Kevin Harvick, known both for his 2014 NASCAR Cup Series championship and his insight as a commentator, has made his Kevin Harvick COTA race prediction for the upcoming DuraMAX Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas (COTA), choosing a specialist in road courses as his pick for victory. During his podcast, Harvick named Shane van Gisbergen of Trackhouse Racing as his frontrunner for the 2026 event scheduled for Sunday, March 1.
Kevin Harvick and Co-Hosts Share Their DuraMAX Grand Prix Picks
On a recent episode of the “Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour” podcast, Harvick joined co-hosts Kaitlyn Vincie and Mamba Smith in previewing the season’s opening road course race at COTA. Harvick was quick to spotlight Shane van Gisbergen, commonly known as SVG, a driver with a strong background on road circuits. All six of van Gisbergen’s career Cup Series victories have come on road courses, solidifying his reputation as a specialist in this racing format. Harvick’s direct prediction highlighted his confidence: “I’ll take SVG.” [53:50]
Co-host Kaitlyn Vincie echoed Harvick’s selection, also expressing faith in van Gisbergen’s potential to secure his first victory at COTA. On the other hand, Mamba Smith diverged in his prediction and chose Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell, the reigning winner of this event, as his favorite for the weekend’s race.
“I really want to go, Connor. So far, when he’s run the cup races, it just hasn’t been. I also want to go to RFK car because they have been putting up one of the best fights, but I haven’t seen it at COTA. So, I’m going to go with a known commodity of what I know. Chris Buescher, Ryan Priest, road courses. Did you not remember what they did last year? They had speed. I’m just going to go with the #20 of Christopher Bell. I think it’s kind of low hanging fruit”
Smith said.—Mamba Smith, Co-Host
Road Course Ringer Shane van Gisbergen’s COTA Record
Despite his road course success, Shane van Gisbergen has yet to clinch a win at the Circuit of the Americas. He has only two starts at this track, finishing sixth and twelfth, respectively. In last year’s Grand Prix, van Gisbergen began and ended in sixth place. Over the course of the race, he demonstrated impressive performance by leading for 23 laps, earning 14 stage points, and rallying from an incident that saw him drop to eleventh before ultimately recovering to finish in the top six.
Entering this year’s race, van Gisbergen has shown mixed results in recent events—placing thirtieth at the season-opening Daytona 500 and sixth in Atlanta. Nonetheless, he sits at the top of the odds boards, being the current favorite at +100 to take his first COTA NASCAR Cup Series victory.
Expectations for the 2026 DuraMAX Grand Prix
With Kevin Harvick and Kaitlyn Vincie backing Shane van Gisbergen while Mamba Smith places his hopes on Christopher Bell, anticipation continues to build for the second race of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season at COTA. Fans will be watching closely to see if van Gisbergen can translate his road course expertise into a breakthrough win at Circuit of the Americas or if Bell can defend his title for Joe Gibbs Racing. The action is set to unfold on FOX at 3:30 pm ET, promising an intriguing contest among NASCAR’s best road racers.
