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

As the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series schedule heads to Kansas Speedway for the fifth race of the playoffs, Kevin Harvick has shared his insights and predictions for the 2025 Mobil 1 301, which is set to take place this weekend. He picked the star driver of Hendrick Motorsports to win Sunday’s (September 28) Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas 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 second race of the Round of 12 at Kansas.

Kevin Harvick picked Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson to win at Kansas Speedway. He believes that it will be a crucial race for the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion to solidify his playoff run ahead of the Round of 12 elimination race.

“I'm going to probably pick the #5. I think it's a make-or-break race for him,” Harvick said while picking the driver to win the Kansas playoff race [51:05].

Harvick’s co-host, Vincie, picked Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell to score his fifth win of the season.

“I was going to see Bell. Yeah. He's done well there. He hasn't won, but he's had good finishes there in the past,” Vincie said.

Meanwhile, co-host Mamba Smith picked Larson’s teammate William Byron to win this weekend. Smith said while naming his pick:

“I'm gonna go William Byron.

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

Kevin Harvick’s pick, Kyle Larson, has had an impressive record at Kansas’s 1.5-mile-long track. He has earned three wins, nine top-five and 12 top-10 finishes, and two poles, with an average finish of 12.4 in 21 starts at Kansas. He has a momentum of winning here, as his last win at this track came in this year’s spring race.

After 30 races in the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season, the #5 HMS Chevrolet driver has managed to score three wins, 11 top-five, and 17 top-10 finishes and led 943 laps with an average finish of 14.3. He’s currently ranked third in the Cup Series playoff points table with a +41-point cushion above the elimination line.

It will be interesting to see how Harvick and his co-hosts' predicted winners fare at Kansas Speedway. Watch the 2025 Hollywood Casino 400 on NBC Sports at 3 p.m. ET. The radio coverage for the Kansas playoff race will be available on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.