Kevin Harvick says he doesn't feel need to defend his Talladega actions
Kevin Harvick spoke at length on Tuesday about the events on the final restart at Talladega and said he doesn't think he has to defend what he did as the field attempted to get up to speed.
Harvick's engine was wounded in the late laps and he pulled up high on the non-restart that was aborted because of a crash before the start/finish line. On the second restart, he moved to the right again, though not as dramatically. As he did, he made contact with Trevor Bayne and Bayne's car went spinning.
The crash ended the race and meant the 2014 Sprint Cup Series champion advanced to the third round of the Chase.
"You know, look, I didn't cause the first wreck," Harvick said about the non-restart that didn't happen because Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Larson went spinning. "I definitely don't believe that I caused the second wreck either. It's just one of those situations where I did the best I could on the restarts to get going. I got out of the way. I never even really saw [Bayne] until he was by me and doing what he was doing."
Harvick also said he was hoping another driver would give him a push on the restart.
Multiple drivers, including Bayne, said they believed Harvick caused the wreck intentionally. A crash to freeze the field was his best hope of staying in the position he was in (he finished 15th). Had the field accelerated to full speed, Harvick's car would have been unable to keep up and he could have fallen to the last car on the lead lap. And subsequently out of the Chase.
NBC published scanner talk from the cars around him on the restart. Here's what Bayne and his spotter and crew chief had to say during the restart
Kraft: “Now the 4 is saying he’s not going to do the same because he’s on the verge of the Chase deal.’’
Bayne: “Well, what am I supposed to do?’’
Crew chief Bob Osborne: “If (Harvick) lays back, NASCAR needs to do something about it. Tell the spotter official up there the same thing.’’
Kraft: “Just got to see about the 4. I’ll let this official up here know.’’’
Kraft: “Just got to see what (Harvick) does here. Timmy (Fedewa, spotter for Harvick) don’t know. He thinks they might get out of the way. He’s not sure. They’re right on the verge. 20 (Matt Kenseth) will be on the bumper.’’
Bayne: “As long as the 20 knows the situation.’’
Coming to the restart, Kraft says: “Just be heads up on the 4 if he’s real slow. We’re just going to change lanes before the stripe or go back to 20th with him.’’
Kraft: “Be ready. 10 away (from restart zone). Five away. Ready, green, green, green. Rolling. Go up. Keep rolling, keep rolling, keep it. That’s exactly what he was hoping for. He was trying to wreck the field so he’s in the Chase.’’
Kraft: “Are you all right Trev?’
Bayne: “No!’’
Bayne: “He pushed me.’’
Later, Bayne says: “Harvick turned right and wrecked the crap out of me. I’m ticked.’’
Kraft: “He did it on purpose. Timmy told me that they were hoping for a yellow. He didn’t tell me they were going to wreck half the field to get one.’’
"I don't need to defend myself," Harvick said. "Here's the deal. If those guys were in the same situation, and their car would still function, it's like a football player. If his knee's blown out and he's playing in the Super Bowl, he's going to try to play as long as he can.
"We maintained the speed on the caution. If all the circumstances would have been different, it might have had a different outcome. Those guys have been throwing stones all year, so you just go on with it."
NASCAR said Tuesday that it found no evidence of shenanigans on the restart; Harvick (or anyone else) wasn't penalized for his actions. And if it had, how could it have penalized him after NASCAR chairman Brian France called Joey Logano's Kansas bump "quintessential NASCAR" and the sanctioning body didn't penalize Ryan Newman when he shoved Kyle Larson into the wall for a spot in the final round in the Chase last season.
Harvick also had this to say when asked about the possibility of being black-flagged before the restart. On the aborted restart his car was considerably slower than the rest of the field as others accelerated.
Since NASCAR froze the field after the non-restart, he got his spot back in line for the one that ended up counting. He said he had gotten out of the way on the first attempt because of the wreck including Johnson and Larson.
"I didn't have an oil leak," Harvick said. "My car was still maintaining speed. It's like I got a dagger in my side, but I can still walk. You know what I mean?"
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
