Kevin Harvick Deciphers NASCAR’s Questionable Decision to Give Back Kyle Busch’s Position

The Nashville race mounted one of the strangest weekends in NASCAR’s Cup schedule. While initially, the race unfolded without much incident, the latter part called forth a slew of curious updates. A domino of cautions kicked off due to the extraordinary humidity and wet tracks.

But strange incidents call for even stranger decisions. Kyle Busch was running well for the first time in ages until a caution hit him. Yet NASCAR gave him the green light, drawing flak from peers. Kevin Harvick carefully analyzed the situation, taking his old rival’s side.

Kevin Harvick explains NASCAR’s curious move

NASCAR has often triggered the critical radar of fans for their rules. Most recently, Kyle Larson got a waiver for missing the Coca-Cola 600. While Hendrick fans rejoiced, others were deeply upset about the decision. Kyle Busch has joined the foray with an incident at the Nashville Superspeedway.

On the second of the Ally 400’s record five overtime restarts, Larson hit the left rear of Ross Chastain’s car. The No. 1 Chevy then shot sideways into the wall, approaching Busch’s No. 8. Rowdy slowed and hit the wall as well, as the field passed him. Soon though, the Richard Childress Racing driver regained his earlier 4th running spot. In light of a wave of scrutiny regarding this bizarre decision, NASCAR’s director cleared the air recently.

And, now, Kevin Harvick has explained the executive decision on the ‘Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour’ episode that aired on July 2nd. “The reason that they want the rule this way is that they don’t want people speeding through the wrecks under caution.” He added, “So if you have to slow down like Kyle Busch did to keep from continuously hitting the car in front of him…was dead sideways in front of him. He didn’t stop. He went up, scrubbed the wall, slowed down…So he just slowed down and they gave him his spot back.”

Kevin Harvick conceded to the general debate and admitted that this rule was a head-scratcher. “It’s kind of a strange rule.” Yet he cemented his argument: “But the reason they don’t worry about you slowing down is because they don’t want people driving through that wreck faster than they need to and hitting cars unnecessarily.”

Eventually, Kevin Harvick passed his personal verdict. He gave old Cup rival Kyle Busch brownie points for his on-track restraint. “So, weird scenario, but I’m not 100% sure that that was the wrong call…based on the current rule.” He may be rooting for the competitor with whom he has clashed several times in the past. But Busch’s present adversaries were not so happy with NASCAR’s decision.

23XI owner-racer debated the situation

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In a caution-filled Nashville race, tensions were heated during the last laps. The front row experienced the maximum emotions, as Denny Hamlin, Larson, and Chastain came dangerously close to securing a win. So when Busch found his way back to irritate them even after the wreck, Hamlin was miffed. “At the moment, I’m upset at the time because we’re taking forever under caution,” he said on the ‘Actions Detrimental.’

However, 23XI driver Tyler Reddick took the middle ground, contrary to his team owner. He could not complain much, given his personal gain from the strange scenario. Reddick said, “I was fighting my own battle to get back where me and my team believed that I was before the caution. And I saw the eight go by, right side’s ripped off of it and they gave him his spot back in the honor of consistency, I guess. I benefitted from it, so I guess I personally can’t really be too upset about it.”

Even after NASCAR lent a helping hand to Rowdy, he could not take advantage of it as Kyle Larson soon collected him in a fatal wreck. However, the No. 8 Chevy’s pace was remarkable, and Kyle Busch may be close to snapping his drab streak after all.