The field was set Thursday night in a pair of qualifying races at the Daytona 500 speedway. Veteran driver Kevin Harvick plans to cash in on his qualifying victory.

Harvick has not won at Daytona in a long time, but he reminded us that he’s one of the top drivers right now in this sport. And that matters heading into Sunday’s big race.

He has not visited victory lane at Daytona in eight years. And a 60-lap qualifier is just enough to send a message.

“It’s been a while. I was telling them earlier it’s been a while, but our cars have been fast enough to win races. We’ve had a lot of wrecked cars at the superspeedway races but a lot of really fast cars,” Harvick said

Harvick is coming off one of the most dominant seasons ever, eight victories. Yet he did not win the series championship. But the 2007 Daytona 500 champion feels he can stay in the front on Sunday. And his starting spot on Row 2 gives him that chance.

“These races are hard to win and I think as you look at the success that we’ve had over the last year on the superspeedway tracks, hopefully that carries over into Sunday,” he said.

Harvick finished third in the NASCAR playoffs last year but stands by the format. He wants to race even better in 2019 and that’s a scary thought for the competition.