When Kevin Harvick and Matt Kenseth’s Pocono tussle came at a cost of $50,000

Kevin Harvick is currently a broadcaster with FOX Sports. He has called several NASCAR Cup Series events this year. However, there was a time when the ex-NASCAR driver used to go all out on the racetrack, which sometimes resulted in on-track exchanges. One such exchange happened back in 2004 with Hall of Famer Matt Kenseth.

Kevin Harvick was racing his number 29 RCR Chevy hard against Kenseth's number 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford to grab the 10th position before the last caution of the Cup Series race at the Pocono Raceway. When the yellow flag came out, Harvick, who was fresh out of turn 4, nudged Kenseth as the latter spun into the grasswork. A few moments later, Kenseth retaliated by spinning Harvick into the grass with four laps to go.

Recalling the wild finish, a NASCAR insider posted,

"June 13, 2004: A particularly wild race at Pocono ends with Kevin Harvick and Matt Kenseth spinning each other under caution. Both drivers were fined $25,000."

Besides the combined fine of $50,000, NASCAR sent both drivers on probation till August 11th. Moreover, NASCAR revisited their finishing positions in the race. As part of the penalty, Harvick, who finished 10th, was relegated to a P20 finish and Kenseth, who finished 11th, was awarded a P21 finish.

Kevin Harvick shows up wearing a Matter Kenseth shirt

As Harvick braced himself for the qualifying laps of Sunday's Michigan 400 and walked towards his Goodwrench Chevrolet parked on the pit road, fans spotted a Matter Kenseth shirt beneath his unzipped firesuit.

Although that might have suggested that the feud was behind him, Harvick, during a press conference on Friday, as reported by motorsport.com, said:

"He (Kenseth) tries to be the nice guy and tries to say all the things he says. He is never wrong and he's the champ and he's going to think what he wants and that's what it is."

Matt Kenseth, however, felt Harvick was mad at him because the duo went door to door down the backstretch and Kenseth tried to block Harvick from passing him.

"I started slowing down and he came after me because he was mad we got together down the backstretch and I didn't get all the way out of the gas for him," Kenseth told the reporters in an interview on the same day.

The two-time Daytona 500 winner further opined that Harvick's antics were purely intentional. He explained that one cannot just spin someone under the yellow flag without having the intention of doing so.

"When you get spun under caution, it's certainly not a mistake. I thought that we both could have been more grown up and settled this thing a long time ago" he added.

That year, Matt Kenseth finished 8th in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series point standings while Kevin Harvick finished 14th.