NASCAR’s no stranger to whispers of favoritism, and fans love to point fingers. The “Golden Boys” bias is a classic, stars like Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the 2000s or Chase Elliott today get the spotlight, and a late caution flag often sparks cries of “NASCAR wants them to win.” Elliott, the Most Popular Driver since 2018, can’t catch a break from the memes whenever a yellow flag seems to gift him a shot at victory.

Then there’s the manufacturer bias, Chevy, Ford, or Toyota supposedly taking turns as NASCAR’s darling. Back in the ’90s, Ford caught heat for favorable templates, while Toyota’s Camry dominance with Joe Gibbs Racing in the mid-2010s had fans grumbling about unfair edges. Even with wind-tunnel testing to level things, the conspiracy theories persist.

And don’t get fans started on the schedule. Some swear NASCAR pushes superspeedways like Daytona over gritty short tracks like Martinsville, chasing TV drama over tradition. The North Wilkesboro revival in 2023 eased some gripes, but the debate rages on. Now, Kevin Harvick’s pointing at another hot topic: a playoff schedule that seems stacked in Team Penske’s favor, just as the 2025 postseason looms.

Harvick believes the Schedule is biased

On the latest episode of his Happy Hour podcast, Kevin Harvick didn’t hold back, “When you look at the playoff races, I mean half the tracks are pro-Penske with the places that they can perform well. And you know they’ve been good at Kansas. They’ve been good at Vegas. You show up at Richmond, they got three cars in the top five.”

Harvick’s got a point. Team Penske’s track record at these venues is hard to ignore. Joey Logano’s three Las Vegas wins, including a clutch 2022 victory that fueled his second Cup title, show their strength on 1.5-milers. Ryan Blaney’s 2023 Kansas win and Brad Keselowski’s multiple victories there before leaving Penske only cement their dominance. And Richmond? Penske just flexed with Blaney, Logano, and Austin Cindric finishing third, fourth, and fifth last weekend, proving they’re a force on short tracks too.

Harvick kept going,  “You just can’t never count these guys out. Logano has the trouble in practice here. He has a flat tire in the race and still finishes in the top five. And from what he said after the race, a car that was capable of winning the race and those guys have been dominant at St. Louis.”

Logano’s resilience at Richmond, spinning in practice, battling a flat tire, yet still landing fifth, shows why Penske’s a playoff nightmare. Logano himself admitted his No. 22 Ford had race-winning speed, echoing his clutch performances in championship years. Penske’s knack for turning chaos into results is a pattern, with Logano’s 2018 and 2022 titles built on late-season surges rather than all-year dominance.

Then there’s World Wide Technology Raceway (Gateway), another Penske playground. Logano won its first Cup race in 2022, outdueling Kyle Busch in overtime. Blaney and Cindric have shone there too, with Cindric snapping an 86-race drought by winning in June 2024.

Gateway’s flat, technical layout plays to Penske’s engineering precision, and Harvick’s not blind to it. “It’s that time of year where the Penske cars show back up, and here they were at Richmond,” he said. Blaney’s been climbing since summer, Cindric’s found his groove, and Logano’s playoff pedigree makes them a threat. Penske’s triple top-five at Richmond wasn’t a fluke, it’s a warning shot for the playoffs.

Harvick laughs off Larson’s movie gripes

The Happy Hour podcast took a lighter turn when Harvick tackled Kyle Larson’s recent comments about Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. Larson, appearing on Julian Edelman’s Games With Names podcast, claimed the Will Ferrell comedy gave NASCAR a bad rap, “I liked the movie. I think it did not do anything good for our sport. I think it turned our sport into like a joke, unfortunately. That’s gotta be one of the most popular racing movies. But I feel like the rest of the world, that’s what they think of our sport now.”

Larson’s got a point, Ferrell’s over-the-top Ricky Bobby character isn’t exactly a love letter to NASCAR’s technical side. But Harvick wasn’t buying it. “I thought it was hilarious. I liked it,” he said on Happy Hour, chuckling at Larson’s take. His co-host Mamba Smith jumped in, “I think that it’s time for us to have another serious movie. Days of Thunder 2 would be nice.” Harvick, ever the contrarian, pitched a different idea, “Talladega Nights 2.” He even revealed he’s moving into the actual house used as Ricky Bobby’s in the film, joking, “I know where we could re-enact the scene.”

Meanwhile, Larson’s got Hollywood dreams, mentioning a chat with Jeff Gordon about a Days of Thunder sequel. Larson wants a cameo, inspired by real NASCAR cameos from Richard Petty and Rusty Wallace in the 1990 original. Harvick’s playful pushback shows he’s fine with NASCAR poking fun at itself, even as Larson worries about the sport’s image.