[autotag]Kevin Harvick[/autotag] announced in January that the 2023 NASCAR season would be his final as a full-time driver. Harvick will retire from the NASCAR Cup Series at Phoenix Raceway in November and transition to a full-time member of the FOX Sports booth. However, the Stewart-Haas Racing driver still had the desire to battle for a second Cup Series championship in 2023.
Unfortunately for Harvick, those hopes for a title were squashed on Saturday night when he was eliminated from the Round of 16. The driver of the No. 4 car struggled and finished five laps down in 29th place. Following the event, Harvick talked about his performance at Bristol and the 2023 NASCAR season. He was clearly not happy about the overall results.
NASCAR Cup Series drivers eliminated from the Round of 16 (2023):
– No. 4 Kevin Harvick
– No. 22 Joey Logano
– No. 34 Michael McDowell
– No. 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr.— Austin Konenski (@AustinKonenski) September 17, 2023
“We’ve been like that all year,” Harvick said. “We’ve been hit or miss. Tonight we just missed by a mile. I’ve had some good days and bad days, but that’s definitely the worst one I’ve had with fenders on it…I didn’t really have many expectations with as up and down as the year has been. It is what it is. It’s probably about what we deserve.”
Harvick was obviously disappointed as Stewart-Haas Racing has struggled with overall speed and consistency this year. Now, the 2014 Cup Series champion will look to win a race over the next seven weeks so his farewell season can see at least one positive result. Harvick may not like to hear it right now but making the playoffs is an accomplishment in itself.
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