[ad_1]
BRISTOL, Tennessee – After battling together several times on the race track, Kevin Harvick and Chase Elliott had several heated conversations afterwards as NASCAR’s biggest feud of the season erupted on Saturday night.
“Just shit,” Harvick said when asked about the battle with Elliott in the closing laps of Bristol Motor Speedway. “I mean, what else are you saying? Have a temper tantrum like you’re 2 years old because you pretended to be your head and had a puncture. We barely rubbed shoulders. It’s all the way to Chase or it’s not possible, and if he doesn’t get what he wants, then he has a fit.
“I told him I wanted to rip his head off.
“It’s something he does all the time,” Elliott told NBC Sports reporter Dave Burns to the cheers of a crowd of thousands who lingered long past the checkered flag. “It constantly bumps into your left side on other tracks and sometimes it cuts your left side and other times it doesn’t. Did it to me in Darlington a few weeks ago because he was tired of running with me. That he did it on purpose, it doesn’t matter.
“At some point, you have to draw the line. I don’t care who he is or how long he’s been doing it. I will defend myself, my team and we will continue on the road. “
The showdown stems from an incident with 35 laps remaining when Harvick and Elliott collided while running for the head of traffic. Elliott, who had led the previous 52 laps, stopped with a flat front left tire on contact.
Driver Hendrick Motorsports quickly made his dissatisfaction known as he returned to the track, hitting the left side of Harvick’s No.4 Ford and squeezing it onto the track while recovering a lap.
Elliott then kept his No.9 Chevrolet ahead of Harvick, who ultimately lost the lead and the win to Elliott’s teammate Kyle Larson with four laps to go.
“We are running for the wild victory in Bristol,” Harvick told NBC Sports reporter Dillon Welch. “We’re three broad in the middle, and he’s having a temper tantrum. I was just trying to take the lead and run hard.
“Then he stops in front of me and sits there until I lose all of the lead. I just hate that our team could lose a race like this. I watch him let (teammate William Byron) pass. the 24s in the middle of the stage, then he just rolled around until (Larson) caught up with me, and I was right behind (Elliott), and we hurt each other on the way (Larson).
In addition to two weeks ago at Darlington (video above), Elliott said his run-ins with Harvick had been “going on a lot. He gets mad at you running in some places and turns to your left and hopes you cut a tire on the left side, and that happens more than I can count on two hands in my Cup racing career. Six years and more than 10 times. I had enough.”
Elliott pulled up in front of Harvick in the pit lane after the race and the fireworks started.
As the team members pushed the pilots away, Elliott pointed Harvick’s face and pushed his helmet off.
“I couldn’t hear it,” Elliott said when asked what had been said. “He had his helmet on and all that. I’m 25 and at least took off my helmet to have a conversation with him and he’s 40 yet. Nothing new.”
After throwing one of his gloves at Elliott’s crew members, Harvick took off his helmet and slammed it hard enough to dent the roof of his car after the argument. About 5 minutes later, he rushed to face Elliott again as they walked towards each other behind the row of cutting carriers into Bristol’s infield.
The meeting between @chaseelliott and @KevinHarvick after their confrontation in the pit lane @bmsupdates. #nascar pic.twitter.com/i2jYNpiwNE
– Nate Ryan (@nateryan) September 19, 2021
As a crowd gathered including Harvick’s business manager and a police officer, a lively 2-minute conversation ensued with Harvick telling Elliott, “You don’t run smart. You don’t run smart. Now I’m just going to crush you (expletive). ”
After Harvick briefly confronted a reporter from The Athletic who was videotaping the conversation, the drivers entered Dump Truck # 9 together for a meeting that lasted at least 10 minutes.
[ad_2]
Source link