Kevin Harvick had a very close call with a fiery car Sunday night in the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, but thankfully, the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford driver was able to quickly climbing out of his car before it was fully engulfed in flames.
And after he got out of his car, he was absolutely furious with NASCAR and its new Next-Gen car.
With 93 laps left in the NASCAR Cup Series’ playoff opener, Harvick was running in the top-5 and in the outside lane of the 1.366-mile track when his car was suddenly on fire, noticeable underneath the right front tire. As he continued driving, more and more smoke was flowing out from underneath the car and filling up the cockpit.
Harvick — one of 16 playoff drivers competing for a championship in November — quickly dropped to the inside of the track and pulled over as the flames continued growing, and he luckily exited the car just seconds before the whole thing burst into flames. Almost as soon he climbed out the window, flames engulfed the driver’s side, as well as the right side, of the No. 4 car.
Kevin Harvick's car bursts into flames! #NASCARPlayoffs
📺 : @USA_Network pic.twitter.com/WWW53y2y3d
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) September 5, 2022
It’s unclear exactly what ignited the flames, though Harvick said he thought his rocker panel was on fire.
But this is far from the first time one of the Next-Gen cars have been on fire this season. It’s one of multiple concerns drivers have about the car and its safety, particularly with them reporting notably harder impacts.
Afterward, Harvick explained his perspective on what happened. He told NBC Sports:
“I’m sure it’s just the crappy parts on the race car, like we’ve seen so many times. We haven’t fixed anything. It’s kind of like the safety stuff: We just let it keep going and keep going. And the car started burning, and as it burned, the flames started coming through the dash.
“And I ran a couple laps, and then, as the flame got bigger, then it started burning stuff up, and I think right there [referencing the replay], you see all the brake fluid that was probably coming out of the brakes. It burned the brake line, but the fire was coming through the dash.”
A frustrated Kevin Harvick explains what happened inside the car as it caught fire. #NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/VK35Bal3kv
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) September 5, 2022
Harvick continued and blasted NASCAR and the new car, adding:
“What a disaster, man. No reason. We didn’t touch the wall, we didn’t touch a car, and here we are in the pits with a burned up car and can’t finish the race during the playoffs because of crappy-ass parts. …
“I just stopped. The rocker was on fire for a couple laps. I just stopped because I couldn’t see anymore because the flames were coming through the dash, and I couldn’t make myself sit in there and burn up.””
Unable to finish the Southern 500, one of NASCAR’s crown-jewel races, Harvick will surely be playing catch-up in the playoff standings going into the final two races of the Round of 16 before the postseason field shrinks to 12.
