Kevin Harvick hopes to see Max Verstappen take advantage of new NASCAR eligibility rule

Kevin Harvick is hoping to see Max Verstappen take advantage of NASCAR’s latest rule change, which brought an Exemption Provisional for “elite” drivers to the Cup Series.

In layman’s terms, the provisional grants a backup, 41st starting spot, in case a notable, non-full-time NASCAR driver such as Verstappen, fails to qualify for a race. NASCAR is basically bringing what is known as a promoter’s provisional to the Cup Series.

In recent years, a number of drivers from outside the sport have come to give it a try, and IndyCar legend Helio Castroneves will be the first to potentially take advantage of the rule for this year’s Daytona 500. The new provisional rule will give drivers like Castroneves a safety net, and he’ll use it for The Great American Race, should he miss out on the 40-car field in qualifying and the Duels.

Well, Harvick believes it could lead to someone like Verstappen trying his hand at America’s top motorsports circuit. With all the debate between the Formula 1 wheelman and Kyle Larson’s talents, it would be a fascinating way to get the two to race against one another.

“I would love to see like, the Max Verstappen-type situation at the Daytona 500 of sorts, with a Red Bull activation behind it,” Harvick revealed, via Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour. “When you look at the whole thing, whatever the sponsor is, it is as important as anything else, because you want them to be behind the activation and promotion of what happens, as well.”

All told, Verstappen in NASCAR would be a gigantic moment for motorsports as a whole, and provide some answers as to how he would fare in Larson’s discipline. Harvick believes Larson would have an easier time in Formula 1 than Verstappen would have in NASCAR, but there’s only one way to find out.

“I truly believe that our drivers make a better transition into IndyCar and F1,” Harvick said last season. “I think if we sent Kyle Larson and sent him to a Red Bull car right now, I think he’d go wheel-to-wheel with Max Verstappen. It wouldn’t take him long to figure it out.

“I think if you flipped that switch and you sent Max to a stock car, I think it would take a lot longer. NASCAR is such a unique… The car is such a unique dynamic to how you drive it and the things that you do, much different than it used to be from the older cars to the Next Gen cars. That’s a great debate. I’m glad that one of our guys are in that conversation from a NASCAR standpoint.”

Alas, Max Verstappen doesn’t seem to have any plans to take his talents to NASCAR at the time being, but anything could happen over the next couple of years. Kevin Harvick is simply hoping to see it while the Formula 1 star is in his prime.

— On3’s Jonathan Howard and Brian Jones contributed to this article.