Kevin Harvick believes it’s time for NASCAR to take a long, hard look at their super-speedway package following the GEICO 500 at Talladega.
During the latest episode of Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour, the former NASCAR champion explained that he doesn’t believe the newfound fuel milage racing at tracks like Talladega and Daytona creates good racing, and it’s up to the decision-makers to figure out a way to create a better product.
“The fuel mileage stuff, and look, I understand that it’s a newer problem, with the fuel savings, that we have. We were four or five seconds off the pace, and I think everybody knows that we need to start working on something for the superspeedway races, ASAP. Because I always, I think that the teams need to be, trying to figure the package out,” Harvick stated. “I think everybody’s got the package figured out, at this particular point to say, ‘Okay, this is how we race. This is what we do. We save fuel, so that we can spend less time on pit road. We do. A B C, D, E.’ Right? And that’s the process. Everybody knows the process.
“We’ve going to mix it up way different for next year, from from a speedway package, to keep these guys trying to figure it out. I don’t know what that is, but it just needs to be drastically different.”
One of the main things Harvick is focused on is making the pushes mean something at super-speedways, as it seems like you can’t create any speed without borderline wrecking someone on the track.
“When you look at the pushes that you give right now, they’re just not rewarded for what they should be in order to move the car in front of you, to make a big enough difference,” Harvick added. “Right now, you push as hard as you can, and sometimes you gain a half a car length. So these guys have figured out that you just push and push and push and push and push and at the end, you know it’s going to result in a wreck, because everybody’s just going to push until somebody wrecks. You have to be living on the edge of wrecking somebody all the time. And you know, that’s fine. But I want the pushes to mean something. I want the guy in the middle of the pack not just to have to sit there. You know, if he wants to get in that third lane and push somebody, it might be risky, but I want it to make that car go faster.
“Right now, we’re locked into two lanes, and the guys in the middle of the pack are screwed, because they can’t go anywhere. Then, at the beginning of the of the stages and the first half of the last stage, everybody’s just saving gas. So I wasn’t, I wasn’t thrilled with the way that it all worked out. I think it’s needed, to go out and figure out a new package for 2025. We’ve got what we’ve got for this particular year, but it wasn’t — I didn’t like it. And you know, I think that, the solutions for me, I would like everybody to start working on what the solutions are. And those are the things, I don’t like the saving gas. I get that it’s part of it. I don’t like the fact that you can not go anywhere in the middle of the pack, and I don’t like the fact that when you push it doesn’t make a bigger difference in speed.”
Alas, Kevin Harvick makes a ton of sense when it comes to the current super-speedway package. We’ll see if NASCAR listens and adjusts course when the 2025 season comes along.
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