Kevin Harvick has got quite an eye when it comes to predicting champions of the future. However, his current prediction might be going a bit too unorthodox, as he seemed to be warning the likes of Chevrolet and Ford, considering the sheer dominance that Toyota has pulled out so far this season. Understandably, he does claim that other teams will be able to catch up sooner or later this season. But he still feels that Toyota could go all out for the championship because of the Chase format.

Kevin Harvick’s subtle warning to Chevy and Ford

On his podcast, Harvick addressed the current standings. According to him, it is about the math and how Reddick has now put himself in a strong position.

“You’ve got to be in that top six to win this championship when the points reset. So right now, Tyler Reddick’s put him in, himself in a fairly good position to be one of those six cars,” said Harvick.

Kevin Harvick, having spent enough time racing through multiple formats, knows how the system works. He warns that despite the top – 16 qualifying for the Chase, only the cars in the top 6 have a realistic chance of contending for the title.

Considering the gap that Tyler Reddick has built with a whopping four race wins (in just the first six races) is remarkable. And all of this in the Toyota does prove that the OEM has got some advantage over the likes of Chevrolet and Ford.

“When you see the mistakes that are being made, and the finish is not being taken advantage of for guys that are running good and having catastrophic failure at the end of stages or at the end of the race like we saw with Kyle Larson this week again, it adds up,” Harvick added. “You might make the top 16, but you’re not winning this championship if you’re not in those top six.”

Heading into this season, Kyle Larson was one of the favorites. Having won the championship last year, Larson expected to carry on the momentum. However, the pace does not seem to be with him. Hendrick Motorsports, as a whole, has experienced some loss of overall pace. Blaming the new Chevy body seems harsh, especially considering Denny Hamlin’s analysis.

But the driver who has the entire field take notice right now is Tyler Reddick. Coming from an extremely tough season, with even the potential of losing his seat with 23XI Racing, he has seemingly sealed himself with the team for the coming years. Winning the first three races is something that no one has ever managed to do in NASCAR’s history. But he flipped the odds this year. While he did not have a similar dominant pace in the next two races, he once again emerged at the top at Darlington.

While he has also earned Kevin Harvick’s confidence, can he carry on with this dominance throughout the season? Under the Chase format, Reddick’s current streak will provide a massive points cushion. But the real test will be whether he can withstand the pressure of a ten-race grind to claim the title.

Tyler Reddick comments on his title chances after a monumental start to the season

It is safe to say that Tyler Reddick has had a great start to the season, but there wasn’t anything new about it. Sure, it was surprising, but these were the tracks that he has always been strong at. And he admitted it after his Darlington victory. “I mean, some of it is you look at the places we’ve won, in my opinion, where we’ve been very strong at,” Reddick said.

Although Reddick will seemingly manage to get into the top 16 with this performance, the important aspect is whether he will manage to carry on with a similar dominance. As Kevin Harvick claimed, other teams will catch up slowly. That is when Reddick would have to work a lot harder to contend for the title.

“I was sad to see the ROVAL go, but now we have two Charlotte oval dates, so that’s awesome,” Reddick said, commenting on his future this season. “We’re going back to Chicagoland, and last time I was really strong in an O’Reilly Auto Parts car. There’s a lot of tracks on the schedule that we have been really, really strong at. And you got to see that in 2024 with how we were able to put races together.”

“If we can keep this up, who knows? I’m just going to take it one week at a time.”

There could be a lot in this season for Reddick and 23XI as a whole. Kevin Harvick has already given the Toyotas an upper hand. They have won five of the six races so far this season. So this could be the best time for him to capitalize on the dominance and realistically contend for the title.