Stewart, Harvick will 'handle' controversy; Their spotters? Another story
BRISTOL, Tenn. – There were fireworks late in the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway, but they weren’t between Kevin Harvick and Tony Stewart.
Yes, Harvick dumped Stewart in Turn 1 with two laps remaining, but the two friends weren’t exactly fighting mad at each other after the race. Their spotters? That’s another story.
While Harvick said he and Stewart will “handle” whatever controversy arose from Sunday’s incident, Harvick was upset over alleged comments made by Stewart’s spotter.
“I told my spotter to go over and tell him what happened,” Harvick said. “The first thing his spotter did was commence into saying he was going to whip somebody's ass. If Tony didn't do it, he was going to do it.
“Tony and I are big boys. We can handle that. We don't need somebody who doesn't really have anything to do with anything [getting involved]. It really ticked me off. I'm to the point where I can talk about it. But when I got out of my car, I was more mad about that than I was anything.”
Stewart was understandably upset, for he was running second behind teammate Denny Hamlin when Harvick punted him. But the fiery Stewart was somewhat subdued after the race.
“I thought I left him plenty of room, but I don’t know,” Stewart said. “I was far enough ahead of him that I didn’t see where he hit me or when he hit me. I’m sure somehow it was my fault. I’m just sorry I got in his way.”
Stewart was likely being sarcastic, and Harvick admitted fault.
“[The race] was mine to lose at that point, and I lost it,” said Harvick, who had pitted for four fresh tires under the previous caution while Hamlin and Stewart stayed on the track. “You know, I got up under there with three or four laps to go. It's just time to go.
“I clipped the apron, just lost the thing. If I'd have had it to do over again, I wouldn't want to spin out. But, you know, it's just one of those deals where I was just trying to get all I could and just got a little too far.”
And so did Stewart’s spotter, Harvick said.
“Nobody is going to have a good attitude about getting wrecked,” Harvick said. “I understand that from Tony's standpoint. His spotter was a little out of line. I didn't appreciate that part of it.”
