Kevin Harvick isn’t backing off his faith in Hendrick Motorsports and Team Penske drivers, even after Talladega’s brutal shake-up. The former champ sees real fight left in Hendrick and Penske drivers, refusing to count them out of the Championship 4 chase despite deficits that look non-recoverable for a few without a win. Harvick’s take highlights how these teams’ grit could turn Martinsville into a comeback stage. And with only two spots open, his steady voice reminds everyone of the playoffs’ wild turns.

Talladega crushed dreams for three HMS contenders: Elliott wrecked early at lap 51, Byron spun, and Larson fumbled fuel on the final lap, while Penske’s Blaney and Logano faded outside the top 15 after late pits. But as the field tightens in Martinsville’s do-or-die, one burning question lingers: can Harvick’s optimism spark the impossible?

Kevin Harvick breaks down the must-win puzzle

On the latest episode of Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour, the former champion dove into the playoff frenzy, refusing to count out the Hendrick and Penske crews despite their Talladega tumble. “I really think that the two guys that have won obviously are in a good spot, but I think that really the four guys that are out and the two guys that are in all have to race,” Harvick said, pointing to Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell’s razor-thin one-point gap above the cut-line.

He laid it plain: even the leaders can’t coast, as any slip could let outsiders like Elliott or Blaney steal a win and flip the script. Harvick‘s mindset stems from his own playoff battles, where he clinched the championship in 2014 by mastering short tracks like Bristol and Richmond, knowing execution trumps everything in elimination mode.

Harvick doubled down on not writing off Team Penske’s Blaney and Logano, fresh off strong Loudon showings. “I’m reluctant to say, Yeah, Blaney’s out of it. And Logano is out of it… I want to say that Blaney and Logano are out of it, but I know better than to say they’re out of it,” he admitted, nodding to their track records. Blaney boasts a 4.0 average finish at Martinsville with two wins in seven starts, while Logano has a 5.6 average in the Next-Gen era and also a 2018 victory.

For HMS, Elliott’s 11.7 career average pairs with a 2020 win, and Byron’s two triumphs in his last seven races highlight their edge on the 0.526-mile oval. Harvick’s confidence echoes the field’s depth; nobody’s truly safe when history favors the hungry.

Even Denny Hamlin, who’s now locked into the final four with six wins this year, picks HMS stars to shine at Martinsville. “Who would I not be surprised? Byron and Elliott,” Hamlin said on Actions Detrimental, calling them 1A and 1B favorites despite their deficits. His view tracks with Byron’s pole potential and Elliott’s consistent speed, like three top-5s in his last three races there.

Yet Elliott owned the Talladega pain himself: “The way the sequence went, I felt like we had ourselves in a pretty good spot… and we just did not execute that well… got caught up in the mess.” That early pit miscue shoved the HMS trio to the rear, sparking the crash—a brutal lesson from a team that’s dominated 13 of the last 20 poles at Martinsville but faltered under superspeedway pressure.

As Martinsville looms, these teams chase redemption amid the noise. But for one final four lock like Hamlin, fresh mechanical headaches add another layer of doubt.

Harvick gauges Hamlin’s gremlin troubles

Harvick didn’t hold back on Hamlin’s Talladega throttle glitch that dropped him to 24th, a repeat offender for the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. “They’ve had this throttle problem a few times,” Harvick noted, tying it to Hamlin’s radio frustration after the issue struck mid-pack. This fits a season of woes for Hamlin, who’s battled power steering failure at Kansas and other fast-car quirks, costing points despite his Las Vegas win that sealed his Phoenix ticket.

Harvick sees it as a team-specific bug, not a fluke; throttle problems have hit the 11 car multiple times, forcing restarts from the rear and testing crew chief Chris Gabehart‘s fixes.

Diving deeper, Harvick unpacked the bigger picture: “When you look at it, I think that’s where the frustration from Denny came from… they’ve dealt with that particular issue. But you’ve talked about some other mechanical issues that go with that car.” Hamlin vented plenty, calling out batteries, starters, and clutches on his podcast, insisting results should hinge on track skill, not shop gremlins.

With six victories already, these hits sting extra as he eyes his first title, especially after a 2023 championship bid derailed by similar brake woes on teammates’ cars.

Harvick’s take? Momentum matters, but recurring issues could haunt Phoenix if not checked at Martinsville practice.