Kevin Harvick seems to have perfectly identified what differentiates Denny Hamlin from the rest of the field. Speaking about Hamlin’s current form, Harvick argued that experience, rather than outright speed, is the veteran’s greatest advantage.

“Right now the cars are on point, and Denny Hamlin, he's got the experience to detail his car, which is what it takes in the Cup Series with these Gen 7 cars to be able to get the car and have all the details to it,” he said.

Hamlin’s recent success has come despite extenuating circumstances. For instance, due to separate penalties at Michigan and Nashville, Hamlin had to start from the back of the field only to win both races. According to Harvick, this is possible due to Hamlin’s unparalleled understanding of the Next Gen race car.

“He goes out and doesn't race the scoreboard. He goes out and gets his car handling good. If it's not good enough, and you see it with so many guys, they worry about the speed in their race car instead of the drivability of their race car,” Harvick explained.

The former Cup champion believes that this is exactly why Hamlin can do so much with the Next Gen car that many drivers haven’t. One such driver struggling to find consistency is Connor Zilisch, and Harvick pointed out exactly that.

Connor Zilisch’s struggles explain Kevin Harvick’s Denny Hamlin point

Kevin Harvick used Connor Zilisch to show why Denny Hamlin just knows the car better and how experience helps him in that area. Zilisch entered the season as one of the most hyped prospects, winning 10 Xfinity races and recording a record 18 consecutive top-five finishes in 2025.

But this season has been challenging for him, marked by inconsistent performances and, even worse, back-to-back DNFs in the last three races.

“You go to somebody, I mean, you look at Connor Zilisch, right? I mean, the thing is obviously out of control and not where it needed to be in practice,” Harvick said. He continued, “A lot of that comes from the driver to the team to be able to say, 'Okay, this feels like this.'”

Harvick then explained the mistake such young drivers make, adding, “They'll be like, well, speed looks good. And you'll be like, 'Ah, I don't really care about the speed. You've got to have the car underneath you to be able to be aggressive and drive it, even if it's slower.'”

This comparison showcased exactly the skill Harvick believes Hamlin has: turning the car just right with precise feedback built through experience that controls speed rather than overrunning it throughout the weekend.

Read more at the RFK Racing Digest!

Written by

Uday Jakhar

Edited by

Suyashdeep Sason