Has Kevin Harvick (at age 43) Lost A Step?

Just looking at career numbers, Harvick’s body of work is pretty incredible, he’s been in a contention for a championship since 2010 . Take out 2012 and 2016’s 8th place finishes, he’s been top 3 finisher 8 of 10 years. When you look at it I find it pretty amazing, the longevity of being involved in a championship battle.
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In a lot of ways, Harvick has been the best driver in NASCAR since 2014. He's been statistically superior to Kyle Busch, aside from the championship numbers. For "the best driver in NASCAR", Kyle has yet to be the consensus best driver.

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Just looking at career numbers, Harvick’s body of work is pretty incredible, he’s been in a contention for a championship since 2010 . Take out 2012 and 2016’s 8th place finishes, he’s been top 3 finisher 8 of 10 years. When you look at it I find it pretty amazing, the longevity of being involved in a championship battle.
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2013 is nuts. 4 wins and 260 laps lead lol

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This puts into perspective. Gosh you can say if only RCR gave him some better cars during the 06-13 range but you can also say that he’s in his prime....NOW. It’s awesome to see, I’ve always liked Harv since he took over the 3/29 in 01, he’s coming up on 20 years in Cup. Gone by fast
 
This puts into perspective. Gosh you can say if only RCR gave him some better cars during the 06-13 range but you can also say that he’s in his prime....NOW. It’s awesome to see, I’ve always liked Harv since he took over the 3/29 in 01, he’s coming up on 20 years in Cup. Gone by fast
Yup.

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2013 is nuts. 4 wins and 260 laps lead lol

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Look at 2010. It's the largest statistical gap between avgQ and avgF I've ever seen in the modern era for a title contender.

They'd start so deep in the 29 it'd take him the whole race to work his way through the field to get any laps led. It's as if they decided to pour all their concentration and resources into race trim only.
 
Look at 2010. It's the largest statistical gap between avgQ and avgF I've ever seen in the modern era for a title contender.

They'd start so deep in the 29 it'd take him the whole race to work his way through the field to get any laps led. It's as if they decided to pour all their concentration and resources into race trim only.
Totally.

They didn't have a choice since his Chevy's probably weren't as fast as the 11 and 48 that year off the truck.

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I think it's crazy to think that there is a point when both Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards had more wins than Kevin Harvick.

Denny kept on winning, and has been as good as he's ever been these last two years and yet Kevin Harvick has about 14 wins on him now. Kevin is probably going to retire with 65 wins. 10 years ago, I didn't even think he was going to get to 30.

I think it's also worth noting that he has completely evolved into one of the "Dads" of NASCAR. A modern-day old-timer. Everything that turned fans away from him during his youth is basically gone And he's become very likable.



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This puts into perspective. Gosh you can say if only RCR gave him some better cars during the 06-13 range but you can also say that he’s in his prime....NOW. It’s awesome to see, I’ve always liked Harv since he took over the 3/29 in 01, he’s coming up on 20 years in Cup. Gone by fast


On the other hand driving that equipment may have made him the driver he is today
 
In a lot of ways, Harvick has been the best driver in NASCAR since 2014. He's been statistically superior to Kyle Busch, aside from the championship numbers. For "the best driver in NASCAR", Kyle has yet to be the consensus best driver.

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I agree. Completely. I have never bought into the GOAT **** with Kyle, and Harvick is freaking savage. He will be in the Final, and he will be the favorite because with the low downforce package at that track only luck can screw him.
 
Way beyond which package there is. Harvick's bunch has won with every one. It comes down to driver skill and team execution and the 4 team haven't been losing races on pit row because of their pit crew this year and that makes up for a lot. I think they had one bad pit that I have seen and that was at Indy, but they were able to come back and push Hamlin to make a mistake and win the race.
 
I think it's crazy to think that there is a point when both Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards had more wins than Kevin Harvick.

Denny kept on winning, and has been as good as he's ever been these last two years and yet Kevin Harvick has about 14 wins on him now. Kevin is probably going to retire with 65 wins. 10 years ago, I didn't even think he was going to get to 30.

I think it's also worth noting that he has completely evolved into one of the "Dads" of NASCAR. A modern-day old-timer. Everything that turned fans away from him during his youth is basically gone And he's become very likable.



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The Harvick/Biffle feud was friggin' intense.

There was a while I thought Harvick wouldn't even get 20 wins. He had that awesome 2006 season (at the start of Super Jimmie's Reign of Terror) and won the '07 Daytona 500, then didn't do **** for years.
 
The Harvick/Biffle feud was friggin' intense.

There was a while I thought Harvick wouldn't even get 20 wins. He had that awesome 2006 season (at the start of Super Jimmie's Reign of Terror) and won the '07 Daytona 500, then didn't do **** for years.
I remember cheering hard for Harvick during that 06 run. I liked him ( still was a JG fan though during this time) since the 29 and when he took it over, I loved that swagger he had. He still has it today, but he picks his spots now with it. Its been very fun to watch him through his career, hes going to be one of the ones I will miss for sure when he hangs it up. Some of the coolest wins I can remember was his first win in the 29 at Atlanta, then the first two races at Chicagoland ( I was there for both), his first Brickyard win in 03 ( so surprised I believe he was on a winless streak at that point. the first of a few in RCR equipment). It's been awesome to see him morph into this late career monster, I really hope he wins the Championship this year.
 
I agree. Completely. I have never bought into the GOAT **** with Kyle, and Harvick is freaking savage. He will be in the Final, and he will be the favorite because with the low downforce package at that track only luck can screw him.
Noble of you to acknowledge this.

Kyle is still the superior talent imo, and certainly is one of the best ever and has a higher place on the all time list eventually, imo. But Harv has outperformed everyone since 2014. Only 1 championship to show for it, unfortunately, but the way that 4 car has run makes thrm the overall best team since '14 on speed imo. But Kyle is still a 2x champ.

Harv is still the guy you gotta beat.especially now. He's gonna get his 2nd eventually.

Has anyone else's prime been past 40 like him? Christ.

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The Harvick/Biffle feud was friggin' intense.

There was a while I thought Harvick wouldn't even get 20 wins. He had that awesome 2006 season (at the start of Super Jimmie's Reign of Terror) and won the '07 Daytona 500, then didn't do **** for years.
I wrote Harvick off after 2008. A Better Greg Biffle, who, aside from a breakout year or two of 3-4 wins, was never gonna contend for a title and will win probably 25 races.

2010 was a "good for him"

2013 was, "good for him". But Harvick was never an elite driver in my eyes for a while. I was very vocal about this in 2015. He is. And he was. He was held back by his own youthfulness so to speak.

I dont think 2010-2013 Harvick is today's Harvick in lesser equipment. I don't think 2010-2013 Harvick dominates today. Much like Kyle Busch, maturity and fatherhood did wonders for their racing careers.

Harvick, imo is the best he's ever been these last 5 years. In equal cars, I'd take this Harvick over RCR Harvick. There's just a different air about him.

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I wrote Harvick off after 2008. A Better Greg Biffle, who, aside from a breakout year or two of 3-4 wins, was never gonna contend for a title and will win probably 25 races.

2010 was a "good for him"

2013 was, "good for him". But Harvick was never an elite driver in my eyes for a while. I was very vocal about this in 2015. He is. And he was. He was held back by his own youthfulness so to speak.

I dont think 2010-2013 Harvick is today's Harvick in lesser equipment. I don't think 2010-2013 Harvick dominates today. Much like Kyle Busch, maturity and fatherhood did wonders for their racing careers.

Harvick, imo is the best he's ever been these last 5 years. In equal cars, I'd take this Harvick over RCR Harvick. There's just a different air about him.

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2010 was a big year for harvick. That's the year he finally learned to run the top side of the track. He took on the big teams that year and frankly outran them all year long. There cars weren't quite fast enough to outpoint them all in the 10 race sprint at the end but the work of his entire season was heads above the rest.
 
2010 was a big year for harvick. That's the year he finally learned to run the top side of the track. He took on the big teams that year and frankly outran them all year long. There cars weren't quite fast enough to outpoint them all in the 10 race sprint at the end but the work of his entire season was heads above the rest.
I think it was almost there. Because his "best" for 10 races wasn't enough to out run the 11 or 48. Harvick learned how to run well and run consistently well.

What really changed with SHR is that he learned how to win, and how to win A LOT. Harvick has stollen quite a few these last few years. I don't think he had that in him in 2010. In terms of the "complete package", 2010 is to Harvick what 2018 was to Kyle, or 2005 to Jimmie, 2008 to Edwards. Harvick learned how to run consistently well with what he had. But you have to be better than that to win championships. You have to be a winner.

And he became that with SHR. He learned how to be a dominant driver...being a dominant driver is beyond being a consistent marathon of excellence driver these days.

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Noble of you to acknowledge this.

Kyle is still the superior talent imo, and certainly is one of the best ever and has a higher place on the all time list eventually, imo. But Harv has outperformed everyone since 2014. Only 1 championship to show for it, unfortunately, but the way that 4 car has run makes thrm the overall best team since '14 on speed imo. But Kyle is still a 2x champ.

Harv is still the guy you gotta beat.especially now. He's gonna get his 2nd eventually.

Has anyone else's prime been past 40 like him? Christ.

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Bobby Allison.
 
A lot of people are saying after Jimmie saw his life flash before his eyes when he had that terrible wreck at Pocono, he lost a step. I'm starting to agree.
I think there may be something to that. You got a family, you have that happen, it probably altered his perspective. The talent is still there, as we saw at the end of Kentucky. He was running down the 12 and 19, and put up the fastest lap of the race by about a tenth, in classic JJ fashion.

But the fire is gone, imo.

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Definitely NOT a fan of Harvick and hate seeing it, but at the same time I respect him and appreciate getting to watch what he is doing as one of the greats.

He is one of those drivers (like Jimmy and JG) that you just have to respect and understand that you are witnessing history and may not get to see it again.
 
Definitely NOT a fan of Harvick and hate seeing it, but at the same time I respect him and appreciate getting to watch what he is doing as one of the greats.

He is one of those drivers (like Jimmy and JG. both of whom I hated growing up but learned to appreciate and respect) who you just have to respect and understand that you are witnessing history and may not get to see it again.
 
22 starts, 5804 of 5806 laps completed (100.0%), 888 laps led

Win: 6 ( 27.3%) Average start: 9.2 Total Winnings: $0
Top 5: 15 ( 68.2%) Average finish: 5.9 (excluding bonuses)
Top 10: 19 ( 86.4%) DNF: 0

We're witnessing greatness.
 
Harvick is top 10 all time. Besides him and Earnhardt, no one else really did much at RCR. Burton and Bowyer were decent and got a few wins, but no one else even contended. Then at SHR, he's been the only championship contender they've had since 2011.
 
I wrote Harvick off after 2008. A Better Greg Biffle, who, aside from a breakout year or two of 3-4 wins, was never gonna contend for a title and will win probably 25 races.

2010 was a "good for him"

2013 was, "good for him". But Harvick was never an elite driver in my eyes for a while. I was very vocal about this in 2015. He is. And he was. He was held back by his own youthfulness so to speak.

I dont think 2010-2013 Harvick is today's Harvick in lesser equipment. I don't think 2010-2013 Harvick dominates today. Much like Kyle Busch, maturity and fatherhood did wonders for their racing careers.

Harvick, imo is the best he's ever been these last 5 years. In equal cars, I'd take this Harvick over RCR Harvick. There's just a different air about him.

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100%.

I don't agree with the notion that KH would have had a wildly more successful career if he was with Hendrick or JGR vs. Childress all those years. I will go as far to say that without the RCR years, KH is not as successful today. P.S. It doesn't hurt to have a badass car and crew chief. ;)
 
I was a huge Harvick fan when he was in a Chevy and I even secretly still root for him if one of my HMS boys aren't in the hunt... which has me rooting for Harvick a lot here lately.:( I would love to see him in the 48 car and then my world would be complete.
 
I was a huge Harvick fan when he was in a Chevy and I even secretly still root for him if one of my HMS boys aren't in the hunt... which has me rooting for Harvick a lot here lately.:( I would love to see him in the 48 car and then my world would be complete.
This for sure. I was a JG fan, liked Jr as my second and cheered for Harvick when he took over the 3/29. It’s still weird he’s in a Ford, but I’m just happy he’s finally having a prime that was stunted due to the RCR machinery, I mean he still did pretty well with RCR but nothing like the roll he is on now.
 
This year harv has shown some awesome driving. That one where he went three wide and where not too many could have made it work stands out.
 
Harvick is top 10 all time. Besides him and Earnhardt, no one else really did much at RCR. Burton and Bowyer were decent and got a few wins, but no one else even contended. Then at SHR, he's been the only championship contender they've had since 2011.
I'd love him to be, but he doesn't have a place there imo. Kyle will surpass him.

That top 5 seems to be consensus, then you basically have

6. DW
7. Yarborough
8. Allison
9. Stewart
10. Busch/Harvick

Harvick won't surpass Stewart, imo. Busch will surpass both. I just don't see a place in the top 10 unless Harv wins 2 more titles, imo.

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