Denny Hamlin is a NASCAR driver who wins a lot. Here, the host is saying his success comes from practice, experience, and working closely with his team to make the car feel right.
A road course is a type of race track with lots of turns, more like sports car racing. The host is saying Hamlin is usually great on other track types, but road courses are where he’s not as strong.
Super speedways are the biggest, fastest oval tracks in NASCAR. The host is saying Hamlin used to do better there, but his results aren’t as strong on those tracks anymore.
“Detailing out” the car in NASCAR context means refining the setup and fine-tuning how the car responds—so it drives consistently and predictably. Harvick ties this to Hamlin’s ability to communicate what he wants and to put in the time to get the car dialed in.
A simulator is basically a high-tech racing video setup used for practice. The host is saying Hamlin uses it to prepare so the team can get the car ready and the driver knows what to expect.
A restart is when the race starts moving again after a yellow-flag pause. Getting going well and staying in the right position right away can help you gain spots quickly.
The regular season championship is the big points race before the playoffs start. Winning it matters because it sets you up well going into the postseason.
A points cushion means how many points a driver is ahead in the standings. If that lead gets smaller, the championship can change quickly based on results in the next races.
Momentum is basically the feeling that a driver is on a roll. If they’ve been running well lately, they’re more likely to keep doing well and score big points.
Sonoma is a well-known road course in California. It has lots of tricky corners, so drivers who can brake well and keep the car stable through turns tend to do better.
NASCAR’s playoffs/chase format is the postseason structure where drivers qualify based on points and then compete for the championship through a series of elimination-style rounds. It changes how teams manage momentum—early wins help, but the endgame is what ultimately crowns the champion.
In NASCAR, teams make tactical calls during the race—like when to pit or whether to stay out longer. Those decisions can help you gain position, but they can also backfire if fuel or tires run out.
If a NASCAR team miscalculates fuel, the car may not have enough gas to finish. That can force the driver to slow down or stop, which usually ruins the result.
A pit stop is when the car enters the pit lane to service the vehicle during a race—commonly for fuel, tires, or repairs. Here, the host says they had to pit after trying to stretch fuel, which is a common strategy lever in NASCAR.
Christopher Bell is a NASCAR driver. In this segment, the hosts talk about how he finished on the day and how his situation could affect the next couple of races.
They’re talking about changing the steering wheel so the driver can handle the car despite an injury. The goal is to make it easier and safer for him to steer and stay in control.
Person
Max Papas
Max Papas is mentioned as someone who helps with steering-wheel safety. The host says his team worked to make the steering setup work for the driver’s needs.
It means the driver has to change gears while the car is turning to the right. That’s harder because you’re getting pushed around by the turn and the car’s bumps, so it’s tougher to reach and pull the shifter cleanly.
Roughness means the track surface is bumpy or uneven. Those bumps shake the car and make it harder for the driver to do precise actions like shifting at the right moment.
They’re describing a no-win situation. If you make the change early you might get a benefit, but it can also backfire and leave you with the same problem anyway.
Term
chemistry and the consistency
It’s basically how well the driver and team “click,” plus whether the car can perform the same way again and again. If you don’t have both, you can’t stay near the front for the whole race.
In racing, “silly season” is the time when people start talking about who might switch teams or jobs. It’s basically the offseason rumor period for driver lineups.
These are corners where you have to turn sharply. They’re hard because you need to be very precise, and on a tight track there’s not much space to recover if you miss the line.
A “truck race” means NASCAR races using pickup-truck-style race cars. They drive and handle differently than smaller race cars, especially in tight turns.
A street course is a race track made from regular city streets. It’s usually tighter and has walls close to the racing line, so it’s harder to drive fast without mistakes.
San Diego is where this race weekend is happening. The hosts also mention it’s on a base, which can make the track feel tighter and more challenging than a normal race track.
Term
construction process
For a street course, they have to modify regular roads so cars can race safely. That can include adding barriers and setting up the track surface and safety equipment.
In racing, “modulate” just means you adjust something smoothly instead of on/off. On a bumpy course, that smooth adjustment helps the car stay under control while you slow down.
Braking is how you slow the car down, but in racing it also affects how stable the car feels. On bumps, braking at the wrong time or too aggressively can make the car harder to control.
Grip is how well the tires can “hold” the road. If you don’t have grip, the car slides; if you do, it turns and brakes more effectively.
Term
turn the car
“Turn the car” means getting the car to rotate and follow the corner. The way the track bumps interact with the tires can change how easily the car turns.
“Brake hard” means slowing down as aggressively as possible. On a bumpy track, braking too hard can make the car lose traction or feel unstable, so drivers have to be careful about when they brake.
In racing, teams have to decide what they’re focusing on most. The idea here is that if you spend time and resources on other cars or projects, it can leave less for the main car that’s supposed to win.
“Project 91” sounds like a racing team’s internal development plan—basically a focused effort to improve the car and results. The host is comparing how much help it got before versus now.
“SVG” is an abbreviation the hosts use for a specific racing group or program they’re talking about. It’s mentioned as the kind of support that can help a team’s results.
This means the same drivers/teams keep showing up near the front race after race. It’s more than a one-off good finish—it’s about being reliably fast and well-prepared.
Tyler Reddick is a NASCAR driver. The host is saying he’s one of the drivers worth paying attention to because he tends to do well when the racing gets more technical.
The Craftsman Truck Series is NASCAR’s series where the cars are based on pickup trucks. It’s a separate championship from the main series, and drivers use it to build experience and show speed.
Jimmy Johnson is a well-known NASCAR driver and multiple-time champion. The host notes his return to the Craftsman Truck Series, framing it as a notable storyline for the upcoming races.
“Cup level” means the top NASCAR racing series. It’s where the best teams and drivers compete, so if you don’t feel confident in your car, it’s really hard to win.
“Stop the bleeding” is a racing-team concept meaning to reduce ongoing problems—like crashes, mechanical issues, or poor finishes—so results stabilize. The idea is to prevent further damage to points, confidence, and momentum while you work back toward competitiveness.
A burnout is when a driver intentionally makes the tires spin while the car is basically staying in place. It creates smoke and looks dramatic, and it’s often done for entertainment after a race or at special events.
A two-seater car is just a car meant for two people. They’re saying the burnout looked better/exciting even in that kind of car, which suggests it’s not always easy to do the same stunt in every vehicle.
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A lot of people listen to Happy Hour. Only unfortunate part about that is way too many of them know mom's name.
Hey!
Okay.
Oh, seven time, you know, Jimmy.
Jimmy Jam.
There was also big smiles at a William Byron's camp.
Yeah, welcome back to the racetrack.
Why is there only two chairs in there?
I was like, now you're fired? I thought I got fired, to be honest.
Welcome to Kevin Harvick's Happy Hour, presented by NASCAR on Fox.
I'm Kevin Harvick in Los Angeles, and the other two, Caitlin and Mamba, are in the studio.
Holding it down here in the Queen City.
Good morning, Kevin. We're so glad that you could join us.
Even all the way over on the West Coast, it's early there.
He's up for an early edition of this.
I didn't know if yours would make it.
Well, what do you mean?
You didn't even know where I was.
No, you didn't.
You expected me to come into the studio today.
Well, I did walk by and the door was open, and I said, why is there only two chairs in there?
I was like, now you're fired? I thought I got fired, to be honest.
So, glad to see you here.
Yeah, everyone is here, thankfully.
And I want to start out the show by saying congratulations to you, Kevin, on your Cars Tour West win over the weekend.
That was awesome to see that.
It was, and I'd never raced in Idaho, so going to Idaho this weekend as part of the Cars Tour,
Prolate Model Northwest Division, and seeing all the fans.
We have a lot of hardcore fans in the Northwest.
Everywhere we go, there's just a ton of fans, but they showed up.
They had a great crowd there at State Line Speedway, and we had a fun four days up in Idaho.
So that was a great part of the country, great race weekend, and always fun to win.
And we didn't wreck the whole field, so that was even better.
Well, not in the feature, at least. Not in the main feature.
Not in the feature. B main was a little rough.
We did have 37 cars, and the one thing I will say about those guys and gals up there is it is super competitive.
And I don't think many people outside of the Northwest know much about the Northwest,
but if you're bored and looking for somewhere to race, you should go find one of those races,
because you're going to get all you want from a competition standpoint, so a lot of fun.
I think we need to get, next year, we should really look at Kevin's schedule and work in some live shows
to the Northwest and the Northeast.
Our markets, I don't have a whole lot of NASCAR that they need some more.
We should go off, and we should just give that to them.
We should. And Kevin, I'm sure, was nice to beat Keelan, eh?
Yeah, I had him covered all weekend.
It was even close, he said.
Somebody just ran into him.
Yeah, he had a rough time there. He got a penalty on the restart, and then they had another penalty,
and we probably flubbed up, not really knowing what the restart rule was,
and then he went back to fifth by the time he was able to get going there.
It looked like the other guy just decided to spin him out, so that happens.
It's part of it, and he did a good job all weekend, so it's a little different racetrack.
It ran the top of the racetrack, and for a quarter mile racetrack, that's not normal,
and so that's what made it pretty cool.
Hey, I got to tell you this though, we got a lot of fans out there.
A lot of people listen to Happy Hour.
Only unfortunate part about that is way too many of them know mama's name.
Hey!
Okay, this is funny that you mentioned this, Kevin.
Why? Why is that funny?
Because we also have a lot of fans at the Charlotte Airport,
so I was there obviously to fly to Pocono,
and I had sat down to just get some food at a bar before I went on the plane,
and I'm leaving in this woman that was working there, literally chased after me down through the airport.
She was like, I just have to say, I'm such a huge Happy Hour fan.
I love Kevin, I got to meet him once.
She said how great you were, of course, and then she was like,
and tell mama that he is my favorite.
But then she said, I hope, Caitlin, you can beat their asses in the point,
so I thought that was cool.
The standings.
I love that.
Everybody wants mama to be last, but they like him.
All I hear is I'm the favorite, and that's all that I really care about.
Yeah, there you go.
So, here's the thing, Caitlin, so there is a legend car competitor in the Northwest
that, apparently, mama has not been telling us, has been reaching out to him on social media
to try to get him to come up there and run one of the races in the legend car,
so he cornered me this weekend.
He's like, hey, make sure you let mama know.
I'm serious about him coming up here and racing one of my legend cars,
so I have invited mama to go to the racetrack when he has a weekend to participate in the broadcast,
maybe participate in the weekend, maybe get in the driver's seat.
So, you know, if he's not too busy at the bar, maybe we can get him to come to the racetrack.
Hey, old uncle's going to let nephew come out and play.
I mean, I am in.
Let's do it.
That's cool.
They're just trying to get in touch with you.
You got to.
Well, we've been talking a little bit, and I said, when Kevin lets me on the plane, I'll come out,
and so Kevin just let me on the plane.
So here we go.
Hey, American Airlines has a ton of seats, so we can find you one.
That's a good point.
They sure do.
Okay, well, it was a good weekend.
It sounds like for everybody.
So we have plenty to talk about leaving Pocono.
San Diego is coming up next.
This is going to be such a huge, exciting event, brand new.
All of us will be out there for it.
Mamba, of course, you have your sips as well that we will get to.
So going to Pocono.
Once again, Denny Hamlin continues his dominance career win number 64.
So Kevin, I'm curious, what are you seeing out of Denny right now that explains his sustained success right now?
This momentum.
What do you see?
Experience.
And I think that when you have the drive and enthusiasm to put in the work and use that experience with a great team,
you know, obviously he and Chris Gale are, that's as good of a Levin team as they've ever had at Joe Gibbs Racing.
And I think when you look at the results and we're going to places that Denny Hamlin is really good right now.
I think he can win everywhere but the road courses.
I still think that, you know, the super speedways aren't as good for him as they used to be.
But everywhere else that we go, I mean, he's got to be considered, you know, one of the favorites.
And I think that Denny is just really good at getting his car to drive well and getting the details out of it.
And he has the drive and effort to put in the time and effort that it takes to detail out the car.
And when you have a guy that has raced at these race tracks and been a part of so many different styles of cars
and understands the feel that he's looking for in the car and can relate to the team
and willing to spend the time, you know, in the simulator and all the things that go with getting the car prepared,
I mean, it's just going to be hard to beat.
And when you have that experience, everybody else doesn't catch up until you quit working.
And right now he has not quit working and they're still winning.
They are still winning.
And he mentioned Chris Gale.
I do want to mention him too for a moment because they came together late in the game going into 2025.
Now he has 10 wins with Denny, which is huge.
And to Kevin's point, a lot of depth in the 11 crew when I think about them, their car chief, key mechanics have been with Denny for a long time.
And I feel like it starts obviously there too with the shop and how they prepare those cars.
Yeah. And this is no slight to what Gabe Hart had built, right?
Gabe Hart built a very good foundation.
They were fast too.
They won a bunch of races, but just all the things together are meshing.
The whole team is in a flow state.
They know what they need to get out of the car.
Denny obviously knows what he's looking for for a feel.
And that's probably the most important part because he knows what he needs.
So now the team is able to really zero in and hit it almost every week.
It seems like no matter what race track they're at, they know within reason what they need.
And it's just working right now.
Nobody else, I think everyone else is kind of searching a little bit.
And when you are able to just unload and know you're going to be good or really, really close and don't have to question it, it's a whole lot easier.
And then Denny's just kind of just making his way through the field every week.
Like he's put, it's honestly a show, even when he starts on the pole or gets the pole, it seems like he goes into the back at some point and then just picks his way through.
So honestly, it's been really fun to watch.
We were watching someone be dominant, one of the best to ever do it.
And you just got to kind of tip your cap to those guys and see how long they can ride the train for.
A lot more cheers I noticed for him when he got out of that car.
Maybe the fans are turning in his direction.
Interesting, Kevin, after Charlotte, Tyler Redick was 122 points ahead of Denny now, leaving Pocono only 19.
What do you think about Tyler Redick?
I know he was the runner up, but he didn't seem particularly happy overall with their performance.
Well, it's interesting when you have that hot start and I think that he won races without the fastest car and did a good job on restarts.
And they kept themselves in the battle of Atlanta, didn't get tore up at Daytona.
But you're seeing that winning still matters.
And when you see a car like Denny Hamlin, who's fast, Redick was fast at the end of that race yesterday.
And probably one of the weekends where they may have been in a conversation for having one of the better cars.
But I don't think he's had the fastest car to start the year.
We've talked about that on here.
And I think that right now you're starting to see that pressure ramp up because what everybody thought was going to be an insurmountable points cushion
to the regular season championship has now become a points battle with Denny Hamlin and Denny has the momentum.
So that momentum could change over the next couple of weeks.
And that's the worst thing for Denny Hamlin right now with all the momentum that he does have is he has to go to two road courses.
And we all know that he's not very good on the road courses at San Diego and Sonoma.
So he did get better.
Denny did get better.
And we know that Tyler Redick is pretty good on the road courses.
And we expect him to run in front of the field the next couple of weeks.
But he's got a battle on his hand for the regular season championship with Denny Hamlin.
And probably not the best car in the battle of the 11 and the 45 as far as who's going to win the regular season championship.
So I think it's down to those two guys.
And I think right now the upper hand is in Denny's court.
It's amazing how quickly the complexion of that points can change.
And there's really just 10 races to go in the postseason.
I mean we talked about it at the end of the season and really more at the beginning of the season what the points battle is going to look like.
And I think for all intents and purposes everybody should be happy with it.
Like competitors should be happy.
Fans should be happy.
TV everyone should be happy because winning does matter still.
And then also consistency matters.
And even though but winning is a premium winning is above that because Tyler hasn't been awful.
He's been in the top 10 every week.
He's been close to the top five every week.
But winning obviously is the main thing.
And I think that was one of my main questions.
Our concerns is question is how much was winning going to matter Kev.
And it obviously matters the most.
And so I'm stoked about what we're seeing.
Yeah.
Winning of course.
I think yeah winning solves everything.
You're exactly right.
Caitlin it it solves all problems.
But it also adds up a whole bunch of points.
And when you look at the format and the amount of points that you can get if you're winning
the race and scoring stage points is something that you know if you're not doing that you're
not going to keep up with with the guys who are and you know between the two of them now
they've won they've won nine races.
So you know Denny at four and Tyler at five and that's the that's the wild part about
a NASCAR season.
And I've done this before too you get off to a hot start and then by the by the three
quarter mark or the playoffs or chase or whatever format that we've been in it usually
evens out with who you're going to be racing and they catch up on the on the win amounts
and so it's it's tough and when you win early it's tough and to be able to keep your team
motivated and have that advantage and do all the things that it takes to put yourself
in a position to keep winning at the end of the year when it's time to crown the champion.
So to me that's why you're seeing you know Tyler Reddick be a little bit frustrated with
his with his interview and the things that he's saying after the race because he knows
that if he's going to win the championship they aren't the best car right now and Diddy
Hamlin has the best car and he knows that in order to win the regular season championship
he's going to have to beat the 11 now and it's a dogfight and right now he knows that
he doesn't have the upper hand.
Speaking of upper hand I want to talk about Christopher Bell for a minute who had that
wrist injury was very candid to the media talking about it and obviously that team did a
strategy play tried to stay out ended up running out of fuel with two to go.
Hearing Christopher Bell's comments now on that injury what do you think he is up against
right now with that Kevin?
Well he did better this weekend than than I thought he would with the strategy call I
don't think that overall you know it was the same performance that were that were used
to seeing out of the 20 car with everything that that they that they have going on it's
going to be it's a real challenge the next couple weeks being and seeing all
the things that that that happen at San Diego from the simulator if it's as rough on the
racetrack as it is in the simulator it's going to be a real physical
challenge for everybody who's healthy let alone you know Christopher who who's battling
his injury you know with his wrist so it's it's it's you have to battle through those
things and and I know sometimes it's it's not going to be the performance that you
want but a lot of times you can learn a lot about yourself and your team and your scenario
to be able to to grit through those those situations they tried to put themselves in
a situation to where they could steal one from a few mileage standpoint it was pretty
far-fetched I was I was watching on the airplane as I was flying here and and man it was there
was there was that was a long ways to try to go on fuel and ultimately you know bit them
at the end and and they had to pit so you know I think Christopher's you know he's he's
going to gut it out and and I think that you know as long as he doesn't hit something
hard again that that's that's the real risk in my opinion is if you hit something hard
again and then you prolong that injury I think he'll battle through this but the next two
weeks are going to be tough.
Christopher Bell ended up 26 on the day we will have him on the Thursday show to get
more of his insight about this and moving on to San Diego interesting too to hear about
the team having to make modifications to the steering wheel to just you know make up for
the situation he's going through.
Yeah and shout out to Max Papas and MPI like obviously Max and their whole group have been
instrumental in the safety of the steering wheels for the drivers and they went to work
over the over the week to give Christopher something that he could be comfortable with.
I am genuinely concerned about the situation for the next two weeks for the road courses
it just seemed it seemed like Christopher was even very can about it's going to be hard.
Hard at Pocono is one thing and they're shifting in there now we're about to go to two road
courses like I just I'm I'm concerned about what how that's going to work out.
I don't know Kevin what you do because you know that the situation is like
do you do you put Corey Heim do you get Corey Heim to like do you get Christopher to start
the race make a change or you know what I mean I'm not sure what the answer is but I
think it's going to be a very big struggle for the 20 group.
They're 10th in points so they have some cushion but you can't we we've seen it you
can't be like outside the top 25 for three straight weeks and still being a good spot
points wise. Yeah you know what we went through this situation a little bit with with Keelan
and and you know you talk about Max and the steering wheel and we actually took everything
we took seats we took everything and we actually made a cast and you know
Christopher's in a little bit different scenario there that fit around the wheel
but Christopher's the hardest situation is going to be the shifting right like it's just
the it's just the reaching and how you pull the handle and you know bouncing around the
roughness of the racetrack at San Diego I think it'll be it'll be a little bit easier
when he gets to Sonoma just because there's less shifting there's less going on
there's you know there's there's a the racetrack is is less rough but San Diego
is going to be an extreme challenge for him to get through the race so to your
question do you put somebody else in the car that's a great question I don't know
that I don't know there's a good answer to that because
you know you know I think that by the time you put somebody else in the car and
you go to the back of the field and if you do it early do you get a caution early
are you just going to wind up with with the with the same result and sometimes you
just got to play hurt and and you know I think it's it's you know it's it's a
it's a scenario that that is a kind of a catch 22 as to where you get the benefit
so it'll be interesting to see how how they how they work through all that as
as they get there this weekend but I would I would expect him to try
try to work through it to get what they can out of it and you know sometimes you
just have to you figure it out and and go out and take what you can
so not an easy scenario for him to work through kid stuff for Bell
he said the original plan I think was he was going to start the race and if he
needed a relief driver it was gonna be Brandon Jones so we'll see what the
approaches moving forward the next few weeks so I want to transition to Legacy
Motor Club for a minute Kevin because they are certainly starting to see the
fruits of their labor both their drivers finishing in the top six in multiple
weeks now in a row we've seen some bright spots for them which has to be big for
that organization right and we've seen it you know we've seen you know flashes
of it as as we've gone through the the first part of the season even last year
we saw some some weekends where they've run good starting to be more consistent
and further towards the front and and not just one car but two cars Eric Jones
and John Hunter Nemechek were both at the front of the field this weekend and
had good speed in their cars and and the most important part when you have speed
like that and you have the ability to run at the front of the pack is what
happens to your pit crew what happens to your crew chief do they make good calls
under the pressure of racing at the front of the pack and they did that and
that's that to me is is one of the better signs out of the whole scenario it's not
that John Hunter Nemechek can't run up in the front or Legacy hasn't been able to
put a car towards the front of the field every once in a while it's what happens
when when you start to get in that scenario where you're talking about
maybe having a chance to win does your pit crew fold does your crew chief make a
silly call and they didn't do that they executed a great race all weekend on
on those cars and and were able to put themselves in the conversation in the
top five so you know I think from from an overall standpoint we've heard so many
conversations about legacy and trying to build with their own tools and
and everything that they have have tried are trying to accomplish on their own
obviously Toyota has as great backing and tools and support and all the
things that they need from a manufacturer standpoint but not just going to
Joe Gibbs racing and buying the cars and everything that 2311 does and
trying to really build their own infrastructure and that's that's probably
it's there's more to that than just saying hey we're going to do it saying
you're going to do it and actually actually executing that is is two
different things and right now you're starting to see the that that Legacy
group get better and better every week and now they're consistently starting
to run in the front of the pack so that's that's pretty impressive yeah it
certainly is I talked to Eric Jones last week about this and if there was one
kind of contributing factor and he said it's really just a lot of small things
are coming together for the team they recently announced they had the 27
celebrity investors coming on board he also said historically this stretch of
races is good for their team but he did also say the road courses is an area
they've really struggled so they focused a lot on this in the hopes that they can
keep this going the next two weeks yeah I mean I think it's been a long a long
road for them but they grind they've been grinding it out and when you do that
and you keep you keep hammering down on your processes when you know you think
you have something right and you keep blocking into those things you start
seeing the fruits of those labors which I think is is great for them both the
team and the drivers and obviously oh seven time you know Jimmy Jimmy Jam
he's been uh it's been jamming man and now he's going to get in
the car too which is going to be really cool but like I'm I'm really happy for
that group because they just stuck to their guns and then they believed in
what they were doing and now they're looking at that third charter for next
year so if you're a driver that's looking at them you got to look be
pretty optimistic about what you might be stepping into versus you know over the
last couple years and here's some video Jimmy just being around the race I love
when Jimmy's around the racetrack Jimmy being Jimmy it's always Jimmy their big
smiles for sure there was also big smiles at a William Byron's camp over the
weekend they had a good performance with the top five William saying this is the
first time he felt like he'd had a car that he could do a lot of things with it
and the balance would maintain throughout the course of the race do you think
that that team maybe has finally started to eclipse the rough patch that they've had
Kevin yeah welcome back to the racetrack and you know it's it's been a
it's been a tough start to the to the year for for the 24 team and you know we say
that and they've still kept themselves in contention for for the chase but not
to the expectations that they have or the rest of us have for for William Byron
and Hendrick Motorsports to to perform to so you know I think when you when you
look at the results they just had a solid top five weekend I know he faded it at
the end but they had a solid top five car the whole weekend and we're able to
do the things that we expect out of the 24 team so hopefully that's
a shot in the arm to get those guys some momentum to be able to do that
consistently as they go go forward but it has not been a great year so far for
the 24 team most glaring is that first top five since Martinsville I mean that
is that that is very uncharacteristic of this group yeah but we expect them to
we expect them to turn the corner a little bit hopefully they can with this
with the next two races is a little different right like Williams been
pretty solid on road courses but they're kind of up in the air you don't really
know but I gotta I really gotta keep giving credit to a different group the
38 group Zane Smith I mean they are just weekend and week out running in the top
10 making passes being fast on in practice and qualifying they're doing all
the things and I just can't be happier for Zane just we talked about the other
week but just how hard Kevin it must have been to sign up with a team that you
thought you're gonna be a part of the future and then before you even get to
the end of the season you're out and on the outside looking in not knowing where
you're gonna go and you end up at front row and now it just seems like they're
starting to mesh really really well yeah they're doing a great job and that's
really how it was before he went to track house with with that group so kind
of kind of stinks that that they had to take that that time off because I feel
like that they're definitely the backbone of this organization and team and
it's and it's worked for him and that's that's the really unique part when you see
guys that you think are doing a good job with a certain team then they go to a
different team and they just never achieve those results and we've seen this
before where they go back and all of a sudden that it all it all works for him
so Zane is a good little driver and has a great attitude towards things and
they've been getting the results out of that car to be able to overachieve and
in my opinion with with everything that they have surrounding them so they've
done it they've done a great job obviously didn't get the result that they wanted
to but they they've done a great job of getting things headed in the right
direction and for him it's this is kind of one of those scenarios that's like
Daniel Suarez right like he you know he's he's he's Suarez has gone to the
aspire group and and had great success and now Zane's having great success as we
see him getting turned around and into the inside fence right there but to be
able to to get kicked out of a team and then go to a different team and out
perform them that always makes you feel good it's pretty good yeah almost took
out took out the eventual race winner there and that was close you guys keep
talking about the track house piece of these various stories with drivers and
Ross just saying got a top 10 performance he's only had three on the year we
have documented that track house has not quite been the same when this car was
first introduced they had a lot of speed they kind of showed up everybody but
now everyone's kind of caught up but do you think that they can make a push
through the second half of the season Kevin that's a great question you guys
are asking a lot of good questions I'm still I'm still trying to wake up look
you know I think track houses I mean SVG's been the best car even even at most
of the ovals he got tore up this weekend in an accident so it's hard to tell where
they would have run but we you know it's just it's tough because we expect
Ross Chastain to be racing in the top five and and having a chance to win races
that's that's the expectation that there is and that's the expectation that
that has been set from track house Ross Chastain in that whole organization and
and I think that you know we're sitting here talking about his third he finished
eighth his third top ten of the season look we've got we've got ten races to go
before we get to the chase and you know you got a lot of guys that have a lot
you talk about Zane Smith you talk about Daniel Suarez you talk about SVG guys
that weren't really probably expected to be contenders and then you've got Joey
Logano Brad keselowski outside of the top sixteen looking to get themselves back
in Brad's had a couple bad weeks a few bad weeks and put himself outside looking
in so when you look at the scenarios of the people that are on the outside that
are in front of Ross in the points I would say that they might do
better from a performance standpoint but I see I don't know that they're gonna I
don't know that they're gonna make the the chase I just don't I don't know that
I see that time starting to run out yeah I mean it's a tough it's tough for them
right like they just haven't had the speed the Ross beat all year again SVG has
been kind of toting the flag now I will say we got San Diego and Sonoma I do
expect I think everyone expects them to be really fast with all three cars Ross
has really helped his his road course game and obviously when you have someone
like SVG and Connor Zillich there it's kind of hard not to you kind of have to
get your road course stuff better so I think that they expect to run well if
they don't I think if they don't win these two races as a company it's just
kind of a black mark yeah like I think you kind of lose what the season could
have been if they don't win these two races it's going to be interesting for
sure before we move on from Pocono in the Arkham and Art series is Gio Ruggiero
one once again four wins for him on the year Kevin I know you've talked about
him some from your work in the craftsman truck series booth what have you seen
out of this young racer as he starts to kind of come into his own a little bit
well I think I think Gio just he's starting to get more consistent and you
know we're talking about him consistently when in these arca races now so
you know once you once you get to that point you're almost done with arca and
and you know that that you're ready to take that next step and consistently
win in the truck series so it's it's it's fun to see the young guys and how
they progress and the things that they do but Gio's done a great job to continue
to put himself in a position to win these arca races and he's in the
conversation at a lot of the the truck series races as well so happy to see
him continue to advance and do the things that he needs to keep his career
progressing in the right direction he's a fierce young competitor you know I've
had to interview him quite a bit and I'll go in and I'll just kind of give a
general you know what are your expectations and I gotta win and I'm
like well you got it can you say a little more than just that I need a little
bit larger quote locked in pretty intense kid honestly locked in some of that
northeastern fire in there but like I'm I love seeing northeast guys and girls
to get opportunity and then do well he I think he has a pretty bright future it
seems like they have the things in order for him to at least get to the next
level which would be the O'Reilly series I think that he could get to that point
and it's interesting with with how the cars drive and how the trucks drive like
you never know whose driving style is going to fit the best where and so it's
hard to like pinpoint oh they didn't win that much or they didn't do as great as
in trucks as you thought but then they get into a good O'Reilly situation and
they're they're winning races so it's kind of hard so I hope he gets
opportunity at the next level we see what that looks like too yeah I'll be racing
again in a few days in San Diego very quickly before we moved to San Diego it
was announced Kevin over the weekend that Josh Berry will not be returning to
Wood Brothers is there anything that you want to share with us or talk about as
far as Josh is concerned well it's unfortunate for Josh you know I think
that obviously all the all the Penske cars aren't running very good and and you
know they they've struggled with that 21 car pretty much every year except for
the years that that Blaney drove it so kind of the same cycle that
they typically go through with the 21 car as far as you know replacing the
driver and and doing the things there that that you know they've done so many
other times as as you've gone through this in the past so it'll be interesting
to see how all that plays out but at some point you know they they got to make that
that car consistently run like the Penske cars and and you know I think that
that's that's how it's managed and and run so you know Josh is you know he's a
great racer and and has done a good job 11 at Vegas last year and and
just didn't didn't work out for him you know they just couldn't find the
chemistry and the consistency that it takes to be able to be in position to
finish races and and try to just finish 15th and and that was is probably a
win for for most of those cars right now I like Josh Barry I have a lot of
respect for him what he did in the short track community what he represents
there we know he can do it it's just a matter of probably finding the just the
right it's a lot of its timing I just kind of said it about the truck series
and the riders and when you get to someplace and he got there at the right
time and and now the company as a whole is just not as fast and it kind of
trickles down and he's the guy over there with the least amount of experience
so you're asking him to kind of do quite a bit but that's what it takes at the
Cup series sometimes you got to put that car on your back and unfortunately
he's just not been able to do that that's not to say that he can't do that
right or in another situation he won't be good but kind of looking forward to
turn the page to who might be in it there's a lot of silly season has been
rolling around a lot but I'm gonna throw a name out there Kev give me
Scotty Mack bring Scotty over from IndyCar and let put put some fenders on
his car let's see what he can do in the Cup series I don't know if it would be
in the 21 if they would move kind of arrange that in a different way but I
would love to see Scotty Mack over in the Cup series yeah well I don't think
that's gonna happen I'd say the love bug I'd say I hear that the love bug might
wind up in there but we'll see that's hard to we will see Kevin Magnuson at
San Diego for what that's worth if we're talking on this line of thinking
all right before we get back to it gotta give a shout out to a sponsor of this
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time now to move on to the west coast headed out to California San Diego brand
new event at Coronado this is going to be so cool Kevin I know you're going
because you're calling the truck race for the weekend what are you most
looking forward to about this new venture well I've you know I've seen a lot
of laps made there so it's really rough it's really narrow it's got some tight
challenging corners it's got some sweeping corners but everything that you see
around the circuit is pretty freaking awesome yeah we've got aircraft carriers
we've got airplanes we've got everything that makes the visuals pretty spectacular
so I'm looking forward to calling the truck race but it's a straight course
right like you got barriers on both sides not something that a lot of our guys
have a lot of experience with other than other than going to you know Chicago to
do the street course there but what a great event I mean I'm so happy that
this is actually going to happen I was a little worried with everything is
happening in the world right now as to whether this was actually going to go
through but I mean we had UFC fights at the White House last night and we're
racing on the base here in San Diego so going to be a really challenging weekend
for the drivers to be able to just keep it between the walls because there's
going to be a lot of chaos it should be a fun race to watch but
going to be an absolute handful for the drivers very rough very rough thanks to
iRacing for that look ahead to the track map what are you most excited about when
you watch that and think about what the teams are up against yeah honestly like
Kevin just talked about it for a second the UFC fight just seeing all the
military men and women how excited they were to be at an event like that and I
think we're gonna have a lot of that same energy I'm really excited for them
I'm excited for us to take an event and put it in their backyard so they can
really enjoy it I think a lot of folks are going to be able to have their
families out there with them and stuff like that so I think vibes are going to
be high I think vibes are going to be high I'm excited to see what it's all
about the racing is I'm sure going to be great I mean we look at what we did with
Chicago and it was like wow that worked and so I'm looking forward to this too
to your point we did a briefing with Coronado last week and talked with some
of the military and they were saying how excited all of the sailors are for us
to arrive and some of them have been helping NASCAR put the track up and be a
part of the construction process Kevin can you just speak to the fact of
NASCAR not being afraid to try new and different things because we've seen this
now for a couple years but this one I would say is probably going to be one of
the most unique ones yeah when we first talked about the these the street course
in the Chicago project I was like this is the dumbest idea that I've ever heard
and I walked into that that I walked into that Chicago street course I and
looked around and it was spectacular you know you walk out of your hotel over
to the racetrack and and you're there and you know you never really know how
those types of things that are going to work out but the fans showed up the
weather didn't ever it never cooperated in Chicago but it's going to
cooperate in San Diego this weekend and then you tie in the you know the military
and being on the base and and you know our America's 250th birthday I mean
there's just so many cool things that that it is going to be one of the the
most spectacular events that that we've had in NASCAR's history just because of
the timing of of when all this is happening so you know kudos to NASCAR
for for creating something like this because this is one
they can really hang their hat on no yeah no question about it and you've had a
front-row seat to a lot of the NASCAR side of things and when they make these
decisions to do something totally outside the box yeah I mean I I think I'm not
sure where their conversations start from sometimes I think it starts from the
show sometimes it starts from other places but the like Ben Kenney and his
group the their goal to go off and try it even the first time and know that
almost every time are the fan base is like I don't know about this right they're
kind of everyone's kind of a little traditional we like what we like and
we know what we know but every time it seems like we haven't missed right and
even if we have missed I'm okay with the miss because you tried and doing
something different is awesome for everybody gets different viewership
involved it gets people flying from across the world or just from across the
country to go see an event that they've never seen before and I think that's
really important so this is just another another feather in the cap yeah I
don't think this event will be a miss but let's talk about the team side
quickly Kevin who you expect to potentially tame this new challenge or
who do you think is even asking the beauty know he's gonna say yeah well I
mean SVG is the favorite and I think that you know on a racetrack like this
it almost makes it even more of a favorite because of all the bumps and
the things that you're gonna have to modulate you know with the with the
braking and and really trying to to figure out where the grip is and how to
use the bumps to help turn the car and where to break hard over the bumps and
not break hard over the bumps those are the things that fit right in his
well I am surprised that Kevin Magnuson is in the race with everything that
that track house has going on right now I mean it's great that he's here and I
think it's really cool and project 91 is really cool but I am surprised that
they're that they're bringing another car with with all the struggles that
they've had this season and you know not making the priority winning this race I
know the priority is still winning the race but you're still taking resources
and things away from what should be one of your cars winning the race so I'm a
little surprised I'm happy that he's here and I love project 91 and the
things that they've done it heck it brought us SVG yeah right you know it
is it SVG is the clear favorite you know I think that you know as we've
gone to the road courses we've seen the you know tie-gives and you know some of
the other guys that have been consistent contenders and I think that'll that'll
stick around again this weekend Kevin make some good points who are you watching
Tyler Redick what do you think he get the ship right in here I am no I'm watching
Connor Zillich I'm watching Connor Zillich because my boy is I know my boys I know
my boys down bad and and it's not all on him and it's not all on the team it's just
how the season is unfolded but I really would like to see him have a strong
strong run and then go into Sonoma and probably have a better opportunity at
winning at Sonoma just because to Kevin's point like it's hard not to pick SVG
they're going to a place that they've never been before like just what he does
with the race car on smooth road courses let alone the rough ones I think
everyone's in for a shellacking he's probably going to take them to the
woodshed but the Kevin Magnuson piece is is interesting because you would think
that's pulling away resources I know when they did the project 91 before
that a lot of help from the SVG the supercar team just like with what to
expect with a car and everything I think that's a little bit of a different
situation but Kevin's a world renowned racer too so I mean he could be right
up in the mix so many reasons to watch I'll mention two additional ones Jimmy
Johnson and Jamie McMurray will be making a return to the craftsman truck
series oh that'll be fun I hope our colleague Jamie Mack does well Kevin
yeah I hope he does well and and you know he's put a lot of effort into it so I
don't it won't be from a from a lack of of effort so I'm looking forward to
to calling the truck race on on Friday and I just I want to go back to the
Conner Zillich thing right there it's been a disaster for it for him I just if
if it were me talking to Conner Zillich this weekend going into San Diego it
would not be about winning the race we just need a top 10 and for exactly the
reason that you said about going to Sonoma so that we can have some confidence
because when you're not driving with a hundred percent confidence in the cup
level you have no chance of winning so that's a tough spot to be in we just
need to get the wheels back on the track because he can he can put himself
you know with a goal of a top 10 probably get a top five if he just
doesn't hit anything and that's really all you want to accomplish this weekend
just need to stop the bleeding over there on the Conner Zillich team okay we
cannot wait to head out to San Diego Kevin's already ahead of us he is there
already in the area it's gonna be awesome and now it's gonna be awesome
because we get to hear from Mamba social set that's never awesome
barely the fans love it I never sit in this chair this is my solo okay that's my solo
the Northwest fans I appreciate you and fans all over the world I appreciate the
closers you guys always show out for me and I and it's a good time so let's have
some fun all right Mamba social sips let's get it going Leah Pruitt friend of
the show got a dub over the weekend now it was actually the New Hampshire the
Epping dub but they did it in Bristol because I guess for NHRA when they rain
out they can kind of move it you know move it to the next week which we cannot
but she was able to get a win that was huge first time she's gone back to
victory lane since having little Dom I was super stoked there's probably nobody
that has more passion about drag racing than Leah Pruitt very cool yeah that's
awesome for her and the whole family Kevin yeah it's it's fun to see I didn't
really realize that until this morning so I didn't want to wake Tony up so I'm
definitely going to be sending a text to give him some grief because I love I
love when she kicks his ass it makes me so happy it's so great and shout out to
Matt Hagan to TSR Nitro they won he won the Bristol portion of that event so
they've been they've been on the throttle another guy who's always
on the throttle I love this guy this is one of my favorite guys in all of the
world let alone racing Rico a brew Rico is a dog and he's also jacked he is he is
a strong son gun but he won over the weekend Kevin this is my favorite part
alright he's on top of the wing watch this part
hang on hang on here it comes you know I didn't know what he's doing look how far
he jumped you see that my boy's been doing the box jumps he got far on that one
that's amazing I love Rico that was amazing I didn't know he
could go that far but Rico I I would love to see Rico have another run back in
the NASCAR realm look at this I mean how far you think that is that's some
serious six feet that's pretty far and I think that I
disagree with you on the NASCAR thing I think I'd like no I think that he
already did it and you know when those guys jump out and then they try to jump
back in it usually disrupts something I think he can make a great living went a
lot of races and get a you know sell a lot of t-shirts and do the things that
he's doing exactly where he's at so he had his he has everything rolling for
him right now in my opinion yes but I'm only one opinion
especially during these social sips yeah you barely have what you barely want
opinion during these if you listen to the fans that's right shout out to High
Limits though they've been on a lot of the FS1 broadcast on there's been
really cool midweek races would love to see some of that and some asphalt some
time talking about we just talked about one guy that was jacked and we go Mark
Martin Kev I don't know when you were racing with him if he was this
this strong but I know when I watched him at SA SHR in the gym he was just he
was shredded but back in the 90s I did not realize Mark I did not know your
game was this strong he is jacked in this video look at him oh yeah I did not
realize that either man it's because he doesn't quite look the same I mean what
he still is jacked but that's like a whole I wonder how much he weighed at this
point it must have been that's impressive to 30 right there because that's not
the typical no no way he's like five to yeah but I'm I'm right now when I can
wait 30 he's way bigger than I am yeah but you're kind of
kind of out of shape you're kind of you he's in shape and you're
kind of flabby and I know but muscle weighs more than fat so that you know
adds a little bit extra what was that for do you know like what that was just a
promotional I don't know he is somebody asked him about working out and he's
like yeah I've never stopped and that's what he posted okay I mean Matt very
cool yeah yeah cross him so that you know we're short and sweet but we're
very strong on the social sips this week make sure that you keep sending them
in because I can't do this without y'all so appreciate you there you go
America's favorite segment and it's time universe is favorite universe global
Mr. Worldwide yeah time now for our last call and yet again this is week after
week we are grading a Denny Hamlin celebration burnout yeah the number
11 what did you think of the celebrations out in Pocono for Mr. Hamlin
Kevin well I thought it was kind of just normal now I know
that's nothing nothing nothing spectacular just a classic straight up
straight burnout so you know I think it at this point Denny's starting to win
so much that he's he's you don't care well he's just he's just doing it he
cares he's he's doing I mean that's a good burnout but nothing that's gonna
like set it off the charts yeah the best part about that burnout was the
scheme was I think a probably a one-off with the minions on it kids love the
minions I love when we have a one-off partner like that when I think that's
way cool yeah I think that's so the videos of the minion mascots trying to
get in the car was really funny if you saw those white entertaining I'm here
for the thing I'll say about Denny that he did a jello shot with the fans
afterwards I thought that was kind of boy he just participation with them yeah
I do like that how the post-race thing is going on right now I
do yeah a lot of good vibes with that okay so wait what's the great yeah what
are you great what are you grading it it's not like you it's yeah we're just
giving a B because he is the winner yeah before Denny we've already given him a
star because we you know because of the flag was so cool yeah it's hard to top
I mean that'll never die Danny was my cat Danny can you the next one can you
give us something really spectacular I feel like you got something up your
sleeve I just want to see it yeah I could see him rising to that task no no
I think you can okay okay he's kind of like me though getting
out of the car you got to take your time like elbows and you don't want to fall
down so you know it's 40 45 year old man you don't want to
break a leg or something yeah but you want to keep but you know Kevin did a
burnout with the two-seater car in Idaho and it was it was more exciting than
that so if you can do a good burnout in the two-seater then come
on we should agree it was a good burnout that little that little two-seater
that we had in Idaho it it was sitting out back you open the hood everything
under its rusted they drove like a champ that's like it drove great old
Herschel McGriff car that's all the badass that is badass all right well guys I
mentioned it at the standings there's a little ground that has been made up by
me for picking the winner I picked Denny Hamlin so I'm now at 56 to Mamba's 53
who picked Blaney who ended up 10th Kevin picked Bubba who ended up 21st but
Kevin is still leading the trio at 77 big shock yeah here's the problem well
what's the problem the problem is like I don't really trust not picking SVG for
this week I don't either but I need to make up points but I just don't trust not
picking it I know I mean how do you not I mean well I mean what you should do is
just continue doing what you're doing because when you're in last I'm happy
that makes me really happy when when she's in front of you the thing is though
is I had a good little points lead for a minute and my car my
picks have been fast like it's not I know I will give you that it's not like
they've been out in left field you're just like Tyler Reddick your lead his
lead hasn't diminished all the way yet though no yeah we're got off to a strong
start and and then you know you took yeah you took one race away from me so
that you could have I did not have a little bit of easy ground to make up you
just decided not to show up that week though he's here today so I guess we'll
let Kevin do the honors feeling we're all picking the same person I'm picking
SVG I mean I don't know who else we I don't even know who else you would pick
I don't need it while I'm going with the same what say you cuz like we want to
win right as Kevin always says yeah but you know what oh do you know what
there's a hesitation screw it because if you want to win if you want to if you
want to be a big boy you got to jump in the big boy water so I'm gonna do that
let's go with them tie-gibbs okay let's go with tie-gibbs I
don't think that's a bad pick it's not a bad pick it's just like there's the top
the top pick and then all the other pigs are like down here yeah okay well he's
jumped in the waters as he says yeah two votes of confidence for SVG 14
tie-gibbs okay really three for SVG just trying to be different all right
closers make sure you subscribe to our new YouTube channel follow us at Harvick
happy pod for Kevin Mamba myself that does it for us here on this edition we'll
see everybody after all the festivities in San Diego
About this episode
Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour spotlights Denny Hamlin’s sustained dominance—crediting experience, drive, and the “details” that keep the team close nearly every week—while also tracking the tightening regular-season points battle with Tyler Reddick. The conversation pivots to the San Diego street course and road-course swing: Hamlin faces two road courses (San Diego and Sonoma), and the hosts debate relief-driver shifting challenges. Picks and preview notes center on SVG as the clear favorite.
Denny Hamlin is on an absolute tear. Fresh off a dominant weekend at the Tricky Triangle, Denny captured his record-tying 8th Pocono victory—marking the first time in his legendary 21-year career that he has won three consecutive Cup Series races.
Kevin Harvick, Kaitlyn Vincie, and Mamba Smith break down the No. 11 team's terrifying dominance, Tyler Reddick’s frustration after a runner-up finish, and whether anyone can stop the #11 team right now.
The crew also deconstructs the rest of a wild Pocono weekend, including Legacy Motor Club’s impressive double top-6 surge, William Byron and Ross Chastain bouncing back into the top 10 and Christopher Bell's gutsy fuel-gamble while driving with a fractured wrist.
Plus, we look ahead to NASCAR's highly anticipated inaugural street race at Naval Base Coronado in San Diego! Will road-course ringer Shane van Gisbergen dominate, or will F1 veteran Kevin Magnussen steal the show in his Trackhouse Project 91 debut? All that, plus short-track recaps from the CARS Tour and Mamba’s Social Sips!
00:00 - Intro
01:00 - Kevin WINS in CARS Tour West
05:26 - Denny Hamlin Dominates Pocono: 3 in a Row!
09:00 - Tyler Reddick Falls Short: Did the Restart Cost Him?
13:00 - Christopher Bell Talks Gutting Out a Fractured Wrist
17:55 - Legacy Motor Club's Massive Top-10 Surge
21:32 - Clean Top 5 for William Byron & Ross Chastain's Rebound
25:00 - Chastain’s much needed top 10 for Trackhouse
28:15 - ARCA: Gio Ruggiero Wins for JGR & Lanie Buice Hot Streak
30:00 - Silly Season: Josh Berry out at Wood Brothers for 2027
34:08 - San Diego Preview: NASCAR Heads to Naval Base Coronado
42:54 - Mamba’s Social Sips
47:36 - Last Call: Grading the Burnout & Points Standings
50:58 - San Diego Winner Picks & Wrap Up
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