“That’s not the way I would do”: Kevin Harvick proposes fix for NASCAR’s points system issue

Kevin Harvick believes NASCAR's playoff eligibility needs tweaking and suggested a couple of guaranteed spots for top points earners. He argued that the first round can simply start with more cars if there are too many race winners.

Harvick took on Alex Bowman's case and highlighted how he was almost knocked out by the likes of Cole Custer, who currently sits outside the top-30 in points. Bowman came close to a win at Richmond but was outclassed by Austin Dillon.

As a result, the playoff cutline shifted to Bowman, and he would've been eliminated if a new winner had emerged at Daytona. Thanks to Ryan Blaney, Bowman's playoff hopes survived.

Reflecting upon the same, Harvick called for a revised playoff eligibility on the latest episode of his Happy Hour podcast.

"If you want to just leave it like it is, okay, that's not the way I would do it. But I think there needs to be two or three guaranteed spots for the points. And if you have too many winners, then just start the first round with too many cars. If you could still earn your way in with wins, but start the first round with too many cars and, you know, just eliminate more cars in the first round," he said. [15:50 onwards]

Kevin Harvick also pointed out that Bowman put together 26 consistent races, while Custer stood to gain everything despite being a no-show all season. The same could be argued for Austin Dillon, for his Richmond win remains his only top-10 of the season.

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Kevin Harvick predicts 'surprise' winner at playoff opener

On the same episode of Happy Hour, Kevin Harvick discussed the leading prospects for Round 1 of the playoffs at Darlington Raceway. He suggested that a new winner could be in play, seeing how 500 miles at Darlington is a 'tough ask' from a driver's standpoint.

"There's going to be a surprise, I think, that pops up, that is a contender that hasn't been. It could be a Tyler Reddick that uses that speed that shows up and and goes to a place like Darlington that just could pop up and win the race," Kevin Harvick said. [44:26 onwards]

In line with Harvick's comments, there have been eight different winners at Darlington since the Next Gen Era rolled out. Reddick has made three top-3 finishes at the track and is currently vying for his maiden win of the season.

Harvick also mentioned Kyle Larson as a possible contender. The Hendrick Motorsports driver last won at the track in 2023, and notably, Reddick came in as runner-up. The result snapped a winless drought for HMS at Darlington and marked their first win since 2012.

However, Denny Hamlin remains the most dominant driver at the track with five wins to his name.