Bowyer, and Matt Kenseth hung up their boots. In the process, their names have been knocked off the list of active drivers with the most career wins. Thus, Kevin Harvick jumped up from fourth place to lead the standings with 58 wins.

Rounding out the top five are Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, and Kurt Busch. Martin Truex Jr leads the remainder of the top 10, with Joey Logano, Ryan Newman, Chase Elliott, and Kyle Larson behind him. With his reinstatement, Kyle Larson finds himself back in the fray once again.

Kevin Harvick will be kept on his toes

Although Harvick has 58 career wins to his name, he is hardly sitting pretty on top of the leaderboard. To be precise, Kyle Busch’s win at Texas places him on 57 career wins. With Kyle having no intention to retire anytime soon, he will be a massive threat for the 2021 season.

Denny Hamlin is still a few wins away, but if he continues his 2020 form, he could be in the running. Even the likes of Brad Keselowski and Kurt Busch could be in with a shout. The maiden championship will be a massive confidence booster for Chase Elliott. Now that Kyle Larson has re-entered the fray, he can also try to build on his 6 wins.

Unless Kevin Harvick can recreate his nine-race-winning season, he could be vulnerable. The 2021 season boasts of 36 races, and this provides ample opportunity for Harvick to either increase his tally or for someone else to overtake him.

Admittedly, there is also a chance that somebody could gun for Jimmie Johnson’s 83 wins. However, it will be impossible for anyone to try to overhaul that in the span of a single season. On the other end of the spectrum, all the above-mentioned drivers will give it a massive shot.

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