Kevin Harvick predicts winner at Atlanta NASCAR night race

It’s crunch time in the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season. Including Saturday’s Quaker State 400 at EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta), there are nine regular season races remaining on the schedule.

With 11 drivers having found their way to Victory Lane, that leaves just five playoff spots up for grabs. FOX Sports analyst Kevin Harvick believes one more driver will clinch their spot in the 16-driver postseason field at Atlanta. Speaking on Tuesday’s “Happy Hour” podcast, Harvick picked Brad Keselowski to win at Atlanta.

“I’m gonna pick Brad Keselowski,” Harvick said. “I think he knows he’s got two chances.”

It’s largely been a season to forget for the 2012 champion. He currently sits 30th in the points standings and his only path to the playoffs is winning. He had an opportunity to win this past Sunday’s race at Pocono Raceway, but multiple mistakes doomed his chances. Still, Keselowski led a season-high 27 laps and finished ninth, just his third top 10 finish in 2025.

Atlanta presents opportunity for playoff bubble drivers

Keselowski has been better of late, and RFK Racing is bringing fast race cars to the track. Eventually, the feeling is one of Keselowski, Chris Buescher or Ryan Preece will get to Victory Lane. Harvick’s co-host, Mamba Smith, went in a different direction. He picked Ricky Stenhouse Jr. to win at Atlanta.

“My brain really wants to pick Ryan Blaney. My heart is telling me Ryan Preece, but I’m going with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. … They got to [win],” Smith said. “For them, they have two races where they can get it done — Atlanta and Daytona — their eggs are in these baskets.”

Like Keselowski, Stenhouse is in a must-win situation. Stenhouse has four career wins in Cup, and all have come at drafting tracks. Atlanta is a good opportunity for him, as is the regular season finale at Daytona International Speedway. Stenhouse has struggled recently, with four consecutive finishes of 20th or worse.