Kevin Harvick & Dale Earnhardt Jr Confront the Normalcy of Cheating in NASCAR With Incriminating Confession

Gaining an advantage over your opponent is paramount in racing. The very essence of racing lies in crossing the finish line ahead of your competitors. However, can the desire to win force someone into cheating their way through? In NASCAR, one can. Former driver of the No. 4 Mustang and 2014 Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick has had some experience in this aspect in the past.

The relaxed guidelines in NASCAR have often incentivized drivers and their crews to make illegal tweaks to the cars. One of the many methods to dupe NASCAR officials in a race and gain an undue advantage is through tire bleeding. While the concept of tire bleeding itself isn’t at the center of the controversy, the procedure some drivers have adopted sure is. Joining Dale Earnhardt Jr on his popular podcast, The Dale Jr Download, Kevin Harvick reveals the blatant bypassing of rules in NASCAR.

Kevin Harvick discloses the shady methods drivers used to cheat in NASCAR

Dale Earnhardt Jr and Kevin Harvick are two connoisseurs of the sport. Their years of experience and success are reflected in their words and ambitions, both off-track and on-track. Regarding cheating the system in NASCAR, Junior understands how tough it is to adulterate the car with something illegal. Starting the conversation, the two-time Xfinity Series champion said,

“We all know how hard it is to get something through that tech sh*t. When you get some through, it is to be celebrated.“

NASCAR has tightened its rules over the years and has gradually become stricter. However, it is easier to point out a breach in conduct when it comes to changes made between races, with something like an SMT analysis. With the introduction of Next-Gen cars, NASCAR improved the unsatisfying insulation, mostly due to the inside flow of hot radiator air into the cockpit. At the same time, the removal rate of the hot air was very slow. Prototype Gen-7 cars also faced this problem in their testing days, and it continues to surface occasionally.

Rubber insulation pieces are also an area that drivers have exploited for an advantage. Kevin Harvick explained the reasoning: “We ran so bad at Dover when we’d go up there, we would have, like, remember those shiny insulation pieces that we used to have in the car?”

“We would have multiple of them. Tight-strapped to the drive shaft tunnel, and when you get a caution, or you’re getting ready to lap, just go in there and pull those tight straps loose,. and then the piece would fall out the back.“

Junior was amazed to know about it, as he seemed unfamiliar with the trick. But Harvick spoke soon after about another method of cheating that has been rampant in NASCAR, and officials have also gone hard at tackling the problem.

“We were at California Speedway one time,” continued the Stewart-Haas Racing legend. “We’re winning the race, and we had a red flag. We’re sitting there, red-flagged. I’m waiting to fire the car back up, but I’m like, ‘ Man, feels like our tires are flat.’ They were all flat. All four of them. That was when the hole poking started in the tires with the little bleedholes. Everybody did the hole poking.”

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Tire bleeding has been tough to tackle for NASCAR in the past. While authorities have tried their best to prevent it from happening, the timing of its application has been a shaky matter to deal with. Teams and drivers have also been found guilty of doing so recently.

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In 2015, NASCAR officials claimed to have found eight teams that had used holes to bleed out the tires. Tire bleeding is a technique that uses small holes in the tire that release momentary air slowly. It improves tire durability and traction from the tires on the track. Kurt Busch, Joey Logano, and Kevin Harvick were among the drivers who got their tires confiscated by NASCAR for investigation.

In the event that NASCAR concluded that a driver had bled his tires by poking illegal holes, they were to be fined $125,000 and handed a suspension for six races. In September of this year, the NASCAR community was rocked by another instance of tire bleeding, which made major headlines. In addition, this time, it was modified to bleed out the tire through a valve stem cap.

The tightening of the cap releases air from the tires, making it another illegal entry in NASCAR’s books. ThorSport Racing driver in the Truck Series, Ty Majeski, his crew chief Joe Shear Jr, and the No.98 truck’s pit crew were sanctioned. Majeski had to be docked 75 points from his tally, along with five playoff and owner’s points. Crew chief Shear faced a suspension of 4 races and a $25,000 fine. On top of that, Shear could only return in the championship race at Phoenix.

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While the number of instances has surely decreased over the years, as Ty Majeski’s case showed, teams have devised innovative ways to hide from the scrutiny. NASCAR has always been about giving drivers a fair battleground, and credit goes to them for ensuring it.