CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Kevin Harvick, by all measurable statistics, is a fading star trying to keep pace in a NASCAR that now seems more suited for younger drivers.

He’s 46 years old, after all, and in his 22nd full NASCAR season. Harvick went winless all of last year – he actually hasn’t won since late in the 2020 season – and his 9-year-old son has his own thriving racing career.

A slow start to the season hasn’t helped.

It’s been NASCAR’s younger drivers who have been fastest to adapt to the new Next Gen car, with Harvick among the veterans still trying to figure it out. He and Stewart-Haas Racing finally hit on something last week at Richmond to score their best finish through the first seven races; Harvick ran second to Denny Hamlin.

The Hamlin win snapped a 12-race streak dating to last season of race winners aged 30 or younger, and the 1-2 finish with Harvick showed NASCAR’s veterans have plenty in the tank.