Kevin Harvick thinks that a fellow Californian is the best of the emerging wave of NASCAR talent, and says it’s not even particularly close.
Considering that Kevin Harvick has won more NASCAR Cup Series races than anyone this season, he’s probably not ready for anyone to be the next Kevin Harvick. However, he’s a lot more certain about who’s the next Jeff Gordon.
On his “Happy Hours” show on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Harvick was quick to point to Kyle Larson as the most talented driver he’s seen in the sport since Jeff Gordon — though in somewhat typical Harvick fashion, he did it while throwing a little shade at Larson’s team in the process.
The idea that Chip Ganassi Racing Chevys might not exactly be the creme de la creme of NASCAR Cup Series equipment, however, played into Harvick’s explanation of why he thinks Larson is so good.
"The best young driver in Cup right now is Kyle Larson by a landslide. He’s carrying a slower car and getting great results with it, and he does it just by sheer talent."
Harvick did note that the Ganassi camp was doing “a decent job” in giving Larson faster cars, but still felt that it was the 25-year-old’s skill that enabled the 42 to run toward the front each week.
It’s possible that assessment is right on the money. Like some other Chevrolet teams (see also: Hendrick Motorsports), Chip Ganassi Racing seems to have struggled adapting to the Camaro ZL1, and neither Larson nor Jamie McMurray has had the raw speed they had a year ago in the first half of the 2018 season.
But while McMurray has floundered year over year, with just two top-10 finishes in 14 starts compared to eight through the same point in 2017, Larson has nine, the same number he had at this time last season. What he’s missing is wins, as Harvick, Kyle Busch and Martin Truex have racked up two or more victories each and made this campaign a three-man show so far.
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A true test could be on the way this weekend, as Larson has won the last three races at Michigan. Still, whether he’s due for a breakthrough or ends up settling for more top-10s for a while, Harvick thinks his future could be Hall of Fame-level bright, comparing him to a driver who used to race with the same digits on his car in reverse order.
"To me, he is the best, raw talented driver … that I think has come along since Jeff Gordon."
As compliments go, it’s hard to think of many better than that.