Kevin Harvick leads rejuvenated Ford camp into Homestead

Truex has won six of the 10 races on 1.5-mile tracks, including the first three in the Monster Energy Cup Series Playoffs. But Kevin Harvick ended Truex’s run at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday. 

Oh, what a difference three months make. After a bit of a summer slump, Ford Performance has awakened like a revenant at just the right time with Stewart-Haas Racing and Team Penske leading the charge. 

Ford's impact on SHR

Harvick has exhibited spurts of speed throughout the season. He earned poles at Atlanta, the first Texas race and the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte. He dominated Atlanta and led 292 of the first 311 laps before a speeding penalty took the No. 4 Jimmy John’s Ford out of contention. At the first four intermediate tracks in the Playoff, Harvick’s average finish is 3.75.

“Ford is greatly responsible for that,” Harvick said. “They have spent a lot of money a lot of time, a lot of effort in working on the Ford performance side of things. The tools and things we have access to, the effort they put just within the walls of SHR has been very refreshing.”

Both Ford and Stewart-Haas Racing have addressed the growing pains of transitioning from Chevrolet. Not every team at SHR acclimated as quickly as the No. 4 team led by crew chief Rodney Childers. But as Harvick has discovered the inner workings of the Dearborn, Michigan-based auto manufacturer, he’s grown to admire the One Ford philosophy.

“I think as you look at the way things go, I didn't know anybody from Ford, never have dealt with anybody from Ford, but I can tell you from the top down they're very involved in not only our team but the Roush team, the Wood Brothers, Penske group,” Harvick said. “I think as we've gone through this, it does feel like one Ford. That's what they push.

“They take a lot from each team. As we've gone through the year, I think our relationship with especially the Penske side of things has developed. Brad (Keselowski) and myself talk a lot.  Paul (Wolfe, No. 2 Team Penske crew chief) and Rodney talk a lot. Those are the types of things that you need. It's fun. I really appreciate all the support from the top down because they love racing. When you have a group of people that love racing, you put them with a bunch of racers like we have at Stewart‑Haas Racing, (team co-owner) Gene (Haas), Tony, all the employees we have, it's a good fit.”

Team Penske showing marked improvement

And Harvick isn’t the only one benefitting from the speed Ford has found. Without it, there’s no way that Keselowski or teammate Joey Logano would have recovered on Sunday. Keselowski received early damage after contact with Kyle Busch on the first lap, dropped to 39th and fought back to a fifth-place result. He’s still well within the championship hunt. Keselowski is fourth in the standings, 19-points above the cut line. Logano missed qualifying but rallied from the rear of the field to the front only to receive a speeding penalty and sacrificing a seventh-place. 

Team Penske’s technical alliance with Wood Brothers Racing has enabled Ryan Blaney to blossom under the best of circumstances. In his first Playoff appearance, Blaney, 23, has advanced to the Round of 8 and hasn’t finished worse than 11th on intermediate tracks. 

Roush-Fenway Racing—the long-time flagship organization of Ford Performance—enjoyed two wins earlier this year as Ricky Stenhouse Jr., found Victory Lane for the first and second time. Stenhouse, 30, celebrated his breakout season with a Playoff debut and advanced to the Round of 12. 

But Stewart-Haas Racing has overcome the manufacturer switch to score three wins and five poles this season. Kurt Busch kicked off the season by winning the Daytona 500 and won the pole for Sunday’s AAA Texas 500, posting the fastest qualifying lap ever run at a 1.5-mile intermediate speedway. 

Busch led the Ford contingent at Kansas Speedway with a second-place result and finished ninth on Sunday—the fifth Ford among the top 10 drivers. The achievement marked the first time in the Playoff that five Fords placed in the top 10 at an intermediate track.

And that bodes well for Harvick. As the first Ford driver to punch a ticket to the Championship Four at Homestead-Miami Speedway--another 1.5-miler--Harvick is encouraged to know he can outrun — particularly down the stretch. 

“As you get later in the, game, as you wind up with less and less cars, their teams all step up, usually have their best performances of the year as well,” Harvick said. “Hopefully we can keep that rolling. 

“But the mindset is definitely we think we can win, as it was not three months ago. That's just the difference that three months has made.”