#4: Kevin Harvick, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford Fusion Busch Light
Greg Zipadelli of Stewart-Haas Racing says no NASCAR race car is 100% legal
Shane Walters
The competition director for Stewart-Haas Racing offered comments on Kevin Harvick’s rear spoiler penalty; Talks NASCAR inspection
Following last week’s win at Texas Motor Speedway, Kevin Harvick failed the post-race inspection at the NASCAR R&D Center. The rear spoiler was skewed to the right about a 1/4″.
NASCAR didn’t release the exact amount that Harvick’s spoiler was ruled illegal. However, NASCAR’s Scott Miller did give a ballpark estimate. He said the spoiler was skewed between 200-300 thousandths of an inch (0.2-0.3″) to the right.
The rear deck lid and spoiler are spec parts that are the same on every car. The fact that it was illegal says the team either created a part on their own or they modified the spec part.
Stewart-Haas Racing was docked 40 points and fined $75,000. In addition, both the car chief and the crew chief were suspended for the remainder of the season.
The driver was locked into the Championship 4 following the win. Due to the penalty, the win cannot be used to help him advance in the NASCAR Playoffs. Now, Kevin Harvick heads into the final race before the championship. He sits 4th in the points and needs a solid day and/or a win.
Harvick is starting off on the right foot. The #4 team will start from the pole position at ISM Raceway on Sunday.
“It was a little bit of a frustrating week. Nobody wants to have the blow that we had,” Greg Zipadelli told NBC Sports.
“As far as the week went, we’re a group of racers. Everybody stepped up to the plate. We’ve got a lot of good people with some depth.”
Tony Gibson has filled in as the #4 crew chief. Nick Defazio has stepped into the role of car chief, a role he’s taken with the team in the past.
“We kinda pulled them off the bench and put them in here this weekend. It’s still a little different. You just gotta be careful that those little details don’t get missed.”
Does it bother you when fans call you cheaters?
“There was a time in our sport that I would say that was true. There isn’t a car in this garage today that is 100% legal based on the way our tech inspection goes,” Zipadelli continued.
“I’m not ditching it. It’s come a long way. My point is, somebody’s five thousands, 25 thousands, 150 thousandths on some point of their car. It may not mean anything. But, you could consider them cheating. Or they could be thrown out for it.”
“Any time anything new comes into this sport, that’s what we do. We try to find every little loophole in it and try to take it to our advantage. Sometimes, it’s just too much.”