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Kevin Harvick bets on Tyler Reddick to secure back-to-back COTA triumphs
Stephanie Amador / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK

The NASCARV Cup grid is at Circuit of the Americas at Austin for the first Road Course race of the 2024 season.  So far, the season has produced some of entertaining races and close finishes and COTA is expected to produce the same, with multiple ringers in the mix with top teams. 2014 NASCAR Cup champion Kevin Harvick has made his picks for the race.

Kevin Harvick predicted that 23XI Racing’s driver Tyler Reddick, who won the race last season, will yet again be victories. Reddick is one of the best Road Course racers on the grid and he will get one of the best cars from 23XI as well. Reddick has been solid so far this season barring some poor finishes due to bad luck and the ex-SHR driver expects the positive momentum to payoff for him.

Well, my pick was pretty good last week. I’m going with [Tyler] Reddick. I just think that, they’ve been close. I think he knows that that he can win. He’s shown the speed. I think it’s Reddick.

Harvick said via Happy Hour podcast.

Kevin Harvick had a role to play behind Reddick becoming the solid Road Course racer he is now. An incident involving the two in 2020 at ROVAL made the TRD driver to work hard on his skills and he was able to adjust his unique racing style accordingly. Reddick made the revelation recently in an interview with the Harvick.

Kevin Harvick name drops three drivers that could be a factor at COTA

The champion went on to name Ty Gibbs, Shane van Gisbergen and AJ Allmendinger as three possible contenders in the race. Gibbs who is searching for his maiden NASCAR Cup race win is a proven RC racer. While veteran Xfinity Series teammates SVG and AJ are masters of road course racing.

I think Ty Gibbs will be in the mix. You know, we’ve got SVG (Shane van Gisbergen) and [AJ] Allmendinger. So I think it’s going to be an interesting race.

Harvick said.

Some familiar faces would be challengers in the race as well. HMS’s championship winning duo of Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott would be among the drivers to look up to. Front Row Motorsports’ Michael McDowell is going to be the wildcard challenger in the race.

This article first appeared on FirstSportz and was syndicated with permission.

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