Kevin Harvick recently echoed Daniel Suarez’s sentiments regarding NASCAR’s decision to green-light drivers lacking adequate experience in stock cars — particularly in handling the Next Gen models. Harvick articulated concerns that such policy shifts, which open the door to “world-class drivers” unfamiliar with Next Gen cars, not only put those newcomers in harm’s way but also create unnecessary hazards for established competitors, as evidenced by Suarez’s misfortune at Phoenix.
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During the NASCAR Cup Series race, Suarez comfortably occupied the P6 spot until Katherine Legge spun out beneath Josh Berry. Suarez made a split-second choice to go high, a decision that backfired badly when Legge’s car came to rest at the top of the track, inevitably involving the #99 driver in the collision.
Although Suarez clawed his way back to ultimately secure a P23 finish, the crash undeniably compromised what appeared to be a promising performance. Suarez later took to his YouTube vlog, openly criticizing NASCAR for permitting drivers with insufficient experience to participate in the elite Cup Series events.
Expressing solidarity with Suarez, Kevin Harvick articulated similar views in a recent episode of his podcast Happy Hour, remarking,
“[Legge] showing up to Phoenix in a cup car that she’s never driven, not a lot of NASCAR Experience, and I know that we want people from different series to be able to come into the cup series. But we got to get back to some accountability of making sure that the people that are driving… These cup cars are hard to drive; you can’t just let everybody drive it.”
“She was really thrown to the wolves.” @KevinHarvick on Katherine Legge’s #NASCAR Cup Series debut and the approval process. pic.twitter.com/t59N0Q29Cd
— HarvickHappyHour (@HarvickHappyPod) March 11, 2025
The 2014 NASCAR Cup Champion further reinforced his position by highlighting Helio Castroneves’s chaotic experience at the Daytona 500, where Castroneves crashed into the wall, inexplicably accelerated back up to 100 mph, and then collided again, purely due to unfamiliarity with the Next Gen machinery.
He emphasized that such incidents stem not from a lack of preparation for the track but rather from insufficient hands-on experience with these particular cars.
Moreover, Harvick explicitly supported the notion that this very NASCAR policy/scenario sabotaged Suarez’s promising run at Phoenix. He argued:
“In this case, it took Daniel Suarez out of the race… and hurt a car that was that was having a good day. So, we saw the approval process with Mike Wallace getting denied… But you better be damn ready to drive one of these cars when you get behind the wheel.”
It will be intriguing to see how NASCAR addresses this matter on its new podcast, “Hauler Talk,” which provides a space to discuss competition intricacies, dissect pertinent racing issues, welcome distinguished guests, and candidly respond to fan inquiries like these.
