Harvick Puts Pressure on Team Penske- 'Can't Keep Getting Beat Like a Drum'
Former NASCAR driver Kevin Harvick has called out teams that need to improve their pit stops, and Team Penske is one of them. Harvick pointed out the disadvantage these teams faced due to slow pit stops and stressed that they "can't just keep getting beat like a drum on pit road."
Harvick named Joe Gibbs Racing, Hendrick Motorsports, and RFK Racing for acing their pit stops. This was evident in the last few races, as Hendrick's fast stops helped Kyle Larson lead the race for a significant distance at Bristol, eventually leading to a race win.
The earlier race at Darlington saw Hamlin win after a last-minute caution flag changed the game entirely. Hamlin's Joe Gibbs Racing crew executed a quick pit stop that helped him line up on the front row in the overtime restart.
The caution flags were due to an incident between Bubba Wallace and Larson. Unfortunately for Ryan Blaney, who was leading the race before the incident, he lost the lead after his Penske crew allegedly committed an error, leading him to finish fifth.
With the next NASCAR Cup Series race scheduled for 27 April 2025 at Talladega Superspeedway, Harvick said Penske and a few other teams have time to prepare for better pit stops. Speaking on his Happy Hourpodcast, the FOX NASCAR commentator said:
"This off week presents a scenario to where I think a lot of teams need to make some adjustments. I think this pit road thing with and being above the rest in the pit road speed. RFK is right in there, too.
"When you look at and their pit road stuff and some of the other teams and their pit road issues, you got to make an adjustment. You can't just keep getting beat like a drum on pit road because pit road is just such a factor. We saw the five (Kyle Larson) execute a race from start to finish, leading the race, no issues."
Larson described his race-winning performance at Bristol as "flawless," but didn't hold himself back from mocking Hamlin. Newsweek Sports reported his comments after the race:
"Just a flawless race once again here at Bristol for the 5 team. Really, really good car. That was a lot of fun, you know? However many laps of green we ran there was a lot of fun and I was pretty comfortable with things. Then, Denny came on really strong there before the pit cycle. Then it just kind of kept the pressure on from there. So, I knew I had to make some good moves in traffic."
He added:
"You know, if Denny's in front of me, it could be a totally different story and be really hard to pass him. Glad to stop his three-peat; we hate to see him win. As I'm sure you guys do too."
Despite the controversy, it remains to be seen if the concerned teams can overcome their pit stop challenges in the upcoming races.