Stephanie Amador / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK

Mike Joy Calls Out Kevin Harvick for Reigniting NASCAR Controversy: 'Social Media Will Explode'

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Kyle Dalton | Last updated Mar 22, 2025 4:21 PM ET

Denny Hamlin announced earlier this week that Progressive Insurance had signed on as a primary sponsor for 18 races on the No. 11 car, beginning this weekend at Homestead-Miami.

On Saturday during Cup Series practice, the camera focused on the Joe Gibbs Racing car sitting on pit road before making its first run around the 1.5-mile track. Up in the Amazon Prime broadcast booth, Mike Joy talked about the new sponsorship and admitted he was surprised that the four-car organization would be so far into the season with one of its best cars having so many unsold races.

Kevin Harvick then offered his thoughts on the situation and brought up a controversial topic from the past.

”And their logo fits really nicely down the side of these cars with the numbers slid forward,” Harvick said. “So, happy for Joe Gibbs Racing and Denny Hamlin to put that to bed.”

“Social media will explode,” Joy replied. “What are you trying to do?”

“That's fine,” the 2014 Cup Series champion responded.

During @NASCAR Cup Series practice at Homestead, @mikejoy500 called out @KevinHarvick for bringing up the number placement controversy. pic.twitter.com/4gFWVmtQAJ
— Kyle Dalton (@kdsportswriter) March 22, 2025

“That number controversy. I thought we were past that. Apparently not,” the veteran announcer suggested.

“Yeah, well, it's done for a reason," the former driver answered. "Whether you like the number in the front or the middle, it's so you can put that logo on there and they can see it on television.”

Fans can tune in to see Hamlin's Progressive Insurance car and the No. 11 on the front of the car on Sunday, beginning at 3 p.m. ET on FS1.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: