Two races into the playoffs, and the tension is high. Early collisions have rattled many drivers. Joey Logano won at Atlanta but finished 15th at Watkins Glen, though he still leads the playoffs. His teammate, defending champion Ryan Blaney, had a solid third-place finish at Atlanta but retired early from The Glen after a Turn 1 incident.

With the next race eliminating four drivers, Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., and Harrison Burton face a tough challenge at Bristol. Ty Gibbs and Chase Briscoe are also close to the cutoff. Amidst the chaos, Kevin Harvick has shared his thoughts on the tumultuous first two rounds.

Kevin Harvick reveals the state of mind of the playoff drivers

Kevin Harvick must have quit racing in NASCAR, but NASCAR has not left him. Keeping in touch with the sport via Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour, Harvick likes to analyze the current occurrence of the sport. In episode 57, Harvick discussed how intense the playoffs can get. But before that, he said, “And then you ramp that up again at Bristol because it’s the Bristol Night Race.”

Bristol is an exciting race for fans, as the world’s fastest half-mile circuit is sure to bring some action. Harvick explained the state of mind of the drivers heading into the race as he said, “You get back to the short track race, and you’re at the end of the year, you have got mixed agendas.”

While the playoff drivers want to win the championship, others on the grid want to redeem themselves for not winning a race. This causes the chaos that we have seen on the tracks in the last two races. Harvick explained, “You have guys that need to win and guys that don’t care if you’re in the playoffs; and they want to win. So, you have so many different agendas this time of year.”

Speaking of the Watkins Glen weekend, it saw crashes, wrecks, and mostly restarts.

Harvick spoke about what went down at The Glen and said, “Everybody’s frustrated already at this point because they have been to Atlanta and how many restarts they had to go in Watkins Glen.” Further, breaking down what is going on in drivers’ minds due to the collisions in the postseason, Harvick stated, “Everybody is mad at everybody, it seems like at this point in particular, and going to Bristol should make for a fun show.”

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What can fans expect from Bristol?

Bristol will be a very important race for all the playoff drivers, even more so for those at the bottom of the table.

• This is the last chance for Martin Truex Jr. to win a race as a full-time driver, and that is not the only pressure on his mind. As much as a win would make his retirement feel worth it, a championship was what he was looking for.
• Denny Hamlin, who scored quite a few playoff points during the regular season, was stripped of the achievements of the Bristol race earlier this year. Lucky for him, he has an amazing track record at the half-mile circuit. In 35 races on the track, he has 11 Top 5s, including a win last year.
• Harrison Burton, who got into the playoffs by winning the Daytona race, is at the bottom of the barrel, and only a win will help him out of elimination. Speaking of his stats on the track, in Xfinity, Burton too has 2 Top 5s in 4 runs.
• Brad Keselowski, who has had eight top-5 finishes this season, has had only one win at Darlington in May, and after a P19 and P26 finish at Atlanta and The Glen, his chances of the top 12 are looking slim too.

For the drivers at the bottom of the playoff standings, the path is clear: win a race to advance. As those facing elimination fight to stay in the hunt, the rest of the playoff drivers are focused on maximizing their points. With the championship race tightening, every point counts.

Considering this, who do you think will get eliminated before the Top 12 begins?