Kevin Harvick picks HMS’s driver as favorite to win the 2025 NASCAR Talladega playoff race

As the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series schedule heads to Talladega Superspeedway for the eighth race of the playoffs, the NASCAR legend Kevin Harvick has shared his insights and predictions for the 2025 South Point 400, which is set to take place this weekend. He picked the Hendrick Motorsports driver to win Sunday’s (October 19) South Point 400 at Talladega Superspeedway.

On the latest episode of his ‘Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour’ podcast, the 2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion Harvick and his co-hosts, Kaitlyn Vincie and Mamba Smith, dropped their winner’s prediction for the second race of the Round of 8 at Talladega’s 2.66-mile, the largest oval on the schedule.

Kevin Harvick picked Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron to win at Talladega Superspeedway. He believes the #24 Chevrolet has speed and the right equipment to win on Sunday.

“I'm going to go with William Byron,” Kevin Harvick said while picking the driver to win the Talladega playoff race [59:39].

Harvick’s co-host, Vincie, picked Ford driver Ryan Blaney to score his fourth win of the season.

“I want to go with a Ford. And I just want to pick Blaney [Ryan] again because I'm hoping he has some sort of redemption for himself. Yeah. And I think he's a solid choice there. But I thought that last week, too,” she said.

Meanwhile, co-host Mamba Smith picked RFK Racing driver Ryan Preece to win the first race of the season. Smith said while naming his pick:

“Ryan Preece”

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How has Kevin Harvick’s top pick performed at Talladega Superspeedway?

Kevin Harvick’s pick, William Byron, has had a decent record at Talladega’s 2.66-mile-long track. He has scored five top-five and seven top-10 finishes, with an average finish of 13.6 in 15 starts at this track.

After 33 races in the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season, the #24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet driver has managed to score two wins, 10 top-five, and 15 top-10 finishes, and led 970 laps with an average finish of 14.061. He’s currently ranked fifth in the Cup Series championship points table with a 15-point disadvantage in the elimination line.

It will be interesting to see how Harvick and his co-hosts' predicted winners fare at Talladega Superspeedway. Watch the 2025 South Point 400 on NBC Sports and Peacock at 2 p.m. ET. The radio coverage for the Talladega playoff race will be available on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

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Edited by Yash Soni