“Kinda Like Air-Blocking” – Kevin Harvick Reminisces the Dire Consequences of Following Denny Hamlin’s Tactics

Denny Hamlin‘s got a style all his own, and what he does just doesn’t work for everyone else. When others might come off as rude or inconsiderate, it’s just Denny being Denny, especially with his no-filter comments on his podcast. But that’s not what we’re diving into here. This time, it’s about something Denny pulls off on the track. Kevin Harvick tried to mimic the move, but let’s just say, it didn’t go too well for him.

There’s no one like Denny Hamlin

Teams and drivers often use code words during races so that no one else can catch on to their strategies. For example, at the latest race in Kansas, during the final restart, Denny Hamlin looked set to repeat his victory from last May. He was leading and saving fuel during the final laps. But a late caution flag threw a wrench in the works. Like most of the lead pack, Hamlin opted for a quick two-tire stop. But he didn’t have the finish he hoped for, ending up fifth.

On the radio, when Hamlin heard they were going for two tires, the code word “vegetable” came through. “It was the best call, for sure. I just thought some cars would stay out and we’d end up losing to cars that stayed out,“ he admitted later. And that seems to be quite a usual thing for him. Meanwhile, once when Kevin Harvick tried to pull the same slick move to keep his strategy under wraps, he found himself stuck and unable to capitalize.

Recently on NASCAR on Fox, Kevin Harvick shared a funny pit story about code words. He said, “The one time we used code words. Forgot to tell me to uncover the code words. So, they’re like that’s not helping so if they were yelling ‘Vegetable’ with me on the radio, I’m like, ‘What in the hell are they talking about a vegetable?’ They’re like, ‘Oh you got to uncover your words! Uncover your words!’ And then they got frustrated and the pit crew didn’t know so they were calling for two tires and the pick crew changing four tires. And that was the last time the first and only time that we used code words.”

He also mentioned that while lots of teams use them, “It’s kind of entertaining how they come up with it. I think it’s kinda like air blocking right? It’s they learn okay and I think that the strategy of the code words and making sure that nobody knows your strategy and having your own scenario only known by your team they just evolve the teams get smarter they get more efficient they do things differently.”

Pit road mix-ups aren’t anything new, though. Remember last year at Darlington Speedway when Kevin Harvick was gearing up to hit pit road right as Tyler Reddick was? Just then, the caution flag went up for Newman, who got spun out by car #45. Harvick’s crew ended up servicing his car when he wasn’t supposed to be in the pits at all, which got him a penalty and a restart from the back. Turns out, Kevin Harvick doesn’t even need code words to find trouble on pit road.

And well, it was again the pit road issue itself that cost Martin Truex Jr the Kansas win as well. Recently Kevin Harvick outlined the failed strategy that ultimately led him to finish P4 at Kansas.

Kevin Harvick dished on the blunder that cost Martin Truex Jr and his team at the Kansas race

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It seems like poor Martin Truex Jr just can’t catch a break, with those last-minute restarts always snatching victory right out of his hands. At the Kansas Speedway on Sunday night, during the AdventHealth 400, Truex was all set with four fresh tires for the overtime, gunning it to a fourth-place finish from way back.

Harvick weighed in, saying, “Two tires was definitely the the strategy to win the race with no caution or or anything there. But it got mixed up right off the bat. Kyle Larson knew he had to mix things up right off the bat. And he put put Denny three wide and that kind of started the cycle of all the passing and and putting themselves in position.”

Truex rolled off the pit in 10th and decided to restart on the outside of the fifth row, which kept him in 10th. By the white flag, he was duking it out for third with his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott, managing to pass them both in Turns 1 and 2.

But as they zoomed off the final corner toward the checkered flag, Truex looked like he might overtake the leaders, Kyle Larson and Chris Buescher. Instead, it ended in a photo finish between those two, with Truex getting edged out at the line by Chase Elliott, who was right beside him down the home stretch. That final caution might have been what threw off Truex’s game and changed the endgame of that 402-mile race.