One of the most interesting stories to look at on the cusp of NASCAR’s 2024 visit to the Charlotte Roval is the feud between Chase Elliott and Kevin Harvick in 2021.
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It was one of those battles that made fans of each driver jump at the other’s throats. Back then, it was no secret that Elliott and Harvick had negative feelings for each other. Things boiled over during that year’s Bristol Night Race.
They got into a heated confrontation after on-track issues and made the headlines. The Charlotte Roval race fell the very next week.
With sentiments fresh, chaos ensued when Harvick turned Elliott into the wall on Lap 55. The crash severely damaged the rear of the #9 Chevrolet Camaro and nearly jeopardized the Hendrick Motorsports driver’s playoff hopes.
This was when Elliott’s crew chief, Alan Gustafson, controversially said on the team radio that the driver could advance to the next round if Harvick wrecked out.
Elliott responded, “Don’t you worry.” Following repairs to his car, the Dawsonville, Georgia native went back on the track and almost caught up with his foe. With 12 laps to go, he was closing in on Harvick with the intent to wreck but fortune came Harvick’s way automatically.
He crashed himself by going too fast into Turn 1, slamming into the barrier. His chances of progressing to the next round fell through his fingers.
Elliott took his car home in one piece and that was more than enough to secure his spot. He later told the press, “As far as Kevin goes, I just want to wish them a merry offseason and a happy Christmas.”
Merry off-season. Happy Christmas. 🎅🏻
Chase Elliott and Kevin Harvick’s rivalry came to a head at the Charlotte ROVAL in 2021. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/SGJapkGIOC
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) October 10, 2024
What fans think about the battle three years later
NASCAR on NBC recently posted footage of the incident on X (formerly Twitter) and evoked a series of reactions from fans. One wrote, “The day @NASCAR played favorites and let a car that should have been blacked flagged cause the caution he needed! #goldenboy” What the user talks about here was the caution that fell after Elliott came back to race post repairs.
The yellow flag was waved since the bumper on his #9 car broke away and fell on the track. Coincidence or not, it allowed the driver to catch up with the rest.
Another said citing the same, “way to talk about the fact that you let the 9 illegally stay on the track with hanging bodywork until it flew off and caused the caution that only he needed”
Nascar promotes this but won’t show how they let Elliott ride around with his bumper dragging, then when it fell off threw a caution for it that they could’ve prevented. No sport is more inconsistent with the rules than Nascar.
— COLE BUSTER (@busterbread00) October 10, 2024
One more follower noted the inconsistency with which NASCAR works. They wrote, “Nascar promotes this but won’t show how they let Elliott ride around with his bumper dragging, then when it fell off threw a caution for it that they could’ve prevented. No sport is more inconsistent with the rules than Nascar.” Three years on, it appears many would stand behind Harvick and not Elliott over this incident.
