NASCAR: Kevin Harvick vs. Denny Hamlin – who is the championship favorite?

Kevin Harvick

Since going from Richard Childress Racing to Stewart-Haas Racing in 2014, Kevin Harvick has consistently been a top three driver. He has finished outside the top three in the championship standings just once since joining the team. Even will all of those successful seasons, 2020 may be his best one yet.

His four wins trail only Denny Hamlin’s five, but he has a series-leading 12 top five finishes and 16 top 10 finishes through 19 races. He has led 700 laps, over 100 more than his closest competitor, and leads comfortably in points. Perhaps the most impressive statistic is his average finish of a series-best 6.5.

Maybe the most surprising thing about Harvick’s season thus far is the fact that he only has two stage wins. But he still has 37 playoff points when you factor in the 15 bonus points he would get from winning the regular season title, which appears to be a foregone conclusion given his 97-point lead.

Harvick has an excellent chance to pick up more playoff points before the playoffs begin with five races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Michigan International Speedway and Dover International Speedway still on the regular season schedule, three tracks where he has won a total of five races since the 2018 season began.

The round of 16 and round of 12 should not spell many issues for Harvick, as all of his playoff points should easily carry him to the round of 8.

The round of 8 is set to feature two of Harvick’s best tracks in Kansas Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway (or Las Vegas Motor Speedway, pending another schedule change). The other round of 8 track, Martinsville Speedway, is arguably his worst track, but solid runs at the other tracks should put him in the Championship 4.