Kevin Harvick praises NASCAR race manipulation rule addition

Kevin Harvick is glad NASCAR decided to update their policy against race manipulation following some controversial tactics that took place at Martinsville during the Round of 8.

Bubba Wallace, Ross Chastain and Austin Dillon were hit with backlash following the race in Virginia. The No. 23 Toyota wheelman seemingly slowed down to allow manufacturer teammate Christopher Bell to pass him on the final lap, hoping to send Bell to the Championship 4.

It might’ve worked, but Bell rode the wall in the final turn, and NASCAR deemed it a safety violation, penalizing him and sending William Byron to Phoenix to compete for the title instead.

Meanwhile, Wallace wasn’t the only one to commit a questionable act. Chevrolet teammates Chastain and Dillon seemed to create a blockade, which in turn allowed Byron to keep his position on the track and stay ahead of Bell. 

While Harvick didn’t exactly have a problem with what transpired at the time, due to the similarities of the incident to manufacturer manipulation on super-speedway tracks, he believes the rule change will be a tremendous thing for the Cup Series, and allow the racing to be more natural on the track.

“It’s a great rule. I think it’s great to have penalties, to be able to enforce against the OEMs,” Harvick stated, via Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour. “They’ve put themselves in a position to where they have a lot of control, to be able to you know, push the teams in directions that they might not otherwise push themselves in. We hear a lot about it at the speedways. You want it to be as natural as possible.

“… I think after the Martinsville deal and everything that happened there, they just need to back off. They need to back off the teams. You can meet all you want, and have all the plans for the race, but during the race, you need to let them race.”

All told, race manipulation is never a word NASCAR fans and officials alike want to hear when they look back at a result. It makes sense for them to try and nip it in the bud, as the Cup Series playoffs were marred by the incident at Martinsville last season.

It’ll be fascinating to see how the rule is enforced, but Kevin Harvick believes it’s a step in the right direction for the Cup Series, if it all goes according to plan for NASCAR.