Kevin Harvick 2010 Preview, Predictions & Odds

With the NASCAR season underway, we are providing season previews for the top 30 drivers to give you the betting edge. Follow the best NASCAR Handicappers as they analyze their drivers in this 2010 season preview. Use our comprehensive and insider info to bet successfully on NASCAR in our recommend sportsbooks. View the rest of our 2010 NASCAR Season Previews here.

Kevin Harvick 2009 Stats

Kevin Harvick 2009 Recap & Review

In terms of his Cup racing career, last season was a year that Kevin Harvick would like to forget. The Slump of 2009 came as a bit of a shock, especially since he started the year by pushing Matt Kenseth to victory in the Daytona 500. A fourth at Atlanta three weeks later Harvick’s first top 5 at the track since 2001 – appeared to have his RCR team off and running towards a fourth straight Chase.

But it would take until the second Atlanta race on Labor Day weekend to score a third top-5 finish, with the team posting eight finishes of 30th or worse during 20 races in between. It was the short tracks, RCR’s bread and butter, that let Harvick down the most. For the first time in his nine-year career, he went a season without a top 5 at tracks less than a mile in length.

When all was said and done, the No. 29 team failed to win a single race, had an average finish of 19.9 and missed the Chase. A19th place ranking went hand-in-hand with just five top 5s, nine top 10s, and 23 lead lap finishes to spell out the worst numbers for Harvick since his sophomore season of 2002.

Harvick also made headlines off the track following published reports that he- was unhappy at RCR, his only career home in the Cup Series. Persistent rumors had Harvick asking for an early release from his contract before a press release confirmed that he and Richard Childress would stay together through the end of 2010. The team seemed to breathe a sigh of relief after that, with six top-10 finishes in the final dozen races, righting the ship heading into the offseason.

Kevin Harvick 2010 Preview & Prediction

Three years ago, Kevin Harvick started his season in the best way possible, winning the 2007 Daytona 500 in dramatic fashion. It seems hard to believe now, but that was his last Cup victory, 107 races ago. It led to tough times in the No. 29 camp in 2009, as Harvick led the fewest laps (159) of his nine-year Cup career with the team en route to his worst statistical season since 2002. Things got so bad, Harvick and Richard Childress discussed the possibility of an early release for the driver from his contract, set to run through the end of this season.

As we now know, Harvick will fulfill his commitment through 2010, along with primary sponsor Shell-Pennzoil. But if statements he made late last season are any indication, this will be his last year at RCR.

If 2010 is to be Harvick’s last chapter at Richard Childress Racing, he would no doubt like to leave on a positive note. But the company as a whole will have to work diligently during the offseason to understand why it was unable to achieve the same on-track performance in 2009 as its GM counterparts at Hendrick Motorsports and Stewart-Haas Racing — particularly since, the year before, Childress had all three cars in the Chase. The performance of the Childress teams was mediocre at best last season: None of the RCR cars won a race, collectively missing the playoffs and finishing the year from 15th in the standings (Clint Bowyer) to 21st (Casey Mears), with Harvick ranking 19th.

Childress jostled team personnel around in an attempt to improve performance, including a total team swap between Harvick and Mears last April. The move split Harvick and his crew chief of five years, Todd Berrier, but reunited him with Gil Martin, who had worked with him during a similar slump in 2002. Like before, the two struggled to click early, but a sudden surge in the fall provides hope for 2010. Harvick collected two top 5s in the last three races, and four of his five top 5s came on intermediate ovals — typically the RCR team’s weakest link.

Although Harvick had a lackluster Cup season, he enjoyed success in other racing series as both a team owner and driver. The No. 33 truck of Kevin Harvick, Inc., won the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series title with Ron Hornaday behind the wheel, giving KHI its second truck championship. Meanwhile, Harvick as a driver won two Nationwide races, at Bristol and Atlanta, along with three of the six truck races he entered.

Harvick’s achievements elsewhere last year were in clear contrast to his Cup Series struggles — evidence that the issues there have more to do with the team and organization than the driver alone. So in order for Harvick to achieve a storybook ending at RCR, company-wide solutions will have to be found quickly. Otherwise, expect to find the team struggling to avoid the “lame duck” malaise that usually dooms a divorcing driver and team to mediocrity.

Kevin Harvick 2010 Predictions

We predict that Kevin Harvick will finish 19th in the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Kevin Harvick Betting & Odds

Kevin Harvick NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship Odds: +1200

Kevin Harvick Betting Trends & Situations

• after finishing 2nd to 5th, average finish is 16.4
• when racing in February, average finish is 13.2

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