Kevin Harvick names 2 NASCAR drivers that must win quickly or else

Kevin Harvick has watched with a keen eye throughout the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season. While some drivers have multiple wins on the year, like Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson and Denny Hamlin, there’s a couple winless wheelmen who are in danger of falling deeper and deeper into a slump in 2025.

The former Cup Series champion has his focus squarely on two drivers who have also lifted the trophy at the end of a season. Harvick thinks it’s paramount that Chase Elliott and Kyle Busch return to Victory Lane sooner rather than later.

“The few cars that I think really need to win are the No. 9 [Chase Elliott]. The No. 9 needs a win. I think, for them to keep their confidence level where they are, I think Chase Elliott has to win,” Harvick proclaimed, via Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour. “I think that’s the expectation that he has, the team has, the organization and [Crew Chief] Alan [Gustafson] have. They’re consistent. They’re finishing races. They’re dotting i’s. All the things that they need to do, but they’re not winning. I believe that if they don’t win soon, that frustration is going to build.

“The other one is the No. 8 [Kyle Busch]. I think that if Kyle Busch, if that doesn’t stabilize, with everything that we’ve talked about with contracts and this and that, I think that could boil over, before it’s all said and done, if there’s not some bright spots pretty quickly.”

While Elliott hasn’t been to Victory Lane in 2025, he’s been among the more consistent wheelmen in the series. He’s currently P4 in the overall standings, amassing six top tens, three top fives and 74 laps led this season. He doesn’t have a DNF, but he also doesn’t have a top three finish. His top mark was P4 twice, at the Circuit of the Americas and Martinsville Speedway.

One thing working against Elliott has been the performance of his teammates. William Byron and Larson have passed the former champion by, finding Victory Lane on a more consistent basis. If Alex Bowman goes on a winning streak, the pressure will be turned up even more for the Dawsonville, Georgia native. 

On the other hand, the downfall of Busch has been highly publicized over the past couple of seasons. While his time at Richard Childress Racing started off with a bang, the two-time champion winning three races during the first half of the 2023 season, it hasn’t been smooth sailing ever since for the No. 8 team.

His streak of winning at least one race a year came to an end in 2024, and he hasn’t been as competitive as he’d like in 2025. Busch is currently P17 in points, with four top tens and one top five to go along with 62 laps led on his resume so far. His best finish came at the Circuit of the Americas, where Busch came home P5 after leading a litany of laps, before he was caught by the aforementioned Bell.

Evaluating the landscape, it’s easy to see why Kevin Harvick believes Chase Elliott and Kyle Busch need to get to Victory Lane sooner rather than later in 2025. Whether it happens remains to be seen, but two of the more talented, popular wheelmen in the sport falling by the wayside once again would be a major disappointment for fans and media members alike.