BRISTOL, Tenn. - Kevin Harvick expressed his frustration with how the dirt track at Bristol Motor Speedway was prepared for Sunday night’s racing after he was eliminated in a crash.
After Cole Custer and Aric Almirola pitted in the opening laps because mud clogged their grilles and created overheating engine conditions, NASCAR threw a caution for the whole field to pit to clean the grille and windshield on each car.
Harvick contended he should have gotten the free pass but that was awarded to Almirola. Harvick was incensed on the radio and refused to the go back to the tail end of the field until after NASCAR repeatedly ordered him to do so.
“The first thing I can tell you is we did a terrible job prepping the track and full of mud and there was nobody here to pack the track, so we all look like a bunch of bozos coming in to pit because we don’t know how to prep the track,” said Harvick, who has been vocal about not wanting this event to be held on dirt at Bristol. “And then we don’t get the lucky dog for whatever reason with two cars on pit road, and then we got run over. I don’t know who ran us over at the end.”
Here are the questions by the media and Harvick’s responses:
AFTER YOU GOT YOUR LAP BACK DID YOU FEEL LIKE? “I had a great car. The racetrack was fine. They just did a terrible job to start with. They’ve done this before, but, obviously, it doesn’t look like it.”
WILL YOU GO AND TALK TO THEM OR SAY SOMETHING? “You can’t talk to them.”
YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO: “Might be, but if I had my choice we wouldn’t be doing this anyway.”
DO YOU THINK THIS IS SOMETHING THAT’S SALVAGEABLE? “What’s the point, really?”
THE POINT IS SOMETHING DIFFERENT AND GOING BACK TO THE SPORTS’ GRASSROOTS: “I guess the TV ratings will tell that. If the TV ratings are high, it’ll be great.”
