Did Kevin Harvick have an unfair roof advantage at Las Vegas?

It’s not like he needed any extra help anyway the last two weeks, but some people are questioning whether Kevin Harvick’s race-winning No. 4 had something amiss with its roof.

Maybe there’s an outside the rules reason that Kevin Harvick and his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford were so “Freaky Fast” at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the Pennzoil 400. Or at least his haters and drivers left in his wake might hope there is.

No one has been able to keep up with Harvick the last two weeks, as he’s led hundreds of laps at Atlanta and Las Vegas en route to two consecutive Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victories. The combination of a driver known for his fast starts (see also: the 2015 Cup Series season) and a team on top of its game has been impossible to stop.

But there’s at least some question about the structural integrity of Harvick’s Jimmy John’s Ford from Las Vegas. It’s hard to make out in the picture above, but the rear right-hand side of the No. 4’s roof appears to be lower than the other side, and lower than it should be overall.

Next: NASCAR Cup Series standings after Las Vegas

Matt Weaver of Autoweek has a whole section on the “mysterious collapsible roof” and an even better view of it. Weaver also offers his thoughts on how it happened and the effect it might have on the car:

"Again, even without an engineering degree, there’s no doubt that the dip will change the flow of air over the roof and onto the rear spoiler.Is that enough to provide a beneficial increase in rear downforce? Perhaps. Enough that it was intentional? Perhaps.Oftentimes, the easiest explanation is always true. The easiest explanation is that a support bracket or bar broke, leading to the dip during the race. But it is peculiar that it bounced right back up in time for post-race."

He also notes that Harvick’s car did pass post-race inspection, which means NASCAR officials at the track were satisfied that there was no foul play involved.We’re not at all suggesting that a slightly lower roof would ensure the 4 would win, and it’s not like anyone was good enough to even be within three seconds of Harvick at Vegas. But NASCAR penalties are generally announced Wednesday mornings, and you might want to file this away until the 7th just in case.