Crew chief Rodney Childers explains why he had Kevin Harvick pit after late caution at Darlington

Last night was Kevin Harvick’s race to lose with less than 100 laps to go. He had a rocket of a car, then that thing on pit road happened. Harvick tried to undercut Tyler Reddick by a lap and go to pit road early. Reddick reacted, Ryan Newman hit him and spun out, and the caution flew…before the NASCAR veteran made the pit road line.

Just feet from the commitment line in the Southern 500, Kevin Harvick didn’t make it onto pit road in time. However, in the scramble and heat of the moment, his team didn’t know that. So, they pitted. The only issue is, he didn’t make the line in time, so he had to start at the rear of the field on the restart.

Had Harvick just done a pass-through instead of pitting, he would have lost track position, but not like he did after the penalty.

Fans wanted to know why the team pitted. From home, it was clear that he didn’t make it. However, as Rodney Childers explained on Twitter today, that isn’t so cut and dry.

Correct, but in those 15seconds we didn’t know if we made the light or not. So the safe bet was to pit, so if you made the light you would be the leader.
Driving thru, and then finding out we made the light would be even more of a disaster. https://t.co/snCqukQ7Ad

— Rodney Childers (@RodneyChilders4) September 4, 2023

Basically, they gambled. Either you come out on top of the lineup with a refreshed Ford Mustang, you bite the bullet and pass through to lose track position only to find out you could have pitted, or what actually happened – pit and get a penalty.

If you knew you didn’t make the light, yes the correct thing to do is drive thru and start about 15th. And maybe finish 7th or 8th.
But if you think you maybe made the light, you pit and stay the leader and in control of the race.
Your trying to win, that’s the goal. https://t.co/29ZZ09XjCB

— Rodney Childers (@RodneyChilders4) September 4, 2023

For a winless No. 4 team, the gamble was very much worth it. Kevin Harvick looked like he was going to earn this final win in his final season and it disappeared in an instant.

Kevin Harvick falls down playoff standings

Things were not great to start for Kevin Harvick this playoff season. He came in 15th out of the 16-car field. While that position did improve by one spot, he had a win in his grasp. At the very least, he had a top-5 lined up and ready to go before that disastrous penalty.

While other drivers improved their standing in the points, Harvick struggled to keep the pace once he fell back. When it was said and done, Harvick had himself a top-20 finish, somehow, and made the most of his night. You can’t help but wonder, what if?

So, two points below the cutline and 12th place Christopher Bell, what is next for Harvick? Kansas is a track he should contend for a win at again. He has to be perfect though, and hope that something like this doesn’t happen again. I doubt it will, it was such a specific and random set of circumstances.

Kevin Harvick and Rodney Childers have had their backs against the wall before. This future Hall of Fame duo will not be giving up as they pursue a victory this postseason.