Sunday’s race at the Talladega Superspeedway gave NASCAR fans one of the best finishes of the season. In the final few laps of the race, Stewart-Haas Racing driver Kevin Harvick and Team Penske driver Ryan Blaney battled it out for the win. The margins were extremely tight, but it was the Penske driver who emerged victorious at the end of the day.
Advertisement
During the post-race press conference, a reporter asked Blaney if he was thinking about the possibility of Harvick’s last chance at a victory while racing against him in the final laps. The race at Talladega marked Harvick’s final superspeedway race in his career since he would be retiring from the sport at the end of the season.
Ryan Blaney disregards Kevin Harvick after a nail-biting finish at Talladega
Subsequently, Blaney responded, “No, no. He is another competitor at that point. I mean, that’s really the only thing you’re thinking about. So, yeah, another race. It was super fun to race with him, drag it out to the end down the front stretch with him.”
“I apologized to some fans who had his shirt on after the race I saw on Victory Lane. Sorry, I beat your guy. Just another competitor at that point,” Blaney added.
Blaney’s response was understandable, since in the heat of the competition no matter who is beside you and what it may mean to them, it is upon the driver to extract the most to win the race and secure those important points to move ahead. With this win in the bag, Blaney has now safely secured himself in the round of eight, with just one more race remaining ahead of the eliminations.
Kevin Harvick disqualified after his epic finish against Blaney
The last laps of the race provided some of the most exciting wheel-to-wheel racing in a long time. Blaney on the outside and Harvick on the inside battled it out all the way to the checkered flag. In the end, it was Blaney who emerged victorious by just 0.012 seconds.
However, what would still have been a delightful day for Harvick ended in frustration instead. Soon after the race, NASCAR announced that Harvick had been disqualified from the race after they found unsecured windshield fasteners. This meant that the SHR car had basically violated sections 14.5.6.2.F Windshield and 14.1.E&P Overall Assembled Vehicle Rules in the NASCAR Rule Book.
However, at the moment Stewart-Haas Racing does have the option to appeal the decision. In case they are successful they would be able to get back some of those crucial points to ensure Harvick has a runner-up finish at his last outing in Talladega.
