Kevin Harvick said Friday that he is unsure whether his Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 team would file an appeal for an L1-grade penalty assessed after last weekend’s victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
“That’s just way above my pay grade within the team,” Harvick said. “I try to take in what I can get from the team with where we stand on how we feel about the penalty and then we move on. That’s really the reason I’m here today is to address it all, move forward and from here on out, the team and NASCAR can handle all that.”
Harvick’s remarks came Friday morning before opening practice for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at ISM Raceway at Phoenix, where he has won a record eight times. NASCAR officials confirmed Friday that SHR has not filed an appeal ahead of the Monday deadline.
Harvick enters the fourth race of the season on a two-race win streak, having assembled dominant performances at Atlanta and Las Vegas on consecutive weekends. But the postseason benefits for his Vegas victory were revoked after two technical infractions were found on his No. 4 car in midweek inspection at NASCAR’s Research & Development Center.
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The team was found in violation of Sections 20.4.8.1 (dealing with rear window support) and 20.4.18 (rocker panel extensions) in the 2018 NASCAR Rule Book. A brace meant to support the rear window was found to have failed, and the rocker panels (side skirts) were not made of aluminum.
In addition to the loss of seven playoff points, the team lost 20 points from the overall championship standings and crew chief Rodney Childers was fined $50,000 for the L1-level penalty. Car chief Robert “Cheddar” Smith is set to serve the first race of a two-event suspension this weekend.
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