Kevin Harvick reveals surprising factor that can 'mess up' race at Kansas
During his NASCAR Cup Series career, Kevin Harvick raced at Kansas 36 different times, and he knows what can happen on the track. There is one particular quirk about the track that can make it difficult coming out of Turn 4.
In the Next Gen era we have been treated to some fantastic races at Kansas. Kurt Busch’s final win, Bubba Wallace playing spoiler in the playoffs, Kyle Larson vs. Denny Hamlin, and Kyle Larson vs. Chris Buescher.
When drivers are walking the track this weekend, there will be one thing they consider. The wind. Kevin Harvick explained why the wind is such a factor at Kansas on his newest Happy Hour episode.
“The wind does blow a lot there. And one thing that the wind does with the way that it can blow, usually it will blow the opposite direction from one day to the next so that really screws it up,” Harvick explained.
“But if that wind gets blowing down the back straightaway it can kinda cause a little bit of a tailwind but also kinda keep the car tight going into Turn 3 which kinda messes up the flow of that particular corner. And at Kansas when you get that flow of the corner off Turn 4, the wall kind of comes back straight down the straightaway so it’s got kind of a funky exit where you’ll see a lot of guys hit the wall on the exit of Turn 4.”
We have seen many drivers squeezed into the Turn 2 wall and the Turn 4 wall. In fact, it seems to be Denny Hamlin’s favorite way to win at the track.
Kevin Harvick knows a thing or two about Kansas
Kevin Harvick knows his way around Kansas. When it came to qualifying at the track, Harvick was better than anyone else. He holds the record with five Kansas poles. He won three straight from 2013 to 2014, including a sweep in the latter year.
Having Harvick as a voice in the sport is great. He may be retired but he has intimate knowledge of the sport and the Next Gen car. It isn’t often that former drivers are so familiar with the on-track product after they have moved on to broadcasting.
This weekend is going to be another great race at Kansas. It is honestly the best track on the schedule right now with how well this car races on it. Larson and Buescher put on a show earlier this season when they crossed the line separated by only 0.001 seconds.
Kevin Harvick says wind is something to be mindful of. Let’s see if that Turn 4 wall has a few stripes on it before Sunday night is said and done.