It took nearly all day Friday, but Kevin Harvick and Jimmie Johnson finally commented about the shoving match that took place at Chicagoland Speedway last Sunday. Both drivers avoided making any comments for most of the day Friday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway instead focusing on fans and their respective cars during the first practice.
However, both drivers finally met with the media after Friday afternoons qualifying session and each spoke separately about the on-track and subsequent off track meetings a week prior. It all started on a restart after a caution on lap 133 at Chicagoland Speedway. Harvick was on the inside line starting second when Johnson, who got a big push from fifth place Joey Logano, drove under Harvick and onto the apron as the field raced towards turn 1. Johnson came back onto the track and his Chevy made contact with the Chevy of Harvick. On lap 137 the left rear tire blew as Harvick was entering turn 3. The Chevy spun backwards and made hard contact with the wall bringing out the caution. After repairs, Harvick returned to the race but finished 42nd over 50 laps down. Johnson finished the day 11th. Harvick left Chicago, 16th, last place in the NASCAR Chase. He was only elevated to 15th this week after NASCAR penalties took 25 points from Clint Bowyer.
After the race Johnson went to Harvick’s motorhome. MORE>>>
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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