FORT WORTH, Texas – With the current emphasis on staying connected through social media, it’s hard to find a cell phone-free zone, but that’s what Kevin Harvick encountered during a Thursday visit to the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club.
Cell phones aren’t allowed on the course during tournament rounds.
“We were talking about the trip this morning,” Harvick told the NASCAR Wire Service after qualifying second for Sunday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway (2 p.m. ET, FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). “Everything around here is about trying to figure out who’s better on social media and connect on social media. And (there) they take your phone away.
“You can’t get on the property with your phone, and nobody’s worried about taking pictures. Everybody is engaged in the event and it’s sold out every day. That’s intriguing, just because of the fact of how everybody else is thinking in every other sport. It’s one of those niche situations. It’s outside of reality. It’s refreshing. You don’t even think about it because you don’t have it – that being your phone.”
With three professional golfers under his management umbrella – Jason Gore, James Hahn and Chesson Hadley – Harvick has a bested interest in the sport. In a global sense, he believes Chase Elliott could impact NASCAR racing the way Tiger Woods moves the needle in golf – provided Elliott can string together some victories.
“The guy that has the most potential is Chase Elliott with the traditional NASCAR fans,” Harvick said. “It’s just like when (we) talk; you have to win. There’s a difference between a superstar and a megastar. In the past, a superstar wasn’t a megastar because of the fact that he didn’t win enough. Chase Elliott is the next guy that can be a megastar – but you have to win.”
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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