NASCAR’s 2025 Cup Series regular season is coming to a close with Daytona being the finale. While many drivers had splendid runs, NASCAR veteran Kevin Harvick had a list of drivers who did better than the rest. The two names at the top do not have Kyle Larson in them, and for good reason.
Who Are Kevin Harvick’s Top Picks for the 2025 Regular Season?
Several drivers have been impressive in the 25 races so far. Be it Carson “Hurricane” Hocevar’s nonchalant and fearless racecraft. Or how rookie Shane van Gisbergen has bagged four wins in his maiden season so far, becoming the winningest rookie in the sport’s history. Finally, even Joe Gibbs Racing driver Chase Briscoe has been impressive.
The Indiana native took over Martin Truex Jr’s #19 car this season and did justice to it. In his first season with JGR, Briscoe managed to win. But where he’s been most spectacular is with the pace. Briscoe’s currently the leader with the most pole starts for the season (6).
However, Harvick’s picks are completely different. First up is the 2025 regular-season champion, William Byron, who was hardly a guess. The #24 driver first won the Daytona 500 and was the most consistent among the lot: two wins, nine top-5s, and 13 top-10s. While Byron had a rocky start to the season, he seemed to have found his form as the season progressed.
Speaking of Byron’s season so far, Harvick said, “When I look at it, William Byron has won two races, and when I think of his season as a whole, it’s been pretty up and down, but I think that they’ve performed pretty well. I think next-gen racing in general is more inconsistent than what we’ve been used to in the past, and I think you’re going to have more DNFs, you’re going to have more off weeks. And how do you minimize those off weeks? But as I look at this list, I can’t pick anybody out that’s had a better regular season.”
However, the way things started, no one would have thought Byron would finish on top after the regular season concluded. This was thanks to Kyle Larson getting a stellar start to the season. In the first 12 races, Larson had already won three times and finished eight times in the top 5. So naturally, he was comfortably leading the points table. But after his double attempt failed, Larson hasn’t yet found that early-season form, which had Harvick keep him off his list. Rather, he has Denny Hamlin on it as a top finisher.
“I think that Kyle Larson started off like a ball of fire after the Indy 500. He hasn’t been that car that’s been capable of leading laps, dominating, and putting himself in position to win a race. Quietly, he finished sixth this weekend at Richmond. So, I don’t really know where they are as far as Kyle Larson, but I could argue maybe for the five. But I think that William Byron and Denny Hamlin have probably been the best two cars,” Harvick added.
Hamlin and SVG are the only two drivers to win four races so far, and thanks to this, the #11 driver will most likely be the top-seeded driver entering the playoffs. Hamiln currently has 24 playoff points to his name, which would give him a good start in the round of 16.
Well, with the playoffs kicking off soon, the drivers who qualified will have a clean slate to compete for that championship. Let’s see who comes out on top in the end.