Did You Notice? … The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season is ready to rev into high gear. The 65th annual Daytona 500 Sunday (Feb. 19) kicks off 37 NASCAR Cup Series races in a 38-week span, including the All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway, the first time the sport’s top division has returned to that iconic short track since 1996.
North Wilkesboro’s return is just one of several juicy storylines to unpack in the coming months. Instead of just doing the same old season preview, here’s some of my more aggressive hot takes on how the 2023 NASCAR season will unfold before us.
Kevin Harvick will be your Cup champion. Yes, that’s right; the oldest full-time driver competing this season will leave holding the hardware in what I think will be a renaissance year for aging veterans.
At the moment, Harvick ranks just 12th on the list on Caesars Sportsbook, sitting at 18-1 to win the title behind younger, more pragmatic choices like Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell. Even Kyle Busch (16-1) slots ahead of him in his new ride for Richard Childress Racing.
But I think people are discounting Harvick’s determination in this, his final season before heading up to the FOX Sports booth in 2024. A driver known for his aggression can push the issue without repercussions; it’s now or never for him everywhere we go.
Harvick is just two years removed from a nine-win season at age 45, a year so dominant he would have won the championship by 91 points without the playoff. He’s adjusted to the Next Gen just fine, winning two regular season races last August before back-to-back DNFs to start the playoffs derailed him.
Harvick also has perhaps the strongest Stewart-Haas Racing team around him since Tony Stewart was driving. Chase Briscoe won his first Cup race last year and is one of the sport’s budding superstars, ready to take the leadership mantle from Harvick. And Ryan Preece is a clear upgrade in the No. 41 over Cole Custer, a dark horse postseason contender eager to prove himself.
All Harvick needs to do is make the playoffs and then all attention turns toward getting his No. 4 all the way, similar to how Jeff Gordon reached the Championship 4 for Hendrick Motorsports in his final season (2015). And if Harvick reaches the finale at Phoenix Raceway? He has a NASCAR-best nine wins there and over 1,600 career laps led.
These types of John Elway-style endings are rare in sports. If Harvick can pull it off in 2023,…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at …