Harvick snaps two-year winless streak
Kevin Harvick appeared to channel some magic from 2020.
The 2014 Cup Series champion, who’d previously struggled in 2022, broke a 65-race winless streak at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday — giving the veteran a must-need win in a year when the 16-driver playoff field now has 15 winners with three races to go.
The 46-year-old has now notched a career six Cup Series wins at Michigan International Speedway.
Harvick’s last victory? Sept. 19, 2020 — that’s 687 days between wins. In 2020, he won nine Cup races, including the race in Michigan that year.
“Good timing, for sure,” Harvick told NBC Sports post-race, moments after tossing two triumphant fists in front of the roaring crowd. He added, “Our guys have done a good job in trying to take what we have, maximize it and do the things that we need to do. Just really proud of everybody at Stewarthaas Racing.” Harvick, likely a future firstballot Hall of Famer, has now notched 59 Cup race wins. Coming into Sunday, though, the driver had led less than 20 total laps all year.
Was this race a response to his doubters?
“Everybody who doubted us doesn’t know us,” Harvick said, laughing. “They obviously know that we thrive in these types of situations. And a lot of things went our way today, which we hadn’t had all year long.”
In comparison to the last two weeks of NASCAR Cup racing, Michigan had minimal drama — particularly at the end toward the finale. No late-race restarts. No cautions in the final 30 laps.
Instead it was Harvick, commanding the No. 4 car, opting not to pit on Lap 161, taking the lead and never looking back. He led the rest of the field by approximately four seconds by the time he claimed the checkered flag.
Bubba Wallace finished second Sunday. Denny Hamlin, who incurred a devastating too-many-men penalty coming out of pit road on Lap 161 but fought back admirably nonetheless, finished third.