Even the brightest star has dark spots covering its burning surface. Kevin Harvick is one of the brightest stars that the NASCAR Cup Series has seen. His stellar achievements include conquering the 2014 Cup season along with his crew chief Rodney Childers like they owned the series. However, even the 63-time Cup race winner has his dark spots in his career, two of which involved Chase Elliott and Kyle Busch.

The current Fox Sports broadcaster hung up his firesuit at the end of 2023. But Kevin Harvick’s treasure trove of stories on the racetrack frequently takes him on walks down memory lane. And some of those walks were not so pleasant – dotting the opposite ends of his career.

The wild side to 4ever champion Kevin Harvick

Well, the former Richard Childress Racing driver made history by introducing his wildness. In 2002, he got into a pit road scuffle with Greg Biffle in Bristol. But what ensued later that season caused a significant wave in the sport. He clashed with Coy Gibbs in a Martinsville Craftsman Truck Series race several times. Things reached a climax when Harvick rammed Gibbs’ truck on the 188th lap, causing him to spin out. It clearly showed Harvick’s desperation, and then, NASCAR suspended Harvick for a race – the first time a driver had incurred such a penalty for rough driving.

This chaotic side to Kevin Harvick shimmered again towards the end of his career. In 2020, the veteran racer was on a fiery streak driving for Stewart-Haas Racing. Harvick won 9 races that year and entered the Martinsville playoff race with a 42-point advantage. But his 2002 incident with Gibbs hung over him on the same racetrack, and desperation overcame him. He struggled in the final laps to enter the Championship 4, and in a last-ditch attempt, he tried to overtake Kyle Busch and push him to the wall. Harvick failed as he finished 17th and Busch fetched 9th – even the latter expressed his disbelief: “It’s hard to fathom.” 

Another unpleasant race ensued with Chase Elliott at Bristol. The animosity sparked off when the two vied for the lead late, and Elliott ended up with a flat tire. Then the Hendrick Motorsports driver took his revenge – impeding Kevin Harvick’s charge against Kyle Larson. Elliott succeeded, and Harvick could not break a year-long winless streak. Several confrontations happened on pit road, with even law enforcement present to break the two off. Harvick was furious, as he raged: “Just chicken s–t. I mean, what else do you say? Throw a temper tantrum like you’re 2 years old because you got passed for the lead and got a flat tire.”

The temper tantrum ensued from Harvick’s side as well, for which he got several certificates during his prime.

Dubbed as a wrestler instead of a racer

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We have witnessed several on-track conflicts in recent years. However, our ‘4ever champion’ created a legacy out of it with some iconic moments. Well, Kevin Harvick was at the center of controversy in NASCAR in 2002. During the Xfinity Bristol race, Greg Biffle wrecked his RCR car during the latter stage. Then Harvick waited atop the pit box patiently for the race to end. He was perhaps inspired by Wrestlemania X8, which aired less than a week before the incident. He leaped from the wall and onto the deck lid of Biffle’s car. Then Harvick grabbed his rival’s collar and engaged in a heated confrontation. Reflecting on this incident years later, Harvick said, “I had a lot of bad influences around me at that time, really that would egg me on to do stuff like that.”

Barely two months later, the Coy Gibbs incident followed at Martinsville. NASCAR’s penalty was seen as redundant by some, but by others, it was a fitting punishment. Kenny Wallace gave a fitting description of Harvick – he was a wrestler. “We’ve all been teasing NASCAR lately that this has been the WWF (World Wrestling Federation), and this sends a message that it’s not.” Veteran racer Ward Burton also said, “He’s lost the respect of a lot of people just from his childish behavior. I’m not going to sit here and say I’m perfect by any means and that I haven’t made mistakes and I haven’t lost my temper, but hell, he loses his every week.”

Evidently, Kevin Harvick harbored a wild reputation a few times in his racing career. Now the seasoned driver can reminisce about them and have a good laugh.