Comparison: Kevin Harvick vs. Bill Elliott at 44 wins

Kevin Harvick’s victory at Michigan International Speedway was the 44th of his career in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, tying him with NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott for 17th place all time.

Harvick provides an interesting stats comparison with “Awesome Bill from Dawsonville,” who watched Kyle Busch scoot past him on the all-time wins list earlier this season.

PHOTOS: Bill Elliott’s career

Elliott’s 44th win came in the penultimate race of the 2003 season at Rockingham. Elliott, then 48 years old, led 140 laps in a Ray Evernham Dodge to cap his career, although he’d go on to race 98 more times in NASCAR’s top series over the next nine years — and will return to the NASCAR Xfinity Series later this month at Road America.

Let’s take a look at how Harvick’s career stats match up to Elliott’s at the time of both drivers’ 44th win.

Now, let’s take a closer look at Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch’s career stats, considering both drivers are in the midst of career years — Harvick has seven wins through 23 races this year, and Busch has six wins of his own — and reached the 44-win plateau earlier this season.

The below are both drivers’ stats at the time of their respective 44th win.

Harvick and “Rowdy” clearly are in good company here, and they have a few other NASCAR Hall of Famers in their sights.

Tied with Tony Stewart, Busch’s next Monster Energy Series win will make him just the 13th driver in NASCAR history to win 50 races at the sport’s top level. Harvick, meanwhile, is tracking down NASCAR Hall of Famer Buck Baker (46 wins) on the all-time list.

Here’s a look at the all-time top-20 winners in Monster Energy Series history, with an asterisk denoting an active driver.