AUSTIN, Texas — Kevin Harvick called racing in the rain “the most unsafe thing I’ve ever done in a race car by a lot.”
Harvick spoke after he slowed to avoid an accident and was slammed in the back by Bubba Wallace in Sunday’s Cup race at Circuit of the Americas. Vision was difficult because of the rain and the large spray of water from the cars on the wet track.
Harvick was slowing after Christopher Bell had slammed into the back of a slowing Ryan Blaney. No one was injured.
Harvick was livid in the garage.
“It’s the most unsafe thing I’ve ever done in a race car by a lot,” he said. “You can’t see anything down the straightaways. These cars were not built to run in the rain and when you can’t see, my spotter said, ‘Check up, check up,’ because he thought he saw two cars wrecking.
“I let off and the guy behind me hit me wide-open because he never saw me. It’s unbelievable that we’re out there doing what we’re doing because we’re in race cars that aren’t made to do this, and if you can’t see going down the straightaway it’s absolutely not safe, not even close.”
Asked if the sport had any business being on track in the rain and conditions, Harvick said:
“We don’t have any business being out in the rain, period. All I can say is this is the worst decision that we’ve ever made in our sport that I’ve been a part of, and I’ve never felt more unsafe in my whole racing career, period.”
Shortly afterward, Martin Truex Jr ran into hate back of Michael McDowell and slammed into the back of McDowell ’s car. As Truex slowed, Cole Custer ran into the back of Truex’s car, sending the back end up in the air. No one was injured. The race was stopped to clean the track.
Kevin Harvick on racing in rain: ‘Most unsafe thing I’ve ever done in a race car’ originally appeared on NBCSports.com