Longtime NASCAR Driver Kevin Harvick Blasts Sport's Officiating
11/12/2024 05:16 PM
NASCAR closed an eventful 2024 season on Sunday. Kevin Harvick hopes to see improved officiating next year.
Joey Logano won his third career Cup Series title after getting a second chance when Alex Bowman got disqualified for a post-race inspection penalty. The season and playoffs saw plenty of controversy, including a late penalty that kept Christopher Bell out of the Championship 4.
When discussing NASCAR's offseason objectives on his Happy Hour podcast, former driver Kevin Harvick threw the officials under the bus.
"I think the officiating has to be better," Harvick said (h/t On3). "I think it was awful in certain situations. They have to be more proactive in putting people in the right positions to try to get in front of things instead of reacting to things when they're wrong."
However, he credited senior vice president of competition Elton Sawyer for taking accountability when NASCAR made mistakes.
"Now, on the flip side of that, they've done a great job of saying, 'hey, we screwed up.' I think Elton Sawyer and NASCAR in general have done a great job of admitting things, but far too many things have to be admitted as we've gone throughout the season," Harvick continued. "Some of the late caution calls —and just using that as an example — just need to be cleaned up."
Harvick would also like to see a "stronger" regular season point system and believes improving short-track racing should be a "high" priority.
"They got a lot of work to do, but I think that's typical for any offseason," he said.
NASCAR faced its fair share of officiating drama throughout the season, but chief operating officer Steve O'Donnell argued that it's not a critical issue that needs addressing.
"Can you name one sport that doesn't have officiating questions throughout the year?" O'Donnell asked before the Cup Series Championship, per Jenna Fryer of the Associated Press.
