During the Happy Hour Awards Show, Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour, presented by NASCAR on FOX, took a laugh-out-loud trip down memory lane, spotlighting the season’s funniest moments. One of the fan-favorite categories was “Best Word of the Week,” celebrating Harvick’s hilarious attempts to master Gen Z slang throughout the year.

With nominees ranging from pop culture staples to internet-born slang, the competition was as unpredictable as a superspeedway race. Harvick’s commentary throughout was filled with playful banter, self-deprecating jokes, and a whole lot of laughter.  That’s when Harvick mentioned how he felt while navigating the updated lingos, as it was not the easiest job for him despite being a Cup Series Champion.

Kevin Harvick’s award show reveals the former driver’s vocabulary

Picture this: Kevin Harvick, a seasoned NASCAR veteran, is diving headfirst into the world of Gen Z lingo like it’s his next big race. With his classic mix of confidence and self-deprecation, Harvick turned what could’ve been a cringe-worthy experiment into pure entertainment gold.

On the Happy Hour podcast, Harvick starts off laughing about his trusty guide, Mike, who seemed to relish in Harvick’s missteps. “Mike knows every word, every meaning, every syllable of anything I could possibly say,” Harvick recalls with a grin. “The second I messed it up, he’d pounce, like, ‘What? That’s not how you say that!’ It was hilarious.”

Then, in typical Harvick fashion, he turned to his fans, jokingly throwing down the gauntlet: “You’ve got to start coming up with words for next season because, trust me, I’m gonna need your help. It’ll be here before you know it!”

The highlight reel, though, came during a mock awards segment. As he fumbled through the nominees—“lit, kerfuffle, yeet, and ‘got that dog in him'”—Harvick embraced the chaos, laughing at himself the whole way. When the winner was announced as “lit,” he chuckled, “Let’s go! I picked that too. And let me tell you why. This whole thing started with lit, and honestly, I thought, ‘I’m gonna look like a complete idiot.’ But the more of an idiot I looked like, the more everyone loved it!”

He playfully defended his pick, saying, “You just can’t go against your first. Can’t forget your first, as they say.” But even Harvick couldn’t resist a nod to “kerfuffle,” calling it “a total squire-ism” and marveling that he managed to say it without tripping over his words.

By the end, Kevin Harvick was giving himself a pat on the back. “Did a great job with all these newer words,” he joked. It’s not every day you see a NASCAR champ mastering (or hilariously failing at) urban slang, but Harvick made it clear: sometimes, it’s all about embracing the kerfuffle.

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Another category for the awards show was the “Best Viral Moment” award. With an eclectic list of nominees, including Tyler Reddick’s celebratory moment with Michael Jordan and Jeff Burton’s emotional reaction to his son’s first win, it was a post-race scuffle that took home the title. The now-infamous clash between Kyle Busch and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. at the All-Star Race stole the spotlight—and for good reason.

Recalling the unforgettable scene, Harvick set the stage with a mix of disbelief and humor. “That moment,” he said, “was just unlike any other. Ricky was locked into the race track and waiting behind the hauler… in swim trunks.” Stenhouse Jr., who’d been taken out of contention early after a retaliatory nudge from Busch sent him into the wall, spent the entire race stewing—and plotting.

By the time Busch pulled into the garage, Stenhouse was ready, turning what could’ve been a heated exchange into an outright brawl. The moment even spawned a viral meme featuring journalist Bob Pockrass, cementing it as one of the most talked-about moments of the year. Leave it to NASCAR to turn swimwear and scuffles into legendary internet gold! With that said, what was the most unforgettable moment in the 2024 season for you?