CONCORD, N.C.: For a while during Sunday’s Bank of America ROVAL 400 at the Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway, it appeared Kevin Harvick would barely edge his way into the next round of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs with controversary.
However, an accident in Turn 1 on Lap 99 eliminated Harvick from the race and the opportunity to contend for his second Cup Series championship.
But it wasn’t the Lap 99 incident that grabbed the headlines, it was a tango with reigning Cup Series champion Chase Elliott that had the potential to end the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports team’s playoff bid.
On Lap 55 in Turn 8, Harvick nudged Elliott into the wall causing heavy rear-end damage to his No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro.
Elliott then spun in Turn 9 after contact with Cole Custer.
Quickly it was evident that the contact appeared intentional and payback from the recent Playoff race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway last month where the two drivers clashed vying for the race lead.
Elliott had a flat tire and had to pit, while Harvick took the lead.
Ultimately, Elliott held Harvick up in lap traffic and it allowed Elliott’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson to slip by and deny Harvick an opportunity to end his year-long winless streak and automatic advancement to the Round of the 12.
After heated words were exchanged between the two Bristol post-race, Harvick insisted that their feud was not over.
The ROVAL cutoff proved that.
Elliott had to spend a majority of the latter part of the race in recovery mode and a yellow flag after losing the rear-bumper of his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro not only kept him on the lead lap – but allowed him to pit for service and rejoin the race at the rear of the field.
From the Lap 90 restart to Harvick’s incident at Lap 99, allowed Elliott to find himself on the bumper of Harvick’s Ford Mustang where Harvick said he locked up the front brakes entering Turn 1 and creamed the wall, destroying his No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang.
With Harvick out, Elliott would charge on to finish 12th with a mangled race car and a spot in the penultimate round of the Cup Series Playoffs.
After being evaluated and released from the infield care center, Harvick talked about the crash.
“I just pushed it in there too hard and I got the tire locked up and I couldn’t stop it once I felt like I needed to go to get a couple spots back that I had lost, and I got the left-front locked up and I couldn’t get it to turn,” offered Harvick.
When pressed about whether his nudge to Elliott was retaliation, Harvick said, “Sometimes real life teaches you good lessons and then added, “You remember Bristol.”
After the race, Elliott offered a straight-face deadpan response on Harvick’s troubles. “As far as Kevin (Harvick) goes, just want to wish them a merry offseason and a happy Christmas.”
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
