Kevin Harvick is in solid position to make the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs in his final season despite being the highest-ranked driver without a victory this season.
He’s confident he can snap that streak this weekend at one of his most successful tracks.
Harvick is the defending champion at Michigan International Speedway, where he ended a 65-race winless drought last year. That was his fifth trip to Victory Lane in his past seven races at MIS, where Ford drivers own an eight-race win streak overall.
Harvick enters this week with a 182-point edge in the standings over Ty Gibbs, who currently sits in the first non-playoff position. Harvick could seal a playoff spot with a strong showing at MIS.
“Michigan is one of those places where you don’t want to miss the center of the corner,” he said. “You want to be on the throttle at the center of the corner and get that good exit speed to make the straightaway as long as you can.
“So, the less you can touch the brake pedal and the more time you can spend on the throttle to make those straightaways as long as possible, the better speed you’re going to make. And Michigan in the past has been pretty line-sensitive, so you’ve just got to be careful about where you are on the race track. And if you miss that on the entry, it just screws the whole corner up.”
The final three races after Michigan before the playoff field is set includes road courses at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Watkins Glen before the cutoff race at Daytona.
FIREKEEPERS CASINO 400
The Place: Michigan International Speedway
The Date: Aug. 6, 2:30 p.m. ET
The Distance: 200 laps on 2-mile track
Defending Champion: Kevin Harvick
Cup Series Leader: Martin Truex Jr.
TV: USA Network
Radio: SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
5 BEST BETS
Kyle Larson (+600 at BetMGM)
Larson is coming off consecutive poor results — 20th at Pocono and 19th at Richmond — to fall to eighth in the standings. He’s in the playoffs courtesy of a pair of wins and Larson’s current ranking is impacted by six DNF’s this season, second only to Austin Dillon’s seven. Larson is the pre-race favorite and leads the field with 7.3 percent of the total bets and 21.5 percent of the money backing him to win since opening at +700. He’s the book’s second-biggest liability so far this week.
William Byron (+650)
No driver has more wins than Byron’s four or more laps led than his 810 this season. However, Byron is looking to rediscover his groove after finishing 24th, 14th and 21st in his past three starts. His odds have shortened from opening at +1100, as Byron has drawn 5.4 percent of the total bets and 5.7 percent of the money.
Denny Hamlin (+750)
Hamlin is running well, following his win at Pocono with a runner-up at Richmond last weekend for his third consecutive top-7 result. The public has taken notice of Hamlin’s recent form, backing him with 10.3 percent of the total money wagered on the race winner.
Kyle Busch (+800)
Busch rebounded from a pair of poor races to finish third at Richmond. Before the brief skid, he had also posted seven consecutive top-10s, so that makes eight out of his past 10 races. Busch leads the series with 13 top-10s and is tied for second with three victories. He has also been backed by 6.5 percent of the bets and 10.5 percent of the money this week.
Kevin Harvick (+900)
Harvick owns six total victories at MIS, having won four of the past five and five of the past seven. He is tied with Larson with 7.3 percent of the total bets at BetMGM backing him to claim No. 7 this weekend.
LONGSHOT PICK
Ty Gibbs (+3500)
Gibbs is the defending winner of the NASCAR Xfinity Series race in Michigan and will pull double duty this week. He is 18 points behind Michael McDowell for the final Playoff-eligible position.
“I love going to Michigan, and we’ve run well there,” Gibbs said. “Hopefully, we can have a good run in both races. Our teams are doing very well, and we’ll try to keep that going.”
–Field Level Media
