NASCAR driver goes from first to last in the playoffs

Kevin Harvick entered the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs as the top seeded driver last year. This year, he enters in last place among the 16 playoff drivers.

A lot can change in a year for a NASCAR Cup Series driver. Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick is a perfect example of that; he won seven races in last year’s regular season and two in the first three-race round of the playoffs.

In 33 starts since then, he is winless.

Harvick’s 2020 season was the first nine-win season for any driver since Carl Edwards won nine races in 2008.

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With seven regular season wins, seven regular season stage wins, and the regular season championship, he earned himself the top seed in the playoffs with 57 playoff points. But this year, he starts the playoffs in 16th place out of 16 drivers.

Harvick finished the regular season in ninth place in the point standings, netting him two playoff points to start the playoffs. However, he is seeded behind not only the eight drivers who finished ahead of him in the standings, but the seven who qualified for the playoffs from behind him as well.

The driver of the #4 Ford is the only driver in this year’s playoffs who did not win a single race OR stage during the 26-race regular season.

A total of 13 drivers won at least one race, and the other two drivers who qualified for the playoffs without winning a race both won at least three stages.

Take a look at the playoff picture heading into the postseason-opening Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway this Sunday, September 5.

Rank – Driver – Points (Behind)
1 – Kyle Larson – 2052 (+47)
2 – Ryan Blaney – 2024 (+19)
3 – Martin Truex Jr. – 2024 (+19)
4 – Kyle Busch – 2022 (+17)
5 – Chase Elliott – 2021 (+16)
6 – Alex Bowman – 2015 (+10)
7 – Denny Hamlin – 2015 (+10)
8 – William Byron – 2014 (+9)
9 – Joey Logano – 2013 (+8)
10 – Kurt Busch – 2008 (+3)
11 – Brad Keselowski – 2008 (+3)
12 – Christopher Bell – 2005 (+0)
—–ROUND OF 12 CUT LINE—–
13 – Michael McDowell – 2005 (-0)
14 – Aric Almirola – 2005 (-0)
15 – Tyler Reddick – 2003 (-2)
16 – Kevin Harvick – 2002 (-3)

Of course, we cannot forget the fact that Harvick didn’t even qualify for the Championship 4 last season. And we cannot forget the fact what Stewart-Haas Racing team co-owner and then-driver Tony Stewart pulled off in 2011, winning five of the 10 playoff races after a winless regular season to secure his third championship.

Stewart himself thought he was wasting a playoff spot…

“It would be hard to not take that into account and say that that’s possible,” Stewart admitted to Beyond the Flag. “I was the one who sat there at Media Day the day before practice started at Chicago and said, ‘I am wasting a spot that somebody else should have.’ And then we went on a tear.

“So can it happen? Absolutely. We’ve proven that in the past, and if there is ever a driver who I would sit there and put all of my chips on who can do that and pull that off, it would definitely be Kevin Harvick. We saw what kind of tear he was on last year, winning nine races, and he’s one of those guys who, if you get him close, he’ll get you the rest of the way. So if we can find a chunk that gets us better, I think he’s the guy who can carry it the rest of the way and get us home.”

WynnBET lists Harvick with the 10th best odds to win this year’s championship at +1600.

Make your pick now on WynnBET.

Tune in to NBC Sports Network at 6:00 p.m. ET this Sunday, September 5 for the live broadcast of the 367-lap Cook Out Southern 500 at the four-turn, 1.366-mile (2.198-kilometer) egg-shaped oval in Darlington, South Carolina. Start your free trial of FuboTV today if you have not already done so!