NASCAR Cup Series Champion Kevin Harvick is going viral for a new rant targeting the issues surrounding engine and horsepower changes in motorsports beyond just NASCAR.
When Mohammed Ben Sulayem hinted at the end of Formula One’s hybrid era and floated the idea of bringing back screaming V8 engines, the reaction wasn’t limited to the F1 paddock.
The ripple effects have seemingly made their way straight into NASCAR Nation, where 2014 Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick delivered what might be one of the sport’s brutally honest rants yet.
Joining long-time F1 commentator and current IndyCar announcer Will Buxton on Speed with Harvick and Buxton, the 2014 Cup Series champion spoke his mind about the current affairs of racing.
“There is an open road here, and everything that the FIA president said is exactly what’s wrong with racing around the world. We’re fighting it right now in NASCAR. You knock all the horsepower out of it. You try to make it so that it fits in your Honda Civic, uh, so that they can build the V6 or four cylinder. Nobody cares about that!”
And Harvick wasn’t done there. The former Stewart-Haas Racing driver went straight to what he believes has become motorsports’ biggest identity crisis: manufacturers dictating the direction of racing rather than the fans.
“If you want to develop your car, go sports car racing,” Harvick said. “IndyCar, NASCAR, and Formula 1, when I go back, and I was watching all the [Alex] Zanardi video stuff this week from Laguna Seca, and you listen to those IndyCars, and you look at the tires, and you just look at just how much rubber, and everything is laid on the racetrack, it’s all because of horsepower.”
He also aimed at one of the most repeated talking points from sanctioning bodies and manufacturers: cost-cutting.
“Every time we try to save money, we cost the teams more money,” Harvick said. “Every time we take power out, one horsepower, two horsepower at a time, is harder to find than it is when you have a more open rule book.”
With that line, the 50-year-old hit the nail right on the head for many fans online.
The Cup Series, as fans know, has spent years debating horsepower reductions tied to the Next Gen car, with drivers like Denny Hamlin and even Harvick openly criticizing how the current package races on most tracks.
Harvick joined in on this again, lambasting:
“Screw the manufacturers and all the things that they want to do to have it apply to their street cars. The fans want to see things that are out of control go fast and loud, please.” — Kevin Harvick
For a moment, fans got vintage Harvick, the not-so “Happy” but the fiery, unapologetic driver that took over for Dale Earnhardt. Making some ask if this is already one of his most iconic rants about the state of the sport.
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