How Much Emotion Is Too Much?

1. Did Kevin Harvick’s win awaken a sleeping giant?

Any time someone opines that a driver maybe just does not have it anymore, I go back to what I was told in the 2000s by a NASCAR Xfinity Series driver when we were discussing the plight of a former champion who was mired in a tough slump.

In short, the comment was this: “Guys like that, they don’t wake up one day and just forget how to drive.”

That was proven again on Sunday afternoon (Aug. 7) at Michigan International Speedway in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Given his spot in the standings and good ol’ lady luck apparently choosing to abandon the No. 4 team at Stewart-Haas Racing in recent weeks, many casual observers wrote off the chances of Harvick winning in 2022.

But much like the “Man In The Arena” speech, Harvick, crew chief Rodney Childers and everyone else on the team showed that it matters not what the outside world says. What matters most is what those inside the walls of SHR think and believe, and the season may have indeed turned for Harvick with his win.

Harvick knows how to win — and win in clutch moments. The same can be said for his crew chief. Remember, just two years ago, the regular season was Harvick, Denny Hamlin and everyone else.

Momentum is a powerful thing in racing, and Joey Logano holding up Bubba Wallace in the closing laps may have helped awaken a sleeping giant.

2. Is this the year of the playoff busters?

As Sunday’s race ended, the field saw multiple drivers without a win this season near the front. Had things gone differently, Wallace, Martin Truex Jr., Ryan Blaney, Erik Jones or Austin Dillon could have gotten their first win of the season.

Instead, it was Harvick.

But with so few playoff spots left and possibly more winners than postseason positions, there’s a very real scenario that could give us very strong drivers and race teams not in the playoffs but very capable of winning.

We saw Tony Stewart do that in 2006, winning three times in the playoffs despite not being among the drivers in that year’s playoff format. He kept drivers racing for a title from picking up more points. With so many drivers capable of winning, it’s not out of the question that they could interject and keep a driver from advancing by winning a race for themselves.

It could very well overshadow the title chase, and that’d be a welcome sight to fans who hate this championship format.

3. Do more tracks only need one race per year?

Does absence make the heart grow…