Kevin Harvick blames social media for Las Vegas penalty

Kevin Harvick is upset about the penalty that cost him the seven playoff points he earned while driving away from the field in Las Vegas, and particularly how he feels NASCAR learned of the issue with his No. 4 Ford.

Kevin Harvick won the Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway going away. No one could keep up with him in clean air all day, and there’s no disputing that.

What is up for debate is whether his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford was within the rules. NASCAR says no, hitting Harvick’s team with an L1-penalty that has multiple consequences, the most severe of which is probably the loss of the seven bonus playoff points Harvick would have received for winning both stages and then the race itself.

As one would expect, Harvick isn’t too crazy about that part of the punishment, but he’s particularly displeased with how it all came about. ESPN’s Bob Pockrass reports that Harvick doesn’t think NASCAR would even have known there was an issue with the rear window of the 4 car until people started posting pictures of it on social media.

"He said if photos didn’t appear on social media, he didn’t think he would be penalized. He said if NASCAR wants to use photos during a race and black-flag a driver, that is different."

It’s an interesting notion that plays into the perception some fans already have of NASCAR making off the cuff rules decisions. Harvick suggests that if no one had raised a stink about it, NASCAR would have just let the whole thing go.

But is that actually the case? The car still would have gone to the NASCAR R&D Center even if no one would have said a thing about it. It was pretty clear from said pictures that were circulating that there was something amiss with the window and roof of Harvick’s car, and it seems unlikely that NASCAR would have just said “no harm, no foul” about the whole thing.

The team can still appeal the penalty, but Harvick noted from Phoenix that no decision has been made about whether Stewart-Haas Racing will do so. There might not be a ton of urgency because the driver’s win the week before in Atlanta already all but locks him into the playoffs, and since he is the most successful driver in the history of ISM Raceway, he has a good chance at more playoff points this weekend as well.

Next: Updated NASCAR Cup Series standings after Kevin Harvick penalty

It just comes off as a little “would have gotten away with it too, if it wasn’t for you meddling kids” for Harvick to lay the blame on social media. Stock car racing has long been a game where successful teams push the envelope as far as it can go, toeing any line the rules draw. It stinks that the penalty erased what was a fantastic day, especially because common sense tells you that no one would have caught the 4 no matter what was going on with its roof, but the thing to do here is just own it and move on.