Kevin Harvick admits concern for William Byron battling Ryan Blaney at Martinsville

Kevin Harvick didn’t hide his nerves from watching William Byron take on Ryan Blaney in the late stages of this past weekend’s race at Martinsville. On the latest episode of Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour, the former NASCAR Cup Series champion admitted he was worried Byron might have been too patient in his approach, prior to making his move to punch a ticket to Phoenix.

“I was a little concerned there when he was behind the No. 12 car. I felt like he needed to be more aggressive,” Harvick explained. “At the end of the race, while he was on his back bumper, I felt like he needed to be more aggressive at that time, and I think he realized it, because when he got the next opportunity, he took it.

“I think that when he made that pass three-wide on the bottom, going around Ty Dillon there, I think he realized that if he waited around — in those moments, you can’t wait. You can’t say, ‘Well, I’m just going to ride right here,’ and I want to wait till it’s time to go.’ That’s not how it works. And when the No. 12 started to drive away from him, I know Rudy [Fugle] said, ‘Hey, take care of your tires right here,’ but I felt like he needed to do that. I think that he realized that when he got the next opportunity, he better make it happen, like he did right there.”

In the end, Byron’s move proved decisive, setting up him advancing to the Championship 4 for the third straight season. But while Byron’s aggression paid off, Harvick also pointed out that the competition gap between Hendrick Motorsports and Team Penske has narrowed at tracks like Martinsville since last year.

“I just think that some of that Penske magic from the speed and kind of fizzled out compared to the competition this year, as far as where Gibbs and Hendrick have been,” Harvick added. “Hendrick has made a great evolution through the playoffs to get themselves back in contention, with whatever they started at St. Louis and the things that have progressed since then. Since then, the speed has gotten better.

“They got to Martinsville, which is historically a great racetrack for them. But compared to the No. 12, it felt like they’ve kind of leveled that playing field as far as the progression through the playoffs, compared from last year to this year. But the No. 12 still brought a car capable of winning, just not as dominant as it was last year.”

In the end, Byron’s Martinsville win capped off a strong playoff run for Hendrick Motorsports, and now there’s only one hill left to climb. Harvick believes it has them positioned to go toe-to-toe with anyone at Phoenix, but we’ll see if the No. 24 Chevrolet can keep it going in the desert.