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Kevin Harvick has never been one to sugarcoat what’s on his mind. That hasn’t changed since he retired from driving and transitioned up to the NASCAR on Fox broadcast booth this season.
During the May 11 practice and qualifying session at Darlington, the former Stewart-Haas Racing driver joined Clint Bowyer in offering his opinions on the nostalgic paint schemes for Throwback Weekend as the cars made their way around the track.
“Does this one — they didn’t play this week,” Bowyer noted as Joey Logano’s traditional bright yellow No. 22 Shell Pennzoil car zipped around the Lady in Black.
“No, this one’s definitely a fail,” Kevin Harvick stated matter-of-factly. ” I mean, it’s a great classic scheme, but it is definitely a fail for the Throwback Weekend.”
“It might be a throwback. You ran that paint scheme. It’s a nod to you, Kevin,” Bowyer suggested.
“Nope,” Harvick quickly retorted.
Kevin Harvick Doesn’t Like Austin Cindric’s Car Either
Kevin Harvick wasn’t done with Team Penske. He also took aim at Logano’s teammate.
“Austin Cindric is throwing it forward,” Mike Joy said as the No. 2 car made its qualifying run. “I don’t know if that’s allowed, but that is the graphic scheme of the all-electric semi-tractor that Freightliner is doing in limited numbers. Fail?”
“I’m going to put that in the fail category,” Harvick replied.
“Yeah, you can’t throw it forward,” Joy agreed.
“No, that’s against the rules,” the rookie broadcaster pointed out. “Trying to put a PR spin on it. We’re going to have to do better next year.”
Harvick Declares a Winner of Throwback Weekend
While Harvick was less than enthusiastic about Team Penske and its participation in Throwback Weekend, the 48-year-old was pleased by one team in particular, going so far as to declare them the victor.
“Jimmie Johnson’s rookie scheme for Lowes is what’s on Alex Bowman’s car,” Joy said as the No. 48 got up to speed on its qualifying lap.
“My goodness,” Harvick chimed in. “Mike, Hendrick Motorsports has won this week before the race even starts. What a great job!”
“I think so. Absolutely,” the veteran play-by-play announcer concurred.
Denny Hamlin Thinks Throwback Weekend Is Done
While all the HMS cars participated and were best in class — at least according to Harvick — not all teams and drivers joined in. One of those opting out was Denny Hamlin.
And the Joe Gibbs Racing driver’s lack of participation shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who heard his May 6 “Actions Detrimental” podcast when he shared his feelings about Throwback Weekend and what he thought about its future.
“The throwback thing has kind of lost its luster, in my opinion,” Hamlin said. “Especially when teams are throwing back to different eras. I don’t know. It’s almost confusing to me more than anything.
After a short conversation about Tyler Reddick and his throwback scheme in honor of Tim Richmond, Hamlin returned to his thoughts on the subject.
“It was really cool the first year that everyone kind of bought in and it was very similar to eras and a certain decade,” he noted. “But it’s all kind of all over the board now. I’d be surprised if this goes past this year, for sure.”
Based on the enthusiasm of Kevin Harvick and the rest of the Fox broadcast team about this year’s Throwback Weekend, it doesn’t appear the nostalgic event is going away anytime soon.
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