Kevin Harvick reacts to ‘strange’ Denny Hamlin explosion at Texas

Kevin Harvick was surprised to see Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 car catch fire at the NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas this past weekend. On Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour, Harvick shared his reaction to the incident that led to Hamlin getting a DNF.

“The flames were really strange, the way that they were almost like it was a fuel fire,” Kevin Harvick said. “It sounds like they broke a valve spring, dropped a valve, and then it exploded. I think this was the third race on that particular engine, based upon the feedback I got from Larry [McReynolds].

“It’s unfortunate, and I think when you look at this 11 car, they’re in good shape. I think that the speed and the things that they have in this car are good. I think that he and Chris Gayle have gotten to a point of being able to know that they can win.”

The incident happened on Lap 75 of the 267-lap race. Denny Hamlin talked about the fire on his Actions Detrimental podcast and revealed his thought process as soon as the fire began.

Denny Hamlin reveals his thought process when the No. 11 car caught on fire

“I haven’t been in that spot a ton, but you just don’t want to get burned,” he said. “You can feel the heat coming from wherever it’s coming from, but the smoke is the one thing that I don’t want to get in my lungs and stuff like that. You got the safety vehicle people, they’re spraying it with all the substance and whatnot. It’s just that, but I was able to get out fine.”

Hamlin also revealed when he knew his car was on fire. “Not until I stopped,” Denny Hamlin said. “I didn’t feel anything until I stopped. A lot of it was because the wind was pushing it back behind the car. But the smoke got bad really quick. When I came to a stop, that’s when the smoke started getting me pretty good.”

It was a tough break for Hamlin who has put together a strong season through the first 11 races. The 44-year-old has earned two victories and finished in the top 10 six times this year.