Kevin Harvick recognizes that Denny Hamlin is likely going to pass his total of 60 career wins, but he disagrees with FOX’s Larry McReynolds that it’ll happen in 2024.
McReynolds predicted earlier in the week that Hamlin would capture the necessary six more wins this season to match Harvick, but the former NASCAR champion isn’t so sure. While he does concede Hamlin will eventually pass him, Harvick doesn’t think it’ll happen this season.
“He’s gonna blow my doors off this year. I don’t think this year. I don’t know. I think those guys were hitting on all cylinders,” Harvick stated, via this week’s episode of Harvick’s Happy Hour. “I mean, Chris Gabehart’s a stud. I mean, Denny Hamlin is a stud. I mean, those guys, when you have two guys that believe in each other as much as they do right now, it’s hard to beat them. And it puts them in a position to do things that other teams can’t do, because when those guys have that much trust and belief in each other, they start winning races.
“All of a sudden, that bleeds down to the pit crew, and then it becomes a contest. All right. How many races can we win this year? Right. And, look, I think we won nine or 10 races and whatever year that was, and it was a contest, right? Okay, well, let’s — ‘Hey, this is a great start. Let’s dig in here and treat this like a championship week, every single week to go out and try to see how many races you can win,’ because you just never know when you’re going to have another year like this, and Denny Hamlin and Chris Gabehart are switched on.”
Harvick knows a thing or two about the chemistry a driver and a crew chief need for success, and he recognizes you don’t always have the equipment to match that chemistry, but that’s not the case for Hamlin and Gabehart.
“You don’t always have the cars to match that chemistry,” Harvick added. “When you have that chemistry, and then you have that over the top confidence like Denny has, and Chris Gabehart has.
“Denny expresses it much different than Chris does. But have to respect both individuals, for the way that they do things, and the way that they drive and things that they do. So it’s fun to see, when you can see individuals in that zone, like they are.”
Denny Hamlin’s at 54 wins at the moment, so a historic season is needed to catch and then pass Kevin Harvick. We’ll see if he can do it in 2024, doubt the No. 11 wheelman at your own risk.
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