"No one has a vendetta against Kevin Harvick," says NASCAR President after imposing heavy fine

Stewart-Haas Racing driver Kevin Harvick does not shy away from the limelight when it comes to speaking out about the issues the NASCAR Cup Series drivers have had with the Next Gen car. 'Happy Harvick', however, seems to be on the receiving end this time as the veteran driver has been shot back into the limelight by the governing body themselves.

NASCAR has come out with announcements regarding a hefty fine being imposed on the 46-year-old driver that came courtesy of modifications made on his #4 Ford Mustang in last weekend's race at Talladega Superspeedway. As seen earlier in the year with major penalties for Brad Keselowski and Roush Fenway Keselowski, Stewart-Haas Racing has been stripped of 100 owner points as well as 100 driver points for infractions.

Harvick's long-time crew chief Rodney Childers has also been suspended as part of the procedure along with a $100,000 fine for the Mooresville, North Carolina native. The penalties come courtesy of the "modification of a single source supplied part" on the #4 team's behalf, as stated by NASCAR.

Driver Kevin Harvick seemed to have pre-emptively realized something was amiss after his appearance in the Yellawood 500, as he took to Twitter to write:

"Seems strange…"

Post-race inspections have been touted by the governing body as a procedure that involves random cars being selected for scrutiny, whereas drivers seem to believe the opposite. NASCAR President Steve Phelps spoke on how the penalties are levied on teams due to rules being broken, and for no other reason, and said:

"No one has a vendetta against Kevin Harvick or Rodney (Childers), at all, or anyone at Stewart-Haas Racing, our guys are very good. They are going to look at (an infraction). Look at it again. Look at it a third time to make sure there’s a penalty and the penalty is right. If the four team thinks that’s not right, they will file an appeal."

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NASCAR president addresses Next Gen car safety issues after repeated gripes from Kevin Harvick and other drivers

The ongoing war of worlds between NASCAR Cup Series drivers such as Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin with the governing body has finally forced the sport to have a sit-down to discuss the problems faced by the drivers on track.

Steve Phelps, NASCAR's president, amongst other senior leaders in the sport, is bound to have a meeting with the drivers this coming weekend before the race at Charlotte Roval. Phelps elaborated on what the agenda for the meeting looked like, and said:

“We need to do everything we can to make our drivers feel safe in the vehicles, we certainly care about their safety. We’re working on things, to make sure we have a plan moving forward so that gaining trust can be better. Our goal is obviously to be the safest motorsport on the planet.”

Watch Kevin Harvick take on the twists and turns of the Charlotte Roval Road Course this Sunday at the Bank of America Roval 400.