"The first clean day that we’ve had all year" - Kevin Harvick 'positive' despite narrowly missing out on a win at Toyota Owners 400

Stewart-Hass Racing driver Kevin Harvick recorded his first top-three finish of the season at Richmond Raceway, taking the second position behind Denny Hamlin.

The No. 4 Ford driver missed the checkered ground by a few seconds after a tight battle with Denny Hamlin. Since the start of the season, he has only recorded two disappointing finishes, with poor showings at the Daytona 500 and in Atlanta.

During NASCAR’s first short race of the season, Harvick worked his way up from pole seven, battling the likes of Kyle Larson and Martin Truex Jr. to take second place.

On Twitter, Bob Pockrass discussed Harvick's tactics.

Speaking to the media about his runner-up finish, Harvick described the day as a clean race.

“I’m just really proud of everyone in our Mobil 1 Ford Mustang for just staying in there and having a great strategy and doing everything that they did all day.”

He then added:

“It was really the first clean day that we’ve had all year. The cars have been fast and had a shot there at the end. I wanted to be close enough with the white to just take a swipe at him, but the lapped cars kind of got in the way and I lost a little bit of ground. Still, it’s a great day for us and hopefully a little bit of momentum in a positive direction.”

Kevin Harvick's performance in the NASCAR Cup Series 2022 season

The 2014 Cup Series Champion began the 2022 season with a 30th place finish at Daytona International Speedway. Harvick sat in the top-15 with only a few laps remaining to go before he was caught up in a late-race wreck.

As a result of the wreck, he posted his first disappointing finish of the season. Following a bad day in Daytona, Kevin Harvick made a comeback in Las Vegas where he recorded a 12th place finish and his first top-ten finish in Phoenix after finishing sixth.

Kevin Harvick is hoping to secure his first win at Martinsville next weekend.