Kevin Harvick predicts Championship 4 ahead of NASCAR Playoffs Round of 8
Kevin Harvick is locking in his predictions for the Championship 4 prior to the Round of 8 getting underway this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
The Round of 12 came to a close at the Charlotte Roval over this past weekend, and for the first time in a long time, it feels like the top eight drivers in the sport make up the playoffs for the Round of 8. It should be an exhilarating round, with the Cup Series heading to Las Vegas, Homestead and Martinsville before the finale in Phoenix.
Before the action gets underway, Harvick tasked himself with predicting who will be left standing at the end of the race in Martinsville, and it certainly wasn't easy. He's still flip-flopping on his predictions.
"I think, for me, William ByronKyle LarsonChristopher BellTyler Reddick," Harvick predicted, via Harvick's Happy Hour . "I just think that Reddick is going to be able to get it done on one of these two race tracks, and I don't see having the speed. Chase Elliott has been very consistent, and he's had quality, good finishes, but I just haven't seen that dominance out of those three guys. Denny Hamlin, I think he's the wild card. I know he's my championship pick, but I think it's going to be tough for him if they don't win Martinsville. I think they're going to be okay, I think.
"So, my toss-up right now is, do I leave Tyler Reddick in there, and say he's my guy — I've got to go with Denny Hamlin, right? I can't go against my pick, so I'm going to take Reddick out and I'm going to put Denny Hamlin in because he's my pick, but I'm just — I'm not 100% confident in it."
Alas, Larson and Bell will certainly be popular picks to get to Phoenix, and Byron has been one of the more impressive drivers in the playoffs over the last couple of weeks. It's the fourth spot in the Championship 4 that's giving Harvick fits.
While he opted not to put Logano, Blaney and Elliott in the finale, the trio could certainly win at any of the three upcoming tracks. Logano specifically, who was given a new lease on life due to Alex Bowman's disqualification, has been dominant at times in Las Vegas, where the Cup Series will be this weekend. What a story it would be if he came out with a win after thinking he wasn't going to make the Round of 8.
Evidently, the final spot came down to Reddick and Hamlin for Harvick, and he originally went with Reddick, before switching his allegiance to Hamlin. The No. 11 team was Harvick's championship pick all season long, and while it seems like his confidence may be wavering, he's sticking with Hamlin.
Regardless, it'll be up to the drivers to make their own luck during the Round of 8, and punch their ticket to the Championship 4. Kevin Harvick and the rest of the NASCAR world will be eagerly watching to see who gets the job done in the next three weeks.
