“He’s just so underrated”: Kevin Harvick drops a startling reality check on $45M-worth NASCAR team owner's driver

Former NASCAR Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick recently made his feelings known on the talent Chris Buescher brings to Cup racing. Harvick believes that Buescher, who drives for Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing, is highly underrated despite the consistent results he brings to the team.

Chris Buescher has been part of RFK Racing since $45 million worth (as per Celebrity Networth) Brad Keselowski became a co-owner of the team in 2022. The 32-year-old driver has been extremely consistent in bringing home good results. In his three full seasons with the team, Buescher has secured 19 top-five and 44 top-ten finishes, including 5 race wins. He secured another fifth-place result last Sunday at Phoenix Raceway.

According to Kevin Harvick, while Buescher is not always in contention for victories or leading laps on a Sunday, he is always there, picking up decent results for the team. Harvick also feels that Buescher will win a race or two in 2025 when the team gets everything right on any given weekend. Speaking on his Happy Hour podcast, Kevin Harvick said:

"That guy (Chris Buescher), he is, and we've said it before, I mean he is just so underrated for what he gets out of those cars. I don't believe that was a fifth place car but they keep themselves in contention; he doesn't make a lot of mistakes, he doesn't crash his car a lot and that goes a long way in today's racing world." (23:50 onwards)

"And you know, we talked so much about wins and Laps led, and they aren't doing that but you know, I think there will be a time this year where he's in contention to win some of those races when they nail it all," he added.

With his top-5 result at Phoenix, Buescher has moved up into the tenth spot in the drivers' standings and is currently sitting on 109 points.

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Kevin Harvick discusses Denny Hamlin's future in NASCAR

Denny Hamlin has not won a Cup race in almost a year. His last win came in April 2024 when he crossed the chequered flag first at the Dover International Speedway. The JGR driver came tantalizingly close to winning the Shriners Children's 500 on Sunday at Phoenix but was edged out by his teammate, Christopher Bell, by 0.049 seconds. Kevin Harvick believes that Hamlin is running out of time to win more races and, eventually a championship.

With 54 wins to his name, Hamlin is one of the most talented drivers on the NCS grid. Yet, he has no championships to show for his brilliance on the racetrack. With the recent shakeup in the #11 team (loss of his primary sponsor FedEx and his crew chief Chris Gabehart), there have been some talks concerning his future with Joe Gibbs Racing. Speaking on Hamlin's lost opportunity for his first win in 2025, Kevin Harvick explained:

"I've been in that position that Denny's in. When you know that number is clicking down and you're going through another race that you had an opportunity to win, it's not always we have next year, right? And Denny's running out of opportunities to not only win a championship, but to win races, and he wants to win races, he's capable of winning races..." (19:20 onwards)

With his teammate claiming three consecutive wins in the first four races, Denny Hamlin will be hoping to add a victory to his tally on Sunday at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where the Pennzoil 400 is scheduled to start at 3:30 pm ET.