Kevin Harvick dealt a crushing loss at Darlington
With 57 laps to go, Kevin Harvick was in vintage form, showing off why people call him “The Closer.”
After finishing fourth in stage one and falling back in stage two, Harvick challenged Tyler Reddick for the lead.
Reddick tried passing Ryan Newman over and over, which drew Harvick closer.
Then, when Harvick tried pitting a lap earlier, Reddick tried to outmaneuver him – causing Newman to spin while avoiding the leader.
Harvick came down pit road after entering while it was closed.
“The caution came out and the light was on, and I didn’t think I could turn right,” Harvick said.
Without pitting, he would’ve lost track position but would’ve been in the top-10.
By pitting, as fate would have it, Harvick got a penalty that put him in the rear of the field.
Harvick could only muster a 19th-place finish with some damage from hard racing mid-pack.
Instead of finally getting a win and advancing toward a championship in his swansong season, Harvick is now two points below the cutline in 14th.
Now, Kansas and Bristol lie ahead in the Round of 16.
“We’ll just go and put the gas pedal down and do the exact same thing we’ve done for 23 years,” Kevin Harvick said about Kansas next Sunday.
Earlier this year, Harvick finished 11th at Kansas. Last year, he finished 10th at Bristol.
If Harvick stays clean while others make mistakes, he may advance. Stage points will be key.
Harvick ranks 10th among playoff drivers for stage points earned this year. However, he has one stage point between his last two Kansas starts and Bristol last year.
Minus Darlington, Harvick also has a top-10 finish in each of the last five oval races.
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com
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