Kevin Harvick says the 10 car was ‘irrelevant’ the last few seasons

Even though the comments probably weren’t intended as such, Kevin Harvick and Tony Stewart’s raves about the improved performance of the No. 10 Ford can also be construed as veiled shots at Danica Patrick.

The biggest difference between Stewart-Haas Racing in 2017 to 2018 is that Kevin Harvick has gone from potential championship contender to The Man™, at least in the early going. And the second biggest difference? That would be how well the No. 10 Ford is doing.

Driven this season by Aric Almirola, that car has already had its share of triumphs. For starters, it very possibly could have won the Daytona 500 before getting bumped aside on the final lap by Austin Dillon. It ended the day 13th at Atlanta but has done better each week since, recording two straight top-10 finishes.

Over the last five seasons, the 10 has managed only seven top-10 finishes, and never more than three in one year, much less two back-to-back (though it did record two in three races in the spring of 2015). That’s why when Harvick said on NASCAR America this week that the car had been “irrelevant” the past few seasons, he wasn’t exaggerating or trying to be harsh.

On the same broadcast, Stewart-Haas Racing co-owner Tony Stewart shared his own pride in the team’s achievement at Phoenix, where it placed all four cars in the top 10 for the first time ever. He was quick to point to the improved performance of Almirola and the 10 car as the primary reason that was now possible.

Neither Harvick nor Stewart pointed any fingers at the previous driver of that car, Danica Patrick, but there could certainly be some reading between the lines possible. Patrick simply didn’t deliver in terms of consistent performance, and when SHR wasn’t quite as strong, it wasn’t always possible to tell whether it was driver, equipment or some combination of the two.

While an argument can be made (and Harvick’s tear to start the season backs it up) that Patrick never had access to cars quite this good, the fact that Almirola has come in after running not all that much better than her during his time at Richard Petty Motorsports and immediately become a guy who looks like he can consistently finish toward the front says a lot.

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What’s clear is that Almriola’s car, as well as those driven by Clint Bowyer and Kurt Busch, are very much relevant right now. SHR is on a team-wide roll, something that no one has seen from it before, whatever the reasons.