NASCAR: Kevin Harvick laughs at Kyle Busch’s marketing campaign comments
By Asher Fair
NASCAR Cup Series driver and former champion Kevin Harvick laughed at comments made by fellow driver and former champion Kyle Busch.
2015 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch, 32, recently made comments about how he is in no way, shape or form a fan of the recent marketing campaigns by NASCAR that have promoted the sport’s young and up-and-coming drivers. Busch, a 14-year veteran of the sport, referred to these campaigns as “stupid”.
Clint Bowyer, 38, also voiced his opinion on the matter, stating that he has no problem with it and that these younger drivers are filling big voids left by the departures of some of the sport’s most successful and most popular drivers. Bowyer himself is a 13-year veteran of the sport.
But Bowyer’s Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Kevin Harvick, 42, went one step further than Bowyer did, laughing at Busch and comparing him to a child that’s “whining for attention”. The 2014 Cup Series champion and 17-year veteran of the sport said that he simply cannot back up Busch’s stance on the matter.
Here is what Harvick said about the subject, according to ESPN.
"“That’s like the child that’s whining, somebody who’s whining for some attention. I can’t complain about that because of the fact that our sponsors have been so involved with the things that we do. NASCAR has been very open to the things that they’re doing and involving us in it.“I can’t back that up, to be honest with you. You have to have a push for the younger-generation guys as well in order to help introduce them to the fans. In the end, that only works if they have success on the racetrack.”"
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Harvick has been very vocal about the future of the sport in the past, so it is not surprising to see him not take Busch’s stance when it comes to the younger drivers with Busch not being supportive of the marketing campaigns that focus on them.
Harvick was critical of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s lack of success as the sport’s most popular driver throughout his 18-year full-time career. However, he voiced his support for Chase Elliott and discussed how he feels that it is very important that he starts to win races in the near future. Elliott, whose father Bill won 44 races and one championship in his Cup Series career, is set to enter his third full-time season in the sport this year.
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All things considered, it is not shocking to see Kevin Harvick respond to Kyle Busch’s comments like the way by which he did. Harvick, while he may retire within the next few years, is focused on the future of NASCAR and growing the sport. Busch, meanwhile, isn’t as focused on that, which isn’t surprising given his sizable ego.