Well it was fun while it lasted.
One of the best storylines out of NASCAR lately has been the feud between two of the sport’s top drivers, Kevin Harvick and Chase Elliott.
If you missed it, here’s a recap:
During the last few laps of the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol a few weeks ago, Kevin Harvick‘s #4 car got into the side of Chase Elliott‘s #9 car and cut down Elliott’s tire as the two were battling for the lead.
After changing his tires and coming back out on the track, Elliott (who was multiple laps down at that point) decided to block Harvick, who was battling for the lead, to keep him from winning the race.
The two then exchanged words (and shoves) after the race:
The following week, Elliott seemed to dismiss the talk of a “feud” between the drivers, but Harvick compared talking to Elliott to trying to talk to his 9-year old son, Keelan:
And the feud came to a head during this past weekend’s race at the Charlotte Roval when Harvick punted Elliott into the wall:
Elliott vowed to get revenge on Harvick, but he never got his chance (or did he)?
With just a few laps remaining in the race, Elliott was in Harvick’s rearview mirror when Harvick suddenly missed a turn and drove his car straight into the outside wall, ruining his race and knocking himself out of the playoffs.
Maybe Harvick was too busy looking at that #9 car in his rearview mirror?
For his part, Elliott seemed like he was ready to move on from his feud with Harvick after delivering one parting shot:
But when asked after the wreck whether him and Elliott were even, Harvick simply grinned and walked away, making you think that he still wasn’t ready to move on just yet:
The whole thing has created some great drama for NASCAR during its playoffs. But with Chase Elliott still fighting for a championship and Harvick out of the playoff picture after the race at Charlotte, NASCAR sat everybody down to deliver a message:
It’s time to move on.
According to a tweet from AP Sports reporter Jenna Fryer, NASCAR held a meeting yesterday with both drivers and warned them that there would be “serious consequences” if the feud between them continued on the track.
Fans on Twitter weren’t happy with the news – after all, it’s been incredible entertainment – with many accusing NASCAR of protecting their most popular driver in Chase Elliott.
But there’s also some precedent for NASCAR stepping in when non-playoff drivers intentionally wreck drivers who are battling for a championship.
Back in 2015, Joey Logano and Matt Kenseth had their own feud going on after Logano spun Kenseth at Kansas to knock Kenseth out of the next round of the playoffs. Weeks later, Kenseth retaliated at Martinsville by putting Logano into the wall, effectively ending Logano’s hopes at advancing to the championship race.
NASCAR wasn’t happy, and ended up suspending Kenseth for the next two races.
So could we see some more suspensions coming down the line if Elliott and Harvick don’t squash their beef? Or is it finally over for good?
If that’s the end of it, it was definitely entertaining while it lasted.
