“Mike Helton used to be iron fist”: Kevin Harvick sounds off in his verdict on NASCAR’s ‘sloppy’ officiating

On Tuesday, March 11, 2025, former NASCAR Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick expressed his opinion about the governing body's decision on the COTA incident on his podcast "Happy Hours." Instead of suspending Austin Cindric, the Stock Car Association penalized him.

On lap 4 of the Echopark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) on March 2, 2025, Austin Cindric retaliated. He made contact with Ty Dillon's right rear end, spinning him on the frontstretch of the track. Instead of following the new waiver rule, NASCAR penalized the Team Penske driver with a $50,000 fine and a 50-point deduction.

If the Stock Car Racing Association followed the new rule, Cindric would be suspended and lose all his playoff points. Reflecting upon the same, Kevin Harvick mentioned that Cindric should have been suspended for his move.

"The Austin Cindric thing and the restarts and all these things that we're just all over the place with—that's not how it needs to be, and Austin Cindric should have been suspended, and in my opinion, those calls need to be done during the race when you see it's that blatant. Park them, put them in the garage, you hooked him in a right rear. You're done for the day. We'll decide on Wednesday if you get to, if you need more of a penalty, but you need to park them right there," stated the former Cup Series champion. [37:41nonwards]

"I think park them right freaking there and be done with it, and we've got to have an iron fist. Mike Helton used to be the iron fist in the garage, and there's nobody ruling the simple hard decisions. We can't wait until Wednesday to make a call, um, you know to to do things and try to please everybody. You're not going to please everybody, but if you're not going to please everybody but if you rule with what you think is right instantly and we have to officiate the things correctly, but it has been as sloppy as I've ever seen the officiating," Harvick added.

NASCAR journalist Jeff Gluck also agreed with Kevin Harvick. Gluck shared that the unique officiating makes it harder to understand the calls made during the race and expressed his frustration over the stock car racing association for not suspending Austin Cindric.

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"I feel that they missed it bad here": Kevin Harvick dives deep into the penalty issued to Austin Cindric

The Gen 7 cars were introduced in NASCAR in 2022. However, since then, there have been doubts regarding the rear-end safety of the drivers. The consequences can lead to serious injuries and concussions on the track. This happened with Kurt Busch at the Pocono Raceway, and he hasn't competed in the Cup Series since then.

Additionally, the inconsistent penalties also create a sense of confusion among drivers and make it harder for them to understand. Previously, for attempting a right hook, NASCAR suspended some big drivers, including Chase Elliott and Bubba Wallace.

Weighing in on NASCAR's decision, Kevin Harvick stated:

"And I think in this scenario just now, the next time we have this scenario happen, to spin a guy, now you are gonna suspend the next guy. Then it's gonna be well, you didn't suspend the last guy. So, this is just longer lines of getting some consistency of what we are doing. This is a really simple call, and I feel that they missed it bad here... It is just cheap. He (Cindric) definitely got away with one here."

During 'The NASCAR Hauler Talk,' the governing body's Managing Director of Racing Communication, Mike Forde, defended the decision. He said that suspending Cindric "wouldn't fit the crime."