Kevin Harvick picks Team Penske star driver as a favorite to win the 2025 Talladega Cup race
2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick has dropped his insights and predicted the winner for the 2025 Jack Link's 500, which is set to take place next weekend at Talladega Superspeedway. The NASCAR Cup Series is off for this week. Harvick picked the Team Penske star driver to win Sunday’s (April 27) Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
On the latest episode of his own ‘Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour’ podcast, Harvick and his co-hosts, Kaitlyn Vincie and Mamba Smith, dropped their winner’s prediction for the Talladega Spring race ahead of the only off weekend this season.
Former NASCAR Cup Series champion-turned-commentator Harvick picked Ryan Blaney to win at Talladega Superspeedway. Harvick picked him, considering his strong record at the “Biggest and Baddest” track. Blaney headed to the NASCAR off weekend with back-to-back top-five finishes.
Picking the driver to win the 2025 Jack Link’s 500, Kevin Harvick said [45:20]:
“I will take Blaney.”
Harvick’s co-host, Kaitlyn Vincie, named Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron to win his second race of the season.
“Okay, I am taking Byron,” Vincie said.
Meanwhile, co-host Mamba Smith picked Chase Elliott to clinch his first win of the season this weekend. Smith said:
“My bet is I am going Chase Elliott. I think Daytona was really good for them. They put themselves in a good position to think quietly lately. It's been quiet. They need a little bit of a shot to the arm and need some steam.”
Ryan Blaney has a solid record at the Talladega Superspeedway and is indeed a prime candidate to take the checkered flag at the upcoming race.
How has Kevin Harvick’s top pick performed at the Talladega Superspeedway?
Kevin Harvick’s pick, Ryan Blaney, has had a strong record at the Talladega Superspeedway, securing three wins, two runner-up finishes, six top-five finishes, and eight top-10 finishes, with an average finish of 15.9 in 21 races.
After nine races in the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season, the #12 Ford Penske driver has amassed one pole, three top-5s, and four top-10 finishes and led 198 laps with an average finish of 16.6 in nine races so far. He’s sixth in the Cup Series points table with 275 points.
The 2023 NASCAR Cup champion has been in good momentum and will look to win his first race of the season where the series returned at Talladega.
It will be interesting to see how Kevin Harvick and his co-hosts' predictions fare at Talladega Superspeedway. Watch the Jack Link’s 500 on FS1 at 3 pm ET. The radio coverage of the event will be available on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.