Did Kevin Harvick Hit His Career Peak in 2020?

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    Last year, we saw Kevin Harvick hit a career record of 9 victories, and then, amazingly miss the Championship Four. It’s fair to say, we must ask ourselves, how much longer before Harvick’s performance on the track starts to decline? Will he retire at his peak? 

Many of the drivers who started racing in the Cup Series around the same time Harvick did, have already retired at this point. Even some drivers who entered the Cup Series after Harvick did in 2001 (replacing the fallen Dale Earnhardt) have retired or left the sport. 

 Some examples of these drivers are:

• Jimmie Johnson
• Kasey Kahne
• Carl Edwards
• Greg Biffle
• Casey Mears
• Clint Bowyer
• Matt Kenseth
• Dale Earnhardt Jr.
• Tony Stewart 

It’s clear to see that he is just about the last of a dying breed. Harvick may want to hang on for a bit longer, reaching for the series title, but if his performance takes a huge dive, will it damage his reputation? My guess is no, or at least not yet, but it’s safe to say that he can't stay on top forever. With the influx young talented drivers into the series like Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, and others, all it could take is for them to hit their A game and knock Kevin Harvick off of his mountain of success.

While drivers like Mark Martin have stayed competitive into their fifties, I would give a solid guess and say Kevin Harvick has at most 2 or 3 more years as a competitive driver before we see his decline. This means that he only has a couple of years left to try and win the title. I may be wrong though, he might have a lot left in him that we just can’t see, only time will tell.