“They’re in a Bad Spot!” Kevin Harvick Gives Concerning Verdict on Alex Bowman’s Playoff Chances

Ex-NASCAR Cup Series champion gave a concerning warning to Alex Bowman with one more race left for him to make into the playoffs.

“They’re in a Bad Spot!” Kevin Harvick Gives Concerning Verdict on Alex Bowman’s Playoff Chances

Alex Bowman and Kevin Harvick (Via IMAGO)

🔍 Explore this post with:

ChatGPTPerplexityGrok AIGoogle AI

The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series race Richmond Raceway was yet another nightmare for Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman. He is now on the fringes of missing out on the playoffs, after Austin Dillon won the race, while his No:48 finished P2. He wants either a repeat winner or Tyler Reddick to win at Daytona this Sunday to secure his place in playoff in points.

Winning the Daytona race and making it last-16 is on the cards but considering Alex Bowman’s historical failure at venue to convert good qualifying runs to win at the venue, the possibility is really low. Ex-Cup champion Kevin Harvick on his podcast discussed the No:48 Chevy driver chances and declared that the team is a pretty bad spit at the moment.

I felt like the 48 had a shot. And I feel like they’re in a bad spot now. With Austin Dillon winning this race — I look at Alex Bowman +60 — I just don’t think that spot’s gonna be there after this weekend.

Kevin Harvick said via Happy Hour podcast.

The veteran sees the possibility of a driver that don’t belong to the 14 drivers that has already won a race this season to pull of an impressive run at Daytona and enter the playoffs as a wildcard. Bowman, like many other drivers in the garage, brought the situation on themselves by counting points to make it into the post-season.

I think there’s a good possibility that we see somebody else outside of those 14 guys that’s locked in win at Daytona. We’ve been talking about this for months, and I think a lot of those guys that have been counting points and not won a race — you just had the feeling it was coming down to this 14, 15 winners.

Kevin Harvick asserted.

Further talking about the point, the veteran racer reiterated that Alex Bowman is in a bad spot, as he is matched up against 23XI Racing star driver Tyler Reddick. The TRD driver has a solid point advantage at the moment, and it won’t be easy to gain points, if it comes down to that with a racer outside the top 14 winning.

I don’t know, it just has that feeling that there’s a high possibility of someone outside the top 14 winning. And I think that puts Bowman in a bad spot. Having to try figure out how to gain those points on Tyler Reddick is going to be a tall task.

Kevin Harvick added.

Kevin Harvick explains who the contenders at Daytona will be

In the same podcast, Kevin Harvick explained who he thinks could be the major challengers to win the Coke Zero Sugar 400. He asserted that Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chris Buscher alongside former champions Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch would be the prime contenders, considering their past experience on Superspeedways.

Kevin Harvick and Alex Bowman
Kevin Harvick and Alex Bowman (Via IMAGO)

I think going into Daytona that being brave and taking chances and putting yourself in a position to win is something that Ricky Stenhouse Jr. can do, Brad Keselowski can do, Kyle Busch can do, Chris Buescher can do. … Those guys have already done it on a superspeedway, and they’ve done it multiple times on a superspeedway.

Kevin Harvick said.

Unlike these drivers, Alex Bowman has an underwhelming record on superspeedways. He has to be on his top form and should produce the bets performance of his career at Daytona to secure his spot in the playoffs by either winning the race or finishing as high as he could; while praying there is no new winner or Tyler Reddick mess up early.

Also Read: Richard Petty Blasts NASCAR Teams for Overreliance on Tire Strategy