Kevin Harvick’s post-Dover celebration catches others’ attention
Kevin Harvick had a big celebratory burnout in his car after he dominated Sunday’s race at Dover. Was it a little too exultory?
Harvick burned the rear tires off the car and the back of the car hit the wall while he was celebrating. Harvick said Tuesday that he didn’t have any idea that his car hit the wall.
“I don’t even remember actually hitting the wall. I remember the tires blowing out, but I don’t know if I actually hit the wall,” Harvick said via NBC Sports.
Some drivers weren’t buying that Harvick didn’t have any idea he hit the wall. Kyle Busch sarcastically noted that when you’re doing a burnout you can’t see where you are. According to NBC, he then gave a wink afterwards.
Following the race, Denny Hamlin’s crew chief Dave Rogers noted to Motorsport.com how Harvick’s car had hit the wall.
Why would hitting the wall be an issue to others? Well, it can be a way of skirting a complete post-race inspection. The winner’s car is inspected by NASCAR. With damage, that inspection can be less-than-complete. And Harvick’s car was absolutely the best on the track on Sunday. He led 355 of 400 laps. By winning the race he advanced to the next round of the Chase. Harvick, the 2014 Sprint Cup Series champion, was in danger of missing out on a chance to repeat if he didn’t win the race.
We’re not claiming Harvick did anything on purpose. Drivers have ripped the rear tires off the car before — Joey Logano is very good at doing so. And a driver using the wall to help with a burnout is not unheard of either.
Brad Keselowski noted that drivers intentionally damage their cars after races because of the tech process. NASCAR Vice President Steve O’Donnell said Monday morning on SiriusXM that the sanctioning body had no issue with Harvick’s celebration.
“The cars aren’t teched the same way at the track as they can be teched at the R&D Center,” Keselowski said. “It’s been going on for a long time. I’m not making any accusations. If you look back even 10-15 years ago when they put that funky thing on the roof of the car. It’s not anything new to this sport.”
And yes, Keselowski said he’s done it himself.
“I’ve definitely blown tires out,” he said. “I think every driver has done something to do some kind of damage to their car.”
– – – – – – –
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!
