"They need to back off the teams”: Kevin Harvick makes his feelings crystal clear about NASCAR’s tougher OEM penalties 

Kevin Harvick shared his thoughts on the harsher penalties NASCAR implemented against original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). While Harvick said it was a "great" initiative to impose more stringent penalties, he argued OEMs should back off the teams and let them race.

Harvick is a former NASCAR driver who won one championship and 60 races in the Cup Series. He joined the Fox Sports broadcast team last year and hosts the Happy Hour podcast alongside co-hosts Kaitlyn Vincie and Dylan "Mamba" Smith.

On the show's first episode of the year, Kevin Harvick made his feelings known about the changes over the off-season, including the harsher penalties against OEMs (Chevrolet, Ford, and Toyota).

"I think it's great to have penalties to be able to enforce against the OEMs. They put themselves in a position to where they've had a lot of control to be able to push the teams in directions that they might not otherwise push themselves in," Harvick said.

The former Stewart-Haas Racing driver believes OEMs should not interfere with teams during a race. He cited the penultimate race at Martinsville last year where Chevrolet and Toyota allegedly ordered the teams to manipulate the race to increase their chances of advancing to the championship round.

"I think after the Martinsville deal and everything that happened there... they [OEMs] just need to back off the teams. You can meet all you want and have all the plans you want before the race. But during the race, you just need to let them race," Kevin Harvick added. [0:51 onwards]

To recall, Chevrolet was accused of creating a car blockage for William Byron to protect the driver's position for more points. Toyota also allegedly ordered Bubba Wallace to slow down and let Christopher Bell pass for a higher finishing position.

The alleged race manipulation violated NASCAR's 100% rule which requires drivers to race at their best at all times.

As a result, the league implemented harsher penalties against OEMs over the off-season, including loss of manufacturers points and reduction in wind tunnel testing or computation fluid dynamics (CFD) test runs.

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Kevin Harvick recalls Kyle Larson's 'The Double' attempt amid new playoff waiver policy

Kyle Larson (5) leads driver Kevin Harvick (4) during the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway. - Source: Imagn

Kevin Harvick reflected on Kyle Larson's attempt at The Double last year amid a new playoff waiver policy. He argued Larson's Indy 500 entry hurt the Hendrick Motorsports star's season, resulting in losing the regular season championship.

Kyle Larson wasn't able to enter the Coca-Cola 600 due to postponements in the Indy 500 start caused by rain. Justin Allgaier took over the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro and finished 13th in the race.

The new playoff waiver policy may not be implemented during that time but Harvick believes Larson penalized himself for attempting The Double (Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600).

“It is a big change. Look, I'm of the win is the waiver. I'm still in that category. I just, I don't like rules to just have rules. I think NASCAR has to protect its turf. I love the double. I love what they did last year with Larson. I hate that it worked out the way that it did," Kevin Harvick said. [0:34 onwards]

He added:

"It still was a detriment to him all the way to the end. Charlotte, regular season championship. It penalized him himself." [1:09]

The new playoff waiver policy states that drivers who will miss a race for reasons that don't concern medical or the birth of a child would forfeit all current and future playoff points. This could influence Kyle Larson's decision to reattempt The Double this year.