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One of the many drivers to have won their first NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway is Ryan Blaney. The latter looked back at holding off Kevin Harvick as he went on to visit victory lane for the first time in the sport.
Harvick, who is in his final season of stock car racing, is one driver who made a big impact on Blaney's career in the sport, as he did for many other younger drivers.
Ryan Blaney is the most recent driver to have won his first race in the highest echelon of the sport at the Pennsylvania track. Driving for Wood Brothers Racing before his current drive at Team Penske, Blaney talked about how he held off Kevin Harvick during the final laps of the race.
He elaborated further on Kevin Harvick's influence on his career in a promotional video released by NASCAR and said:
"He helped us out a lot. Me and my dad, when I was kind of just getting in NASCAR, like in 2011, 2012 era. We kind of went to Kevin (Harvick) for a little advice and he gave us a lot of advice, which was great of him. He really gave us some good direction on where to go when we were trying to kind of get into it."
Ryan Blaney further talked about his experience holding off Kevin Harvick for his first Cup Series victory back in 2017 at Pocono and said:
"Then we won our first Cup race at Pocono. We held him off, that's a fond memory. I always think of 'Happy Harvick' just because everyone called him that when I was growing up."
Kevin Harvick elaborates on his finish at New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Elaborating on how his final outing at New Hampshire Motor Speedway last Sunday went, Stewart-Haas Racing driver Kevin Harvick was pleased with a P4 finish. With the 2023 season being Harvick's final appearance, many wanted to know about how he felt running on a track he has typically been good at.
Looking back at his years at the track, he said in a post-race interview with frontstretch.com:
"It's just been a great racetrack for us. We've been fortunate to have a lot of success here so, to enter the top-5 is fitting for as well as we've run here through the years."
NASCAR goes live from Pocono Raceway this Sunday for the HighPoint.com 400.
