Kevin Harvick picks HMS’s driver as favorite to win the 2025 NASCAR Cup Bristol playoff race

As the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series schedule heads to Bristol Motor Speedway for the third race of the playoffs, Kevin Harvick has shared his insights and predictions for the 2025 Bass Pro Shops Night Race, which is set to take place this weekend. He picked a Hendrick Motorsports driver to win Sunday’s (September 13) Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

On the latest episode of his ‘Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour’ podcast, the 2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion and his co-hosts, Kaitlyn Vincie and Mamba Smith, dropped their winner’s prediction for the elimination race of the Round of 16 at Bristol.

Kevin Harvick picked Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson to win at Bristol Motor Speedway. He believes the #5 HMS team had shown speed at Gateway and has performed well at Bristol in the past. He is the defending winner of the event.

“I think that the #5 popped up last week with some speed that I hadn't seen. In Bristol has always been his place. Really good there. So, I'm going to go with Larson,” Harvick said while picking the driver to win the Bristol playoff race [54:48].

Harvick’s co-host, Vincie, picked Team Penske driver Joey Logano to score his second win of the season.

“You're going to pick Joey Logano,” Vincie said.

Meanwhile, co-host Mamba Smith picked Ty Gibbs to win this weekend. Smith said:

“I think we're going to get our first winner from outside of the playoffs. I think he is going to get his first win of his Cup Series career. Give me #54, Ty Gibbs.”

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How has Kevin Harvick’s top pick performed at Bristol Motor Speedway?

Kevin Harvick’s pick, Kyle Larson, has impressive stats at Bristol’s 0.533-mile-short track. He has scored three wins, eight top-five, and 13 top-10 finishes with an average finish of 10.44 in 18 starts at Bristol.

After 28 races in the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season, the #5 HMS driver has managed to score three wins, 11 top-five, and 16 top-10 finishes and led 939 laps with an average finish of 14. He’s currently ranked third in the Cup Series playoff points table and has had a total of 2103 points.

It will be interesting to see how Harvick and his co-hosts' predicted winners fare at Bristol Motor Speedway. Watch the 2025 Bass Pro Shops Night Race on NBC Sports at 7:30 p.m. ET. The radio coverage for the Bristol playoff race will be available on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio