RELATED: Watch Harvick’s burnout | Effort to hinder inspections?
Rodney Childers, crew chief for the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing team and driver Kevin Harvick, used photos and humor to make his points after oblique but pointed accusations by fellow Sprint Cup competitors that Kevin Harvick‘s burnout at Dover may have been an effort to cover up infractions.
Childers tweeted a response to Tuesday’s insinuations.
I don’t have a clue how we passed tech the 18 or 19 times we have been to tear down and not done a burn out.. �� https://t.co/Qy4AiAnE8x
— Rodney Childers (@RodneyChilders4) October 7, 2015
The No. 4 team was a hot topic among other drivers at Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Contender Round Media Day on Tuesday, with several drivers questioning if the team would intentionally damage such a dominant race car and saying that the practice was relatively commonplace. Harvick led 355 of 400 laps in Sunday’s AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway. It was a race he had to win to reach the second round of the Chase after a wreck put him in last place in the field of 16 coming out of Chicagoland.
Childers also brought history to bear as he made his point about burnouts via photos on Instagram, posting 13 photos of Harvick doing victory burnouts, reaching back to the driver’s time in the No. 29 car.
Told about some competitors’ beliefs that Harvick’s contact with the wall during his celebratory burnout at Dover was intentional and a way to circumvent post-race inspection from revealing anything amiss, Harvick responded with amused wordplay.
“I knew how to knock my car back into compliance by rubbing it up against the wall,” he said, grinning.
RELATED: Watch Harvick in Victory Lane
A few more photos from Childers: