Kevin Harvick shows critical concern for Ty Gibbs, Joe Gibbs Racing after latest engine issue

Ty Gibbs was the victim of another Joe Gibbs Racing engine issue on Sunday during the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Kevin Harvick pointed out that it feels like we’ve seen this movie before, with JGR and Toyota, and it’s something Gibbs and company need to figure out before the playoffs begin, as he explained on the latest episode of Harvick’s Happy Hour.

“I just feel like that, and we’ve seen this before with, you know, the engine group at Toyota, when you have these moments, you have to be on edge, because we’ve seen it happen in the playoffs, and now we’ve had four of these moments, that we know of, that have happened, in a pretty short amount of time. So, there’s obviously an issue there,” Harvick explained. “You’re going to have to shift. There’s going to be high RPM racetracks. You’re going to have to go to these places. You shift pretty much everywhere that you go, except for the speedways, and so these engine issues are a huge concern for me as you go into the playoffs, because it seems like they could pop up at any moment. You know, with whatever’s happening to the engines.

“We saw him raise the hood. … You hear them reference the engine issues on the radio, and they say they’ll talk about it next week. So, I’m concerned. We were concerned last week, and now I’m even more concerned because here it is, again.”

Additionally, Harvick’s co-host Mamba Smith made a good point as well, harkening back to the fact that the 2024 Cup Series championship-deciding race will be at Phoenix, and you can’t get away with shifting trouble in the desert.

“The problem is too, the biggest race, even if you make it to the championship, even if you make it a Phoenix, if your Achilles heel is the shifting race tracks, well, the last one, the one that matters the most is Phoenix, and you’ve got to do it there a lot,” Smith stated. “I think all their cars, almost, have had it. Like, it’s been random. It’s not like the same car.” 

Harvick ended the segment with a classic quip: “They’ve got the maypop strategy right now. He may pop at any moment.”

That perfectly encapsulates what Joe Gibbs Racing is going through, and their frustrations in 2024. Kevin Harvick and the rest of the NASCAR Cup Series will be keeping a close eye on if the team can right their troubles before the playoffs begin later this season.