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

Harvick drove a freaking brilliant race to beat the Chevys. Brilliant. Handled everything afterwards with tremendous class.
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
27 of Kevin Harvick's 50 wins have been with Stewart-Haas. That's crazy.
Click to expand...
I thought it was more tbh.

I know Kyle Busch has won two titles since 2015, and that is what matters, but Harvick has outperformed him across the board these last 5 years..better average finish, more top 5s, 10s, etc. Titles are what matters so Kyle has an edge, but Kevin has been THAT good and right there.

Now, he's a 50 race winner. Love it.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk
 
jaqua19 said:
I thought it was more tbh.

I know Kyle Busch has won two titles since 2015, and that is what matters, but Harvick has outperformed him across the board these last 5 years..better average finish, more top 5s, 10s, etc. Titles are what matters so Kyle has an edge, but Kevin has been THAT good and right there.

Now, he's a 50 race winner. Love it.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Truthfully, I don't follow points at all and the championship does not matter that much to me. The original Chase format was much better. At the least, the final round should be more than one race.
 
Kyle has the edge, much like Jimmie did. I'd rank Kevin as possibly third best out of the current drivers, behind those two.
 
Truex_rox said:
Kyle has the edge, much like Jimmie did. I'd rank Kevin as possibly third best out of the current drivers, behind those two.
Click to expand...
Harvick and Truex have been closer than anyone else was to Jimmie.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk
 
Is Kevin Harvick (at age 44) ever going to finish outside the Top 10 this year?
 
He's gonna get another championship this year and then retire, book it.
 
10-4 said:
He's gonna get another championship this year and then retire, book it.
Click to expand...

giphy.gif
 
LewTheShoe said:
In another article, Smith talks about reviewing data traces and seeing that Harvick has a distinctive driving style... partially rolling out of the throttle when others lift completely... thus less time *off* the gas, more time with *partial* gas. Smith concludes that Harvick has been very successful that way, but the 2019 rules package has rendered that advantage moot because of the prevalence of WFO flat-foot driving.
Click to expand...
Two fairly dominant 2020 wins at slick, abrasive intermediate tracks that require much more throttle control than most, especially with the current package. He certainly has a type.
 
Did Kevin Harvick (at age 44) earn another Top 10?

Of course he did.
 
FLRacingFan said:
Two fairly dominant 2020 wins at slick, abrasive intermediate tracks that require much more throttle control than most, especially with the current package. He certainly has a type.
Click to expand...

He loves running the bottom line too, just hugs it. I think Harvick reminds me a little of Carl where they would drive harder into turns than anyone.

What made Jimmie incredible was his reaction time, no one arguably in the history of the sport could drive a looser racecar successfully. This allowed him to just own people through the center of the corner which is so important on tracks like Texas, Dover, Charlotte where you get incredible speeds into difficult turns.
 
Mispeedway15 said:
He loves running the bottom line too, just hugs it. I think Harvick reminds me a little of Carl where they would drive harder into turns than anyone.

What made Jimmie incredible was his reaction time, no one arguably in the history of the sport could drive a looser racecar successfully. This allowed him to just own people through the center of the corner which is so important on tracks like Texas, Dover, Charlotte where you get incredible speeds into difficult turns.
Click to expand...
I've said this before, if people want to say drivers like Tony and KB are more "talented", fine. (I don't agree, but whatever). However, in Jimmie's entire skillset, he possessed a skill that he had at a higher level than anyone, including Tony and Kyle. It just so happens that this particular skill happens to translate best in a cup car (or at least it did).

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk
 
jaqua19 said:
He signed an extension to 2023 lol

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

So you think that means he can't or won't? All that means is he has options. Nobody is going to force him out until at least 2023 but if he decided he wanted to retire tomorrow that extension isn't going to stop him.
 
10-4 said:
So you think that means he can't or won't? All that means is he has options. Nobody is going to force him out until at least 2023 but if he decided he wanted to retire tomorrow that extension isn't going to stop him.
Click to expand...
He could retire early, but I would think it would cost him some bucks to break his contract. Contracts protect both parties.
 
StandOnIt said:
He could retire early, but I would think it would cost him some bucks to break his contract. Contracts protect both parties.
Click to expand...

They do but they can also be reexamined and negotiated away. It might cost him something and it might not depending on circumstances.

Hey, I just threw that out there as a cool possibility. He's leading in the points and if he continues to notch wins and is able to get a championship it would imo be really cool for him to just say that's it, I'm retiring. Shock the world like Carl Edwards did.
 
Has any other driver peaked in their late 30s, early 40s like this? I guess Truex but he didn't have a decent ride before Furniture Row got it together.
 
Joker said:
Has any other driver peaked in their late 30s, early 40s like this? I guess Truex but he didn't have a decent ride before Furniture Row got it together.
Click to expand...
Maybe not recently, but there have been a few. Dale Jarrett is one that comes to mind. He’d had just a so-so career until he got in the 88 car at Robert Yates Racing (even his one year in the 28 was nothing special). He was 39 when he got in that car and won a championship and got 28 of his 32 career Cup wins in it.
 
This thread is still trying to retire Happy? I see him racing into his 50’s, a throwback. At the end of his career he will have outlasted all of them...Gordon, Stewart, Jr, Kenseth, JJ, Newman, Kurt Busch. All the guys he came in with or were at the top when he started. Harv isn’t retiring anytime soon.
 
Snappy D said:
This thread is still trying to retire Happy? I see him racing into his 50’s, a throwback. At the end of his career he will have outlasted all of them...Gordon, Stewart, Jr, Kenseth, JJ, Newman, Kurt Busch. All the guys he came in with or were at the top when he started. Harv isn’t retiring anytime soon.
Click to expand...

To be fair, Gordon started eight years earlier and is four years older.

But yeah, of course they wanna see him gone. He keeps kicking the asses of the young guns!
 
Joker said:
To be fair, Gordon started eight years earlier and is four years older.

But yeah, of course they wanna see him gone. He keeps kicking the asses of the young guns!
Click to expand...
Well JG was at the top when Harvick took over the 3/29. I was trying to point out one of the defining characteristics of Harv’s career will be his longevity
 
Snappy D said:
This thread is still trying to retire Happy? I see him racing into his 50’s, a throwback. At the end of his career he will have outlasted all of them...Gordon, Stewart, Jr, Kenseth, JJ, Newman, Kurt Busch. All the guys he came in with or were at the top when he started. Harv isn’t retiring anytime soon.
Click to expand...
Harv has a career in the booth waiting for him though.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk
 
Joker said:
Has any other driver peaked in their late 30s, early 40s like this? I guess Truex but he didn't have a decent ride before Furniture Row got it together.
Click to expand...
Not at the same level as Harvick, but you might say Harry Gant peaked in his 50's.
 
Joker said:
He didn't even start until he was, what, 40, right?
Click to expand...
Like Dave Blaney he did get a start much earlier when he was 33, but in reality you are right he was in his 40's....according to Wikipedia.
Just an FYI, Dave Blaney's first race at the Cup level was at Rockingham in 1992, then it was 8 more years until he ran a full cup schedule.
 
jaqua19 said:
Harv has a career in the booth waiting for him though.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Doesn’t seem like a guy that’s rushing off to that at the moment. Even if he does win another cup, to me he legit looks like he’s having fun still
 
Snappy D said:
Doesn’t seem like a guy that’s rushing off to that at the moment. Even if he does win another cup, to me he legit looks like he’s having fun still
Click to expand...
Personally I think he's done after 2023. I think he wants that second cup.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk
 
It’s only Monday but that’s a candidate for Post Of The Week.
 
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.
4ABC5C16-7852-4DE9-A2E5-8AD68102135D.png
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom