Can Kevin Harvick Utilize Pole Position for NASCAR Cup Race at Texas and Bag 10th Win?

Published 10/21/2020, 11:44 AM EDT

With the race at Kansas done and dusted, all eyes are on the Autotrader Echopark Automotive 500 at the Texas Motor Speedway. Joey Logano has already booked his place in the Championship 4 with his win at Kansas.

However, he will start 2nd at Texas, as pole position goes to Kevin Harvick, who finished 2nd at Kansas. Behind them are Brad Keselowski and Chase Elliott, sharing the second row.

Meanwhile, the rest of the playoff hopefuls are led by Alex Bowman, Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin, and Kurt Busch.

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Kevin Harvick on the pole, Joey Logano on the front row for Cup race at Texas. #nascar pic.twitter.com/k3sD3tERBW
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) October 21, 2020

It is also worth noting that Kyle Busch will start the race in 9th place, as he suffers a perennial win drought. The 35-year-old has just three races to try and get a win in the 2020 season.

Can Kevin Harvick take advantage of pole position and win at Texas?

In theory, he can definitely win for the 10th time this season, as pole position generally gives racers an advantage in winning a race. For motorsports, it is an unwritten belief that qualifying on pole position gives a driver a massive boost for the race.

On the other end of the spectrum, Kevin Harvick has been handed pole position on many occasions in previous races. However, he has often failed to convert them into race wins.

With one playoff spot locked in, Harvick, Keselowski, Elliott, Bowman, Truex Jr., Hamlin, and Kurt Busch are under pressure. In other words, all seven of them are fighting for 3 playoff spots.

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Meanwhile, Kyle Busch is fighting for personal pride and to not end the season, winless. Further down the order in 21st and 26th, Clint Bowyer and Jimmie Johnson have nothing to lose.

This is because the two of them are walking away from NASCAR at the end of the season. Obviously, the two veteran drivers will want to end their seasons on high notes.

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However, the race is long, and anything can happen on Sunday. So the question is, ‘Can Kevin Harvick win the race from pole position?’

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Dhruv George is a senior Formula One and NASCAR analyst for EssentiallySports, having authored nearly 12000 articles spanning different sports like F1, NASCAR, Tennis, NFL, and eSports. He graduated with a PG Diploma in Journalism from the Xavier Institute of Communications. Dhruv has also conducted interviews with F1 driver Pierre Gasly and Moto2 rider Tony Arbolino.