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Time is working out for Harvick to qualify for the NASCAR Cup Collection playoffs this season and whereas it’s nonetheless technically doable for him to make the 16-driver discipline by factors, a win seems increasingly more like a necessity.
The efficiency by Harvick and his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford workforce this 12 months on tracks much like New Hampshire lends to an improved outlook for the weekend.
“When you take a look at the locations like that – at Phoenix within the spring we had a extremely good automotive and ran proper up entrance all day and had a shot of successful,” mentioned Harvick’s crew chief, Rodney Childers.
“We lined up on the entrance row with (Chase Briscoe) on the final restart and Richmond we ran good all day and was quickest within the first spherical of qualifying after which ran up entrance and completed second (Denny Hamlin).
“So, should you take a look at these varieties of tracks, these are those we’ve really been the very best at. These are those he’s felt probably the most snug at with this automotive and even going to the simulator with him (Wednesday), he hit the bottom working. You possibly can simply inform the locations he’s snug with.”
The most effective on the ‘Magic Mile’
Whereas Harvick, 46, has at all times been good on the 1.058-mile oval in Loudon, N.H., his efficiency on the observe took a dramatic flip upward when he joined SHR in 2014.
In his 12 races on the observe since, he’s earned three wins and has solely 4 finishes exterior of the top-five. Of his 831 profession laps led at New Hampshire, 512 have come within the final 11 races.
“Flat tracks have at all times been actually good for me in my profession. While you take a look at SHR and the issues we’ve been in a position to accomplish at Loudon and Phoenix, they’ve form of adopted that very same pattern,” Harvick mentioned.
“Our guys have completed an awesome job of getting a superb short-track, flat-track program, and Loudon is a spot that has adopted together with Phoenix and the success that we’ve had there and to have the ability to capitalize on that success and proceed it at one other observe.”
Race winner Kevin Harvick, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford Mustang
Photograph by: John Harrelson / NKP / Motorsport Images
To snap his 62-race winless streak on Sunday, Harvick might be going to should do one factor that has eluded him this 12 months – lead laps.
Whereas Harvick has 4 top-five and 10 top-10 finishes this season, he’s led solely 13 laps and none within the final seven races.
But when there may be one observe on the schedule the place expertise might matter rather a lot, it’s New Hampshire – and Childers and Harvick have a lot.
Childers has 4 wins on the observe as a crew chief and Harvick has 4 as a driver and three of the victories got here with the 2 collectively, and all of these since 2016.
“You simply should preserve targeted and preserve plugging away and hopefully get higher and we do really feel like we’ve gotten higher and higher,” Childers mentioned. “I feel the important thing was Nashville and having the ability to run with the nice vehicles all evening and having a extremely good race. I hope that was a turning level for us and we will preserve shifting ahead from there.
“We be ok with what we’ve acquired and what we’re taking and possibly probably the most assured we’ve been in a superb whereas.”
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