Kevin Harvick’s appeal for more horsepower

“At Phoenix, we’re talking 60 70 horsepower. Imagine if it were 200,” Kevin Harvick suggested on his Happy Hour podcast. “It’s got to be something that we work towards. And I know we’ve taken a good step, and it’s produced what everybody thought it was going to produce, which is a better product,”

Being one of those who raced in the older era, it is quite apparent that Harvick seeks more horsepower. As per him, if the race at Phoenix provided such excellent competitiveness, then the formula can be increased in intensity.

While what he said does make sense, there were also quite a few drawbacks with the race at the Phoenix Raceway, which need to be considered. Apparently, the increased horsepower did provide good racing, but it also made the strategic decisions very difficult.

The tires were going flat left and right because of the heated asphalt paired with the increased engine output, stressing the tires out. This issue for the drivers continued till the very end of the race.

In fact, heading into Darlington next, Kevin Harvick predicts something similar: “I think it could put the crews in a really curious spot as to when you put tires on and when you don’t with the tire allotment that they have. So, managing your tires and when you put them on the car could become an issue.”

Darlington also falls under the <1.5-mile category, and hence, NASCAR will once again be running the short track package with the massive bump in engine power. The 750hp V8s will growl around the track, but the drivers seem to be more worried about how the weather will shape up the race.

Zane Smith’s concern heading into Darlington

Heading into Darlington, Goodyear has revealed that the package will be similar to what it was at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. However, the overall package, including the aerodynamics, would be different. The package will have a 3-inch rear spoiler and fewer stabilizing strakes, making the race more challenging.

However, Zane Smith voices a different concern for the drivers. Despite running all of the simulations, he feels that if the temperature rises, things could turn out to be rather ugly in terms of tire management and other aspects.

“And speaking from a sim standpoint, I mean it’s a massive handful, and I don’t know how the weather looks or whatnot, but man, if it’s gonna be a hot day in Darlington, it’s gonna be a solid day’s work. I mean, pretty much the short-track package on a really hard mile-and-a-half — and more power? I mean, yeah, it’s pretty easy to think that it’s going to be a handful,” he said.

With a storm covering the East Coast, one might expect the conditions to be cooler. However, that is not expected to be the case. As per the recent forecast, the temperatures will keep rising leading up to Sunday, and the drivers can expect very hot asphalt.

So, while Kevin Harvick will definitely get to enjoy another race with the high horsepower, the increase in temperature could turn out to be a massive gamble for all the teams. But will they be able to manage it better, considering they went through the same at Phoenix?