Kevin Harvick has weighed in on Kyle Larson's call for more Cup drivers' participation in Xfinity races. During an episode of Harvick's "Happy Hour" podcast, the former NASCAR driver backed the idea, outlining the valuable lessons that Cup veterans can teach the junior drivers.
During the Xfinity Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway, Kyle Larson led a dominant 276 of 300 laps to grab the checkered flag, 2.054 seconds over Rookie of the Year contender Carson Kvapil. Following the race win, Larson delivered a take on Harvick's podcast, suggesting that he wanted to expose the pace gap between Xfinity and Cup drivers.
On Wednesday, April 15, Harvick presented his views on Larson's "agenda" in an episode of Happy Hour. He addressed the impact of Cup driver's competing in the lower tier series, stating,
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"They teach you where to run on the race track, they teach you that you can drive your car harder, they teach you that you can run down pit road faster, they teach you all the things that you need to be taught." (8:30)
"Cup is hard but the drivers are great and having those drivers in the Truck and Xfinity races, yeah, we get tired of seeing them win but it also teaches them how to do things the right way and apparently that's on Kyle Larson's agenda," Kevin Harvick added.
Kyle Larson also competed in the Truck Series race at Bristol, marking his second triple-header of the season. Driving the No.7 Chevrolet for Spire Motorsports, the Californian started from 11th and made his way to the runner up position, despite a pit road penalty that set him back.
Kevin Harvick dismisses "crappy" narratives driving the Kyle Larson-Bubba Wallace controversy
Kevin Harvick recently shared his thoughts on the speculation surrounding Kyle Larson and Bubba Wallace's debacle in Darlington. During the Goodyear 400, the 23XI driver made rear contact with the HMS star when he slowed down due to Tyler Reddick's crash ahead. The ensuing caution led to Denny Hamlin gaining the race lead down the pit road, prompting claims about race manipulation by Larson and Wallace.
In an episode of his Happy Hour podcast, Harvick refuted such claims, considering that both drivers fell behind the lead lap during the late stages.
"I think a lot of times people make up all this crap thinking that we're smarter than we are. We're not that smart. In that moment right there, you just want to get to the end of the race and it'd be over with. Bubba's a lap down and Kyle's a 160 down," Kevin Harvick said. (16:09)
The incident led to Denny Hamlin securing his second straight win of the season. Meanwhile, Larson's team mate William Byron finished in the runner up position.
