With the NASCAR Cup Series making its debut at Iowa Speedway this weekend, Kevin Harvick and his Harvick’s Happy Hour team have set their predictions for Sunday’s race.
First, Harvick feels Iowa Speedway will mark a return to form for Joe Gibbs Racing after some engine issues hampered the team in recent weeks, with Denny Hamlin leading the charge on Father’s Day.
“I believe we have returned to the Gibbs cars’ wheelhouse. “I think Denny Hamlin gets back on track,” Harvick said. “We would—” Clint [Bowyer] was fussing with me in the booth over the Gibbs cars. The No. 11 automobile, in general. Just that he was off track. They needed to get their wheels back on track.
“So I pulled the sheet out, and I’m like, ‘Yup, third. Fifth. Second. Yeah, he’s terrible.’ Four or five top fives in a row, and I think with the engine failure, and the type of race track that we’re going to, I think it’s Denny Hamlin this week.”
On the other hand, Mamba Smith is of the belief that it’ll be a Toyota, and Hamlin may be celebrating, it just might not be his No. 11 in victory lane, as he’s picking Bubba Wallace to get his first win since 2022.
“So my picks, I’ve been tracking this, and I’m going to go back and track it all. I don’t think anyone I’ve picked has finished inside the top ten this year. Like, they’ve all — I’m pretty sure they’ve all ranked outside. I’m a detriment to anybody. So I’m going to start by apologizing. I’m going to go with Bubba Wallace,” Smith explained. “Going with a Toyota at this place. I feel like he’s one of the guys that’s probably raced here more recently, not that it really matters that much, but he does have a little bit of notes to look back on.”
In a surprising twist, Kaitlyn Vincie went with a driver who’s been more in the news for his fist than his driving, predicting Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will get the win. Now, there’s some precedent, as he won at Iowa three times in the Xfinity Series, but that was over a decade ago.
“I’m also going with someone who has a little notes to go off of. I’m going with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. He’s won at Iowa three times in the Xfinity Series,” Vincie theorized. “I know you can’t really compare, but he’ll have some positive mojo, going back to a place he’s won at before. And he needs a win. He needs a win.”
Those are three pretty different picks, so it’ll be interesting to see if any of the Harvick’s Happy Hour crew’s predictions end up coming true. Nevertheless, it should be a great show at Iowa Speedway, when the NASCAR Cup Series arrives on Father’s Day.
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