Looks Like an Up Hill Week for Kevin Harvick at Lowes

October 6, 2008

This post may seem like we’re piling on Kevin Harvick when he’s down. It isn’t like the Happy One had a great day Sunday at Talladega. But we’re headed to Lowes Motor Speedway this week and this is the OnPitRow.com post that is supposed to tell you which drivers are likely to catch a Saturday night fever. Harvick jumps out.

Harvick, and fellow Chasers Greg Biffle, Dale Earnhardt Jr, Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth all wrecked out of the Talladega Wild Card 500. That mixed up the Chase for the Sprint Cup for sure, but that’s not what this is about.

They all have a short week to get ready for the next round in their own backyards, Charlotte. Home cookin’ may help, but it hasn’t done much for Harvick so far. Happy has the worst Loop Stat Driver Rating of all the 2008 Chase contenders for Lowes – 66.4. And it’s not a Chevy thing. Jimmy Johnson is tops with 116.5. Harvick hasn’t led a lap in the last seven races at Lowes. His average finish in those seven is 23.1.

And it isn’t just the North Carolina speedway. Harvick hasn’t been good on intermediate tracks in general. In the last five years, covering 75 possible starts on intermediates, Kevin has led the fewer laps than all but one driver to start all 75 – 159. Johnson has led 2735. Eight of the top 11 lap leaders on the cookie-cutters are ’08 Chasers. Number 11 is Junior with 908. And we used to talk about Earnhardt Jr being weak on the mile-and-a-halfers.

Jeff Burton is just one spot better than Harvick in the laps led department. But Burton has two wins and 31 top tens on intermediates. Harvick is winless. The only 75 race starter with fewer lead laps than Harvick is Bobby Labonte. But even Labonte’s Driver Rating is 81.2.

It just doesn’t look like Harvick will make a big move in the Chase at Lowes. Labonte, Michael Waltrip and Robby Gordon aren’t very good bets either, but you likely already thought that. I know I did. But Kevin Harvick’s record on the intermediates surprised me.

Photo credit: Icon Sports Media, Inc.

Written by Charlie Turner · Filed Under Fantasy NASCAR, Lowe's Motor Speedway, NASCAR, Nascar Chase 2008, NASCAR Loop Data, Richard Childress Racing | Leave a Comment