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Kevin Harvick is set for another weekend road course event at Watkins Glen International in New York. The event is set to roll out on Sunday, August 21st, at 3 pm ET.
NASCAR has scheduled six road course events this season. Four are already done and dusted, while the fifth is underway. In four previous road course events, Harvick has scored two top 10 finishes, including one top five at Sonoma. As preparations for Watkins Glen get underway, Harvick feels it is one of the fastest road course tracks with the grippiest asphalt.
After a disappointing finish at Indianapolis, where he was relegated to a 33rd place finish by accident, the Stewart Haas Racing driver is now well prepared for the upcoming event. Going into a road-course week, Harvick understands that this event requires more time than any other event.
Having noted that, Harvick has cited that part of his preparation will involve spending more time in the simulator. He'll also spend more time reviewing his previous notes to ensure he has the shift points and remembers all the things he needs to hit and those he doesn't want to hit while on the track.
Kevin Harvick will also be keen to ensure the tires don't come off. For the first few laps to be valuable, he plans to have everything memorized before he hits the track.
Speaking on his preparations, Harvick said:
“There’s just a lot more time that goes into a road-race week. You have to spend a lot of time in the simulator. You have to spend a lot of time with your previous notes and make sure you have the shift points and all the things that you remember as far as curbs you need to hit and things you don’t need to hit, where you need to be on the racetrack, tire falloff.”
He added:
“You have to have everything memorized before you get there so that the first few laps are valuable because you’re still going to be learning the real-life tolerances of the grip level. And you’re going to have to blend that into also trying to do it in a short amount of time and get something out of those practices to give some feedback about the cars. It’s a different preparation week for the road courses than it is anything else.”
Kevin Harvick has had one of his best racing weekends in the past two NASCAR Cup Series races, scoring two consecutive wins, which automatically added him to the playoffs as the fifth driver. Last weekend at Richmond, he saved his fellow Ford teammate Ryan Blaney from being dropped from the playoffs list, who is the only winless driver sitting in the playoffs.
Kevin Harvick refers to Watkins Glen International as his favorite
Kevin Harvick returns to the track he calls home for one of his favorite wins this weekend. He referred to The Glen as home to one of his favorite wins because he was able to beat his current boss, Tony Stewart, here at one point.
The other thing that makes Watkins Glen more special to Harvick is that it's one of the two road course tracks where he has been on the victory lane. The driver has made 20 starts at the track and has only one win.
As he heads to The Glen this weekend, Harvick hopes to script a new history this season of winning three back-to-back wins. So far, the Bakersfield-born driver is the only driver this season who has two wins in a row.
