Pit This Time may earn a commission when you buy through links on this page. It never affects our coverage. Learn more.
Kevin Harvick doesn’t think NASCAR needs a brand-new Cup car. He does think the current one needs a lot more than small tweaks.
NASCAR CEO Steve O’Donnell recently dismissed the idea of another new car for the Cup Series in the coming seasons. On his Happy Hour show this week, Harvick, the 2014 champion and a FOX Sports analyst, said he agrees, but only up to a point.
“We don’t need Gen 8 car, but we need Gen 7.5,” Harvick said. “You know, we took a lot of swings at it. I think we made some things better for sure but not as much as I think needs to be done.”
‘You’re Going to Have to Look at the Bottom of This Race Car’
Harvick said the real fixes are the expensive ones: the underbody, the single-source parts system and more horsepower.
“You’re going to have to look at the bottom of this race car, right? You’re going to have to look at some of the parts and pieces that you let the teams deal with and mess with. We can talk all day long about ‘the racing was good (on Sunday) at Homestead,’ but it wasn’t as good as Saturday.
“My point is you’re going to have to take a swing at stuff that you don’t want to take a swing at. If you really want to make it better, you’re going to have to change things on the race car you don’t want to change; because they’re probably expensive and you probably have a contract with who’s making the part.
“But if you really want to make it better, you’re going to have to make some harder decisions than changing the spoiler (size) and splitter (braces) and things like that.”
‘Put a Lot In’
NASCAR has added some horsepower, and Harvick wants a lot more.
“It’s like putting power back in the car. We have been talking about more power. Everyone is like ‘we need some more power’ and they have finally come around to doing a little bit of it. Quit screwing around with putting a little bit in. Put a lot in. Just make it violent and crazy to watch.”
He also agreed with Denny Hamlin, who recently described the Next Gen as a sports car that wasn’t meant for ovals.
“I don’t want to be the jerk, but those are the facts,” Harvick said. “And if you really want to take a swing at it, you’re going to have to swing at things that you don’t want to swing at that are going to make some people mad. Engine, bottom of car, structure. It’s going to it’s going to open up a can of worms.
“That’s not going to be a lot of fun to deal with, but you’re going to have to deal with it if you truly want to make it a lot better.”
‘Leave Them Alone’
NASCAR is also weighing changes to the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and Truck Series cars, possibly making them more like the Cup car so parts can be shared across the industry. Harvick doesn’t want that.
“I also don’t think changing the O’Reilly platform is the way to go,” he said. “… Cup has to be great. And right now, everything is great on Fridays and Saturdays, great ratings on The CW, so worry about the Cup car. Don’t worry about screwing up the other two. … Leave them alone. If you need to change the body, change the body. Fix the cup car. That’s what you got to concentrate on.”
Leave a Reply