2015 Driver Spotlight Preview: Kevin Harvick

Kevin Harvick 2015 Season Preview

By Richard Tix

2014 Season Review

NASCAR Behind the Wall has taken a look at a large chunk of drivers for the 2015 season so far, all that's left is Kevin Harvick. That's because Harvick is the newest NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion after a strong 2014 season.

2014 is hands down Harvicks best season at the Cup level and its not for debating. Any year a driver wins a Championship it rockets up that list, and 2014 was the first one. Yes, he does have other season's where stats might put 2014 in the dust, but the end results are what mean the most.

In a year full of uncertainty because of new rule changes, stiffer penalties, and a points change to the Chase the #4 team and Harvick fought through. It wasn't an easy ride to say the least.

Harvick moved from RCR to SHR in 2014 while gaining a new CC. The two teamed up and ended up working out perfect. But, for a majority of the season the #4 team struggled with bad luck and some bad pit failures. In the end Tony Stewart gave up his pit crew for the push for the Chase and it seemed to make a big difference.

The 2014 Championship was well deserved as well. Through all the controversy of the new Chase system and drivers in the finale who "shouldn't be," Harvick stayed strong. In fact, Harvick was a title favorite most of the season after bringing fast car weekend after weekend. 

Five wins, 14 top 5's, 20 top 10's, a Cup leading 8 poles, and 2,137 laps led all resulted in the ultimate goal of his first Cup title.

Bold Predictions/2015 Season Expectations:

• Call me crazy, but just one year after winning his first Championship I think he could go back to back. That feat is never easy though, so its still a long shot to happen. The thing I have taken from 2014 is how good Harvick was when SHR seemed to be at a low with Smoke and Kurt struggling. I think 2015 will be a strong year for Kevin and he may notch 3-4 wins, 10-12 top 5's, and 19-22 top 10's. Repeating wont be easy, but Harvick is on my short list of contenders in 2015.

List of Previous Driver Spotlights

2014 Team Spotlight Review: Stewart-Haas Racing

Stewart-Haas Racing 2014 Review

By Richard Tix

Season Preview

2014 Season Stats

Wins: 6

Top 5: 23

Top 10: 41

Pole: 9

2014 was the start of a new era at Stewart-Haas Racing. One driver out (Ryan Newman) and two new ones in (Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch). That's a whole lot of personalities when you team up with Tony Stewart and Danica Patrick. Some thought, myself included, that some story lines may come of those personalities, but for the most part that wasn't the case in 2014.

The big story line ended up being Kevin Harvick and his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship. It was a dream season for the #4 team, but the same can not be said for the rest of SHR. Smoke never truly made it back to form, Kurt underachieved most of the season, and Danica didn't seem to take a very big step in year two.

Kevin Harvick

• 2014 couldn't have gone too much better for Kevin Harvick. For the first time in his career he will be known as a Cup Champion after getting on a hot run in the new 2014 Chase. Throughout the season he was one of the fastest cars week to week so it was not a huge surprise to see him become a first time Champ. At the end of the season he ended with 5 wins, 14 top 5's, 20 top 10's, and 8 pole awards on his way to the title.

Kurt Busch

• Kurt had a rough season, yet statistically may have had the second best season for a Stewart-Haas driver. That's says a lot about the drivers at SHR right now. Was it just a bad season? Or is Kurt past his prime? It would seem after 2013 it would be just a bad year on Kurts part and maybe he is due for a bounce back. He ended 2014 with a win, 6 top 5's, 11 top 10's, while finishing 12th in the points (because of a new points system). 

Tony Stewart

• Stewart's rough 2013 season rolled right over into 2014. Many people figured that Smoke might have a slow start as it was rumored he wasn't 100% after his broken leg in 2013, but I don't think many thought his slow start would linger all year. He ended the season without a win for the first time in his career. Smoke also had 3 top 5's, 7 top 10's, and a pole while finishing 25th in points.

Danica Patrick

• I'm going to be up front, if you were judging Danica based on the top 20 drivers it would be disappointing A season total of 3 top 10's is not a stat that jumps off the page. However, Danica means more to NASCAR than a lot of those top 20 drivers do. She helps boost a fan base and broaden the demographic and that can not be quantified in a stat like a top 10 finish. So, I will stick to just reviewing her 2014 season based on her past performance (2013). She took a small step from 2013 in a positive direction, but fans will be looking for a bigger jump in 2015.

Previous Team Spotlight: Richard Childress Racing

2014 Driver Spotlight Review: Kevin Harvick

Kevin Harvick 2014 Review

By Richard Tix

2014 Preview

Season Grade: A+

Kevin Harvick spent 13 seasons, 466 races, and 135,115 laps with Richard Childress Racing before joining Stewart-Haas in 2014. That's 23 career wins, 100 top 5's, 209 top 10's, and 6 Poles all with one team. 

In 2014 he made a big move and left his long time team behind for his buddy Tony Stewarts team, SHR. Some wondered how the transition would go, myself included, but after watching Matt Kenseth make the move to JGR in 2013 and winning 7 races most thought it was possible for him to run well. 

"I think that Harvick will step into SHR just fine to start 2014. The past two seasons he has got off to a good start within the first ten races. In 2013 Harvick wasn't great, but he was very consistent to start the season (other then Daytona) so I don't see any reason that with a good team behind him and good parts his team can start off smooth. I only wonder about the long run at SHR. Will someone feel that they are not getting the best equipment? With the possibility of Danica and Kurt being left on the back burner while Owner and best bud get the best equipment will someone get upset?" -From the 2014 Kevin Harvick Preview

Looking back at my preview its crazy that I brought up equipment. Not that there is any indication Kurt Busch didn't have the stuff that Harvick had, but it was Harvick that ended up running the best with what he had, so was there anything there? I highly doubt it, but its interesting to look back at. I did think he would have a slow start at SHR (full disclosure), but that was anything from the truth.

Harvick stepped right into the #4 and won at Phoenix early on. Actually, Harvick dominated that race and proved how fast he could be with this team. The main issue early on was his bad luck and some bad pit stop mistakes. Harvick didn't find consistency early because it seemed like late in the race something would happen that set him back (Blown tire, slow pit stop, wrong place wrong time).

Going into the Chase that seemed like it would be a major concern, and then news broke that the #4 and #14 pit crews would swap places for the Chase. That worry seemed to go away and so did some of the bad luck.

Havick ended up winning 5 races (tied a career high), 14 top 5's (3rd highest career mark), and 20 top 10's (tied for 3rd in his career). The most interesting thing about the 2014 season is that Harvick put together 8 poles. In his career before SHR he has 6 total career Pole Awards in 13 seasons. So, he was consistently fast all season and seemed to figure out the new qualifying format early and often.

Oh, and Kevin Harvick also became a first time NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion in 2014. Not a bad career move for "Happy."

• Want to look back at his Championship Season? Take a look at 2014 Chase Highlights