Needing a win to secure his spot in the Playoffs this season, Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick revisits Michigan International Speedway with hopes of returning to Victory Lane this weekend and making it back-to-back victories at the two-mile facility. Harvick is one of 11 different drivers to win consecutive NASCAR Cup Series races at Michigan International Speedway, and this weekend looks to get his second set of back-to-back wins, he earned his first in the consecutive Michigan races during the pandemic in 2020. With Harvick announcing his retirement at the end of the season, this will be his last run at the 2-mile track.
Drivers with consecutive wins at Michigan:
- Bobby Allison (1971 sweep),
- David Pearson (1972 sweep – 1973), (1974-1975),
- Cale Yarborough (1983 sweep),
- Bill Elliott (1985 sweep – 1986 sweep),
- Bobby Labonte (1995 sweep),
- Mark Martin (1997-1998),
- Ryan Newman (2003-2004),
- Greg Biffle (2004-2005), (2012-2013)
- Kyle Larson won three-straight at Michigan (2016-2017).
- Kevin Harvick (2019, 2020-1, 2020-2) – only driver to win in consecutive days at a single track.
The 47-year-old from Bakersfield, California, Harvick, is currently ranked 13th in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff outlook, 182 points ahead of Joe Gibbs Racing’s Ty Gibbs in 17th – the first spot outside the postseason cutoff. In 22 starts this season, Harvick has put up one stage win, six top-five and 10 top-10 finishes.
The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season has produced 13 different Cup winners, which is tied with the 1988, ‘00, ‘01, and ’21 seasons for the third-most winners through the first 22 races of a season in the Modern Era (1972-Present). With Shane Van Gisbergen not eligible for the postseason, 12 drivers have earned a spot in the Playoffs leaving just four positions still up for grabs as the series heads to Michigan International Speedway for race No. 23 of the year.
Just four races remain in the NASCAR Cup Series regular season and tensions are running high in the garage for the competitors that haven’t secured their spot in the postseason. Currently, the final four remaining transfer Playoff spots on points are occupied by Harvick (13th, +182 points above the cutline), RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski (14th, +151 points above the cutline), 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace (15th, +54 points above the cutline), and Front Row Motorsports’ Michael McDowell (16th, +18 points above cutline).
Heading into Sunday at Michigan International Speedway, several former winners at the track will be looking to return to Victory Lane this weekend, especially those that are winless this season. Of that group, Harvick bolsters the most success at the two-mile track with wins in all three of NASCAR’s national series; including the series-most among active drivers (six) in the NASCAR Cup Series. He also has a victory in the NASCAR Xfinity Series (2003) and the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (2011). Harvick and Kyle Busch are the only two active drivers with wins in all three NASCAR national series at Michigan.
RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski (two wins), Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon (one win), Kaulig Racing’s AJ Allmendinger (one win) and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Ty Gibbs (one win) each have NASCAR Xfinity Series victories at Michigan International Speedway, and all four need a win this season to get into the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. In last season’s Cup race, Keselowski finished 15th, Dillon finished 13th, Ty Gibbs finished 10th and Allmendinger did not compete in the event.
23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Aric Almirola each have NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series wins at Michigan and are looking for their first wins of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season. In last year’s Cup race, Almirola finished 34th due to an incident and Wallace finished runner-up to Kevin Harvick.
Last season, Harvick only led the final 38 laps of the race after taking the lead coming off pit road during the final caution’s pitstops. He would hold on to win his sixth race at the track – most among active drivers. In total, Harvick has made 42 starts at the two-mile track, posting six wins (2010, 2018, 2019, 2020-1, 2020-2, 2022), including four of the last five races, 16 top fives and 22 top 10s. His average finish at Michigan is 10.952 – second best among active drivers.
This weekend at Michigan International Speedway, Ford will be looking to visit Victory Lane for the ninth consecutive time in the NASCAR Cup Series at the engine manufacturers’ home track.
Ford enters this weekend having won the last eight consecutive NASCAR Cup Series races at Michigan International Speedway (2018-2022) and this weekend will look to keep the streak alive – the longest consecutive streak of wins by a manufacturer at the two-mile facility.
| OEM | Date | Michigan Winner |
| Ford | Sunday, June 10, 2018 | Clint Bowyer |
| Ford | Sunday, August 12, 2018 | Kevin Harvick |
| Ford | Monday, June 10, 2019 | Joey Logano |
| Ford | Sunday, August 11, 2019 | Kevin Harvick |
| Ford | Saturday, August 8, 2020 | Kevin Harvick |
| Ford | Sunday, August 9, 2020 | Kevin Harvick |
| Ford | Sunday, August 22, 2021 | Ryan Blaney |
| Ford | Sunday, August 7, 2022 | Kevin Harvick |
Eight different manufacturers have won in the NASCAR Cup Series at Michigan; led by Ford with 43 victories; followed by Chevrolet with 26, Mercury (12), Dodge (nine), Toyota (five), Buick (four) Pontiac (four) and Oldsmobile (two).
Race Review Online 