Kevin Harvick responds to Dale Earnhardt Jr. calling out Austin Hill after Darlington drivers meeting

Kevin Harvick wasn’t surprised to see Dale Earnhardt Jr. publicly call out Austin Hill on social media last week for speaking up in the mandatory drivers meeting at Darlington. Harvick spent a lot of time around Earnhardt for years and knows that when he gets fired up about something, he’s going to let you know about it.

“I feel like I know Dale pretty well. And when he gets fired up about something, he turns his filter off. When he’s fired up about something, he’ll go right at it,” Harvick said on Tuesday’s Happy Hour podcast. “He’s got a great sense of humor and personality. And not scared to hit that send button sometimes to let you know how he’s feeling.”

When Earnhardt found out that Hill spoke up at the meeting offering to be a mentor for the younger drivers in the series, he was taken aback: “To hear he spoke up in the Xfinity all drivers meeting to suggest he could be one to mentor the kids was the best laugh I had all week.”

Hill has been called out by his competitors for reckless driving multiple times in the past. He was one of the many drivers who made questionable racing decisions at Martinsville, which resulted in NASCAR calling the meeting before the race at Darlington.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. explains why he publicly called out Austin Hill

Earnhardt expounded on his thoughts about Hill during last week’s “Dale Jr. Download.” The JR Motorsports co-owner took some more light-hearted shots at Hill before clearing the air.

“I heard that Austin Hill had spoken up to offer his time to educate the younger drivers. And had a little fun with that on social media,” Earnhardt said. “The truth of that is [NASCAR executive] Eric Peterson actually reached out to Austin and asked him to be vocal in the meeting. That’s what Austin shared with me. Interesting choice, Eric. I’m just kidding.

“Austin Hill is one of the most aggressive guys in the series. And he had some moments during that Martinsville race where Sammy [Smith] ended up taking the spotlight from him. I’ve raced against him, and he races hard. Sometimes our cars run into each other and sometimes I blame him.”