‘Something Was Afoul’ – Hendrick Motorsports Insider Acquits Kevin Harvick Whilst Throwing Shade at Tony Stewart’s Garage

To say that Kevin Harvick is not having a fairytale end to his career would be an understatement. The veteran racer has not won a single race so far this year and was eliminated from the playoffs in the round of 16. There are many who point their fingers at the veteran, stating that he has lost his touch. But according to one Hendrick Motorsports insider, Harvick is not the problem.

In the last round of 16 race at Bristol, Harvick could only manage a 29th place finish which saw him getting knocked out of contention for the next round. The 2014 Cup Series champion had a relaxed air about him even before the race started. He said there were some things that he had no control over. What he meant was the non-competitive car that his team, Stewart-Haas Racing, fielded for the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series.

HMS insider slams Tony Stewart’s 2023 Cup Series car

Tony Stewart’s miseries seemed to be unending throughout the course of the season. Not one of their cars was up to the mark in 2023 and Harvick was the only one of four drivers to even make it through to the playoffs.

Despite all the issues, Kevin Harvick, with his skills and years of experience, tried his best in every race to get the absolute maximum out of the car. And there have been more than one occasion where he did challenge for a race win.

However, many people seem to believe that the veteran has given up this season as he has just not been competitive of late. On a recent episode of the Dirty Mo Dough podcast, The Professor ran his numbers and saw that Kevin Harvick was one of the drivers with a good record on mile-and-a-half tracks like Texas where NASCAR will race on Sunday. However, Chopper was of the belief that Harvick was not going to make an impact because he had nothing to win this year and it was his final season in the sport.

The Professor was also shocked at Harvick’s 29th-place finish at Bristol the weekend before, a race in which he needed to finish high up to stay in the playoffs. For someone who has made a name for himself by getting the job done in the most desperate of situations, it came as a shock.

It was at this moment that former HMS crew chief Steve Letarte came in to defend the veteran. He slammed Tony Stewart for giving him a car that was just not good enough for a former Cup Series champion.

“I don’t know what he was sitting in, but it wasn’t good. We’re picking on Harvick because he’s going to get the blame cause we are talking about his name, but there ain’t no way that #4 car was right. I mean, there ain’t no way Kevin Harvick runs multiple laps down with a car that has a chance. Something was amiss, something was afoul, something went wrong, some decision was incorrect because it was bad,” Letarte said.

Harvick might be in a tough situation in his final year in the NASCAR Cup Series, but his departure will put his boss Tony Stewart in a world of uncertainty for next season. And things are already starting to go sideways.

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Kevin Harvick will leave SHR in a mess

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Harvick’s farewell comes at a time that is not ideal for SHR. With no experienced Cup drivers on the market, Tony Stewart had to turn his attention to the Xfinity Series to find a suitable replacement. Had the veteran retired the previous year, SHR could have had a shot at signing Kyle Busch who was disgruntled at Joe Gibbs Racing.

Signing Busch could have also helped Stewart with his sponsorship troubles. Harvick’s departure will also see the $110 billion sponsor Anheuser-Busch ditch the team for Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain. A big name like Kyle Busch could have been able to pull in a huge sponsor to make things better.

Busch eventually joined Richard Childress Racing and has already won three races in his first season and comfortably made it into the round of 12. SHR, on the other hand, failed to win even one race with either of their four drivers so far this year.

Tony Stewart eventually signed Josh Berry from JR Motorsports to fill the Harvick role, but this move also raised questions. Why was neither of the SHR Xfinity drivers signed? Well, their results don’t suggest that they are ready for the Cup. Cole Custer might have won a couple of races but he is nowhere near his best which he displayed in 2019 and Riley Herbst could not even make the playoffs.

With Josh Berry, SHR is getting a race winner who will be raring to go in NASCAR’s biggest competition, but he is no Kyle Busch. It will take time for him to adjust. How do you think Berry will fare in his first full-time season in the Cup? Let us know your thoughts.

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