Kevin Harvick defends Kyle Larson after Darlington disaster

Kyle Larson has had some success at Darlington in the past, but this past weekend’s trip to South Carolina only brought frustration. It was an afternoon to forget for the former NASCAR Cup Series champion, as he wrecked multiple times, and because an unwanted center of attention late in the race.

With Ryan Blaney leading late in the race, Larson spun and brought out a caution at the worst possible time for the Team Penske wheelman. That led to many wondering why Larson was even on the track in the first place after an earlier wreck, and Kevin Harvick tried to make sense of it all during the latest episode of Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour.

“We didn’t really get it. I think that’s part of the reason why he wanted the car back on the racetrack, to be able to change the tires and, you know, see if anything was going to stick out with the new pit crew, and putting the body back on the car and making the repairs to the car. There are a number of boxes that they could check along the way, to be able to say this was beneficial for the No. 5 team, to put this car back together and put it on the racetrack, including the pit crew,” Harvick stated.

“Now at one point during the day, I saw the No. 7 car [Justin Haley] backing up on pit road, back into his pit stall to tighten the lug. So, the swap with the No. 7 and the No. 5, the No. 5 now being on the No. 7, the No. 7 had the lug nut issue this week. We’ve seen some of those, and we’ve talked about some of those catastrophic failures that the No. 5 team has had on pit road, with the wheel coming off at COTA. We saw it last year towards the end of the year, same thing happening. So, I think that was probably some of the decision. Fast crew, just those big mistakes at the wrong time.”

Evidently, Harvick believes Larson was looking to learn whatever he could, even if he was destined for a near-last-place finish. Additionally, the No. 5 team was hoping to give their pit crew an extended opportunity to gel, and that explains why they made such an effort to return to the race.

If Kyle Larson didn’t spin in the final laps, perhaps Ryan Blaney would’ve lifted the trophy at the end of the Goodyear 400. There won’t be much love between the two drivers in the coming weeks, and Kevin Harvick will be ready to break down any drama that may ensue moving forward.