FORT WORTH, Tex.—After taking Kevin Harvick out of last week’s Martinsville race and relegating the No. 4 car to a 33rd-place finish, Matt Kenseth said Friday morning he wanted to have a face-to-face meeting with Harvick to discuss the accident.
On Lap 228 of 500, Kenseth’s No. 20 Toyota wheel-hopped into Turn 1, spun and collected Harvick’s Chevrolet, which crashed hard into the outside wall at the apex of Turns 1 and 2. Harvick lost 40 laps as his crew repaired the car.
After the race, Harvick made a promise.
“He won’t win this championship,” Harvick said. “If we don’t, he won’t.”
In the week since, Kenseth has been trying to connect with Harvick to mend fences.
“We have tried to connect several times,’” Kenseth said. “It hasn’t happened yet, face-to-face, but we’ve been trying. I will talk to him at some point, (but) I can’t fix the situation.
“It’s kind of like the guy who causes the wreck at Talladega. He feels terrible about it and ruined a lot of people’s days from a mistake he made. Last week, it was the same way. It just unfortunately wrecked Kevin, who was probably the favorite going into the Chase.
“It was terrible timing. It was the wrong place at the wrong time—and I understand his frustration.”
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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