Kevin Harvick recognizes that NASCAR as a whole benefits when Chase Elliott, the sport’s most popular driver, wins races.
On the latest episode of Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour, Harvick elaborated on what Elliott reaching Victory Lane last weekend at Texas meant to the sport, and why the success of the No. 9 could help NASCAR as a whole gain more popularity.
“That’s what won him the race. He was as aggressive as I’ve ever seen him race, especially over the last couple of years. That’s as aggressive as I’ve seen him be over the last couple of years, for sure,” Harvick said, regarding the No. 9’s aggressiveness at the end of the race. “He managed to gain a lot of spots on the restarts. Put himself in position. Because that’s really, when I look at Chase and Ross Chastain, they were the two guys that I thought were the most aggressive on the restarts, and they were also the two guys that stayed up front the most during during the day.
“So huge win for Chase Elliott. Huge win for our sport. Super happy for Chase. I mean, we all need Chase Elliott to be successful.”
Continuing, Harvick took some time to think about what went into Elliott’s struggles over the last year, and why his return to victory lane was such a remarkable moment in Texas.
“I think sometimes he feels that pressure, and I would assume that it probably weighs on him a little bit,” Harvick added. “He’s had a ton of things that have weighed on him really over the last couple of years, with his injury, getting suspended, switching to the new car. Having to answer all the questions about what is it, and him openly saying, ‘Hey, this car has presented some new challenges to me.’ But the thing that I love about this particular situation, is the fact that there’s no crew chief change. There was no team change. It was just, ‘Hey, we’re gonna work through this, and we’re gonna figure out what it takes to get you through this.’ I think everybody knows that Chase Elliott has the ability to drive a racecar fast. I think this situation really shows how difficult, not only this car is to drive. Obviously, he can drive this car too. He can win in this car, and do what he needs to do. But there’s a mental side to this sport that is something that not everybody understands and looks at.
“There’s a circle of life that goes through being successful in this sport. If you want to be successful in anything that you do to the ultimate level, you have to have your stuff together with your team. Your stuff together with your personal life. Your stuff together with your finances. Whatever that is, you have to have all that in line. When you see this, you saw this with Chase. I think, you know when all that stuff was unbalanced, and chasing whatever you think the current problem is. Whatever you think the next problem. It’s always, you’re chasing to figure out, ‘Okay, what what do I have to do here,’ and I think he’s just been — everything has been unbalanced for Chase over the last couple of years, because of all the other things outside of racing that he’s had to deal with. So hopefully this kind of sets that path forward for those guys.”
Alas, the lid may finally be blown off for Chase Elliott. After his victory over the weekend, the No. 9 could have a lot more coming, at least if Kevin Harvick’s beliefs are correct on the situation.
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