Brent Crews has continued to make an impact early on in his NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series career, driving Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 19 Toyota. Despite running only a part-time schedule, the 18-year-old has knocked on the door of Victory Lane with back-to-back runner-up finishes, first at Nashville and then again at Pocono last weekend.
But even with those results stacking up, FOX Sports Analyst and future NASCAR Hall of Famer Kevin Harvick believes the team should not jump the gun and has urged caution before handing Crews an opportunity in the Cup Series.
After securing a career-best second-place finish in one of his best runs yet this past weekend at Pocono, the topic was brought up on Speed with Harvick and Buxton, where Harvick acknowledged Crews’ immense potential but also issued a word of caution to JGR.
Harvick agreed that Crews has lived up to the expectations surrounding him and possesses the ability to eventually compete at NASCAR’s highest level. However, he warned against rushing the process, pointing to Connor Zilisch’s current situation as an example of how difficult the transition to Cup can be.
“I think that he has the talent, and I think that he’s doing exactly what we all thought he would do. But I’m gonna be a little more cautious because of what has happened to Connor Zillich,” Harvick said. “I think that Connor’s in a spot with Trackhouse where everything’s not together for him from the car side to be competitive.”
According to Harvick, while Zilisch has the talent, circumstances outside the driver’s control, including not always having the right equipment or overall package to consistently compete, have made his development more challenging.
He stressed that young drivers shouldn’t be judged too quickly when they encounter setbacks because the Cup Series presents a completely different challenge than anything they have experienced before.
Every step of the NASCAR development ladder prepares drivers for the next level, but once they reach the Cup Series, they essentially have to start learning all over again. The cars drive differently, the competition is tougher, and the demands are significantly higher. Because of that, Harvick believes raw talent isn’t enough.
“When I look at Brent Crews, I feel like he’s kind of in that same category. And driving the Cup car is drastically different than anything that these kids have ever driven in their whole life. Everything that you do, it all feeds right up the ladder all the way until you get to the Cup, and then you got to learn everything all over again.” — Kevin Harvick
The 2014 NASCAR Cup champion argued that maturity, patience, and experience are just as important, noting that young drivers are bound to struggle, crash, make mistakes, and experience inconsistent results before they truly become competitive.
Developing a Cup Series driver is typically a two- to three-year process. During that time, teams must be willing to accept growing pains and allow the driver to learn through real-world race experience.
There is simply no substitute for seat time in a Cup car, as that’s where drivers gain the experience needed to refine their skills and adapt to the series’ unique demands.
Harvick believes Crews is capable of succeeding in the Cup Series, but only if the organization bringing him up is fully committed to a long-term development plan.
Instead of expecting immediate results, the JGR team (or any other team he might end up with) must be prepared to give young talents like Crews the time and patience they need to make mistakes, learn from them, and ultimately reach their full potential.
So far, in his 13 starts in the O’Reilly Series, four fewer starts than the full-time drivers, Brent Crews has finished five races in the top 5 and nine in the top 10, and currently stands at P12 in the standings.
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