What a wild, weird NASCAR season this has been for Kevin Harvick.
Really, you can't talk about this year without acknowledging what he did last season. Harvick tied for a Cup Series-high eight victories in 2018 and advanced all the way to the championship race, coming up short behind Joey Logano. Still, he more than earned his place in the sport's "Big 3" alongside Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch.
So coming into 2019, even as Ford debuted a new Mustang and NASCAR significantly altered its rules package, the assumption was _ rightly or not _ that he would just pick up where he left off.
Wouldn't that have been easy.
Instead, Harvick struggled to begin the year, especially by his own championship standards. A handful of fourth-place finishes kept him near the top of the points standings, but he was never truly in contention to win ...
Until finally, four races ago at New Hampshire, when he broke through. Since then, the inconsistency that plagued him for much of the first six weeks of the season has fallen by the pit stalls. He finished sixth and seventh in the two races immediately following New Hampshire, only to overcome a loose wheel and flat tire en route to Victory Lane at Michigan.
So, which Harvick should we buy into?
On one hand, it's hard to ignore Harvick's season of so-so racing _ again, by his standards _ and dismiss it entirely as "figuring things out." Someone as experienced and thoughtful as Harvick shouldn't need most of a season to get into top racing condition.
Then on the other hand, recency bias is a powerful drug. Watching Harvick these last four weeks has been a snapshot of last season, when he was a legitimate contender in practically every race. Factor in his pedigree as a former Cup champion and perpetual playoff stalwart, and it's hard to argue against him.
Realistically, Harvick and the No. 4 team probably fall somewhere in the middle. One encouraging month does not a season make, nor does it guarantee a successful postseason run. It also shouldn't be promptly discounted _ two wins in four races is an impressive feat, and that becomes even more valuable if he can build upon those results.
Harvick isn't quite to the level that Truex and Busch have hit this year _ or even Denny Hamlin, truthfully _ but he's quickly gaining. And given that his window to win a second championship is quickly closing, I wouldn't be one to bet against him making a run again in the next few months.
