Kevin Harvick and Joey Logano have post-Unlimited discussion
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Continuing the theme set during last year’s Chase with the fight at Texas involving Brad Keselowski and Jeff Gordon and their pit crews and the shenanigans at Charlotte with Keselowski, Matt Kenseth and Denny Hamlin there was a post-race discussion after Saturday night’s Sprint Unlimited
Joey Logano pushed Kevin Harvick – on the track and in their cars – as the two headed into turn three on the next-to-last lap. The shove got Harvick’s car wobbly and he brushed the wall and the two fell back.
The drivers were next to each other as they drove on to pit road following the cool-down lap and Harvick moved his car into Logano’s.
After the two parked on pit road following the checkered flag, they had an animated conversation that ended abruptly after Logano was pulled back by a member of his own team. Television cameras appeared to pick up Logano not-so-politely asking Harvick to quit talking. No punches, shoves or headlocks happened, but we’re only explicitly saying that because of the ridiculousness at the end of 2014.
Logano said he understood why Harvick was upset, but wanted to tell Harvick he was simply trying to help with a tactic he used successfully with Truex Jr. He also brushed it off as the 2014 Sprint Cup Series champion being, well, himself.
“That is Kevin just being an instigator just like everywhere else,” Logano said. It is a new year and the same stuff. I was trying to help really, to be honest with you, we had a run and I was pushing. I was doing the same thing with [Truex Jr.] all night and it was working. We got in the corner and he got tight and he got into the fence.
“I was trying to help. He just doesn’t understand I was trying to help. I understand his frustration but I was trying to help out and get to the front and try to win this thing. There are no points or anything like that so you go for the win.”
Harvick, as you may remember, was the driver whose shove incited the melee between Keselowski’s and Gordon’s teams. And in case you were wondering, Matt Kenseth won the race.
Harvick was not a fan of where the two were on the track when Logano was pushing.
“I just told him I didn’t appreciate it,” Harvick said. “You know where you can push and how you can push and how far you can push and you can’t push him all the way in the corner up against the fence … just really dumb driving there at the end. You’ve got to be aggressive but you’ve still got to use your head. You can’t just detach it and lay it on the floorboard.”
Logano apparently drew more than Harvick’s ire. Danica Patrick spoke with him after the race too and he said he didn’t know what it was about.
“I don’t know,” Logano said. “I am confused. I don’t know what going on right now. I am really confused about everything.”
Will any animosity carry over to points races this season or will it be forgotten by Sunday’s qualifying session of the Daytona 500? In this apparent newfound age of public NASCAR confrontation, it’s anyone’s guess.
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
