Kevin Harvick circles two drivers he's very concerned about as NASCAR Playoffs get closer

As the NASCAR season quickly ticks down race after race in the second half of the season, the push for the playoffs is getting ever fiercer. But there are some drivers that Kevin Harvick is concerned about right now.

And they’re not necessarily drivers that are on the outside of the field right now.

“The guys I’m concerned with now: Ross Chastain and Chris Buescher,” Harvick said on the Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour podcast. “And they’re 15th and 16th in the points. And I just have this feeling that somebody outside of that top 16 is going to win Daytona. I think that’s the wild card in this thing. I think when you look at Pocono and you look at Indy, you look at Michigan, I think you’re going to have your guys that have been good on the bigger racetracks be the guys that can win.”

Unfortunately for Chastain and Buescher, that hasn’t always been them. Particularly in recent weeks.

Neither have been bad of late. Buescher has secured two top-five finishes in the last three weeks, while Chastain is only three weeks removed from a top-10 finish.

Still, Harvick hasn’t seen the fire out of that duo recently.

Moreover, the next several races set up nicely for other drivers to potentially make their mark and fully earn their playoff spots, which could push Chastain or Buescher out of the mix.

“Look at Michigan, Bubba Wallace has been great there,” Kevin Harvick said. “Kyle Busch has been good there. And even at that particular track I think you could go there and see someone outside of the top 16 winning races.

“I haven’t seen the speed out of the 17 car that; we saw a little glimpse of it. I just haven’t seen it lately over the past few weeks. We saw a little glimpse of it this year, like we did last year. But I just am a little bit concerned with where they’re at, especially when you look at the schedule and you look at those bigger racetracks for the Fords. I haven’t seen anything out of the Fords that makes me think they have totally fixed their big-track problems that they’ve had. Michigan will be the tell-tale. That’s when you’re going to see the big power and everything come out of the 8’s engine shop. That’ll be all they have, when they get to Michigan, because that’s how it is every year. They push hard for that race.”

Kevin Harvick’s concern is that Chastain and Buescher will simply hold serve while others fly past down the stretch.

“I’m just concerned with the 17 not having that speed that they had, and I’m concerned with the 1 that they have the speed that they need to do what they need to do on a weekly basis,” Harvick said. “We haven’t seen the laps led and things that you would expect from them.”