Kevin Harvick offers grim outlook for Chase Elliott at Homestead

Kevin Harvick offered a grim outlook for Chase Elliott ahead of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs continuing this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Elliott is in a hole as it pertains to the standings in the Round of 8, as he was caught up in a wreck involving Tyler Reddick, Brad Keselowski, Austin Cindric and Ryan Blaney, leading to a P33 finish for the former NASCAR Cup Series champion at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

The wreck put Elliott in a pretty damning position, as he’s in P8 out of the eight drivers he’s competing against, 53 points from the cut-line for the Championship 4. Basically, Elliott will have to win his way in over the next two weeks, barring a miracle.

With Homestead-Miami and Martinsville on the docket, it’s not impossible for the Hendrick star. However, the latter may provide him with a better shot, at least that’s what Harvick believes.

“I don’t think so,” Harvick responded, regarding whether Elliott is someone who could win at Homestead this weekend, via Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour. “I think that, for me, the guy that I would — that is not in the playoffs, I think that this could be a place that Truex could possibly put it all together. … The No. 9 has done a good job. Wrong place, wrong time this weekend. They’ve been very consistent, they’ve just been a little short on the speed that they need to go out and dominate a race, and I just don’t know — I’m not saying it can’t happen … I don’t think the No. 9 is going to go out there and just dominate a race.

“I think you’re going to have to go through the No. 5 and the No. 45 and the No. 20, because those guys are — the No. 20 is on kill. The No. 5 is so good at Homestead, and the No. 45, he knows — he’s got to know that this is his weekend.

Alas, Elliott might’ve been able to survive a rough weekend at Las Vegas if he had a stronger playoffs prior, but that hasn’t been the case. He only has only four top-10s and two top-fives in the seven playoff races thus far, which isn’t good enough when you consider the competition he’s working against.

Kevin Harvick and the rest of the NASCAR world will be watching closely as to whether the No. 9 can shock the world at Homestead-Miami or Martinsville at advance to Phoenix, or if Chase Elliott’s chance at winning his second Cup Series title in 2024 went up in smoke at Las Vegas.