Kevin Harvick unhappy with NASCAR’s restarts

Kevin Harvick speaks out

Kevin Harvick did pretty much what he needed to do Sunday as he finished third at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. So for the most part, he was happy.

But if there was one thing that bothered him, it was that he wants NASCAR to be more strict on its restart rules.

The leader is supposed to accelerate in the restart zone – the start of the zone is designated by two red lines and the end of the zone designated by a single red line on the wall – to restart the race. If the leader doesn't start by the end of the zone, NASCAR is supposed to drop the green flag.

Harvick believes Sylvania 300 race-winner Joey Logano was restarting before he got in the zone, which should have resulted in a pass-through penalty.

"NASCAR must not be able to see the lines on the restart there," Harvick said in his television interview after the race. "The 22 (of Logano) was way early all day. But all in all, he did what he had to do and (I) enjoyed racing that hard."

It typically is a judgment call, and NASCAR has rarely penalized a driver for starting early.

"I thought (the rule) was pretty clear: One two stripes and one stripe, you start in between those two spots," Harvick said in his post race news conference. "It was pretty evident he was a car length or two car lengths starting before that. It was like nobody was watching upstairs.

"Maybe I just need to be more aggressive on my restarts and start sooner than the double lines."

Harvick has a comfortable cushion on 13th place in the 16-driver Chase, meaning he should have no problem advancing out of the first round next week at Dover International Speedway.

"Restarts were crazy," Harvick said in his radio interview afterward. "The gap in the restart zone was a little wider than it was supposed to be, but all in all these guys did a great job.

"We raced hard. We were able to salvage a good finish. It's all about moving on after this round."

While he finished third, Harvick did have a chance to win, taking the lead late in the race when Brad Keselowski and Logano battled. But on an ensuing restart, Harvick and Keselowski made contact and Logano slipped past them.

"You have to be aggressive," Harvick said. "This place is tough to be aggressive on. We wound up with a ton of restarts, different strategies.

"I thought at one point we were going to win the race, then the next thing I know the 2 (of Keselowski) is in the left rear quarter panel, I'm out of the groove. It was hard racing. I enjoyed it. Sporting News