Kevin Harvick doesn’t understand why a driver like Shane van Gisbergen is not praised as much as he should for winning multiple races. On Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour, Harvick reflected on how NASCAR met with himself, Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. because of how much they were winning.
“I’ll never forget the conversation that I had sitting in the trailer at Charlotte, it was myself, Martin Truex (Jr.) and Kyle Busch,” Kevin Harvick said. “NASCAR says, ‘Yep, going away from these rules. You guys are winning too many races. So we’re going to mix it up.
“That’s where we got the 550 package. I’m not with them. I don’t understand why we don’t celebrate greatness, why we don’t wrap our arms around when somebody’s doing something great instead of trying to gripe and complain about it. That’s why we’re not developing as many heroes like we used to have.”
When Harvick said the “550 package,” he was referring to what NASCAR did to the cars starting in 2019. At the time, NASCAR introduced a rule package where the car’s horsepower was reduced to 550.
Kevin Harvick doesn’t understand why greatness isn’t celebrated
Harvick didn’t reveal when that meeting took place, but the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season saw himself, Truex and Busch reach the Championship Four. The three drivers won at least four races that season, but it was Joey Logano who won the Cup Series title.
If there are criticisms about Shane van Gisbergen winning four Cup Series races in his rookie season, it’s because his four victories have come on road courses. On oval tracks, van Gisbergen has not earned a top-10 finish yet this year. This has led to him being in 25th place in Cup points, but because of his four wins, van Gisbergen has 22 playoff points and could make his way to the round of eight of the playoffs.
“It’s crazy that it’s hated instead of celebrated,” Harvick said. “Why don’t we celebrate greatness? This has been a constant conversation throughout the years, when somebody dominates is why don’t we celebrate it?”
