Kevin Harvick was aiming for his first victory of the season, but Chase Elliott was not going to let him have it easy.
Harvick finally went through Elliott on Lap 465 of 500, after chasing him for several laps, to reclaim the lead of the NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway on Saturday night.
However, the two drivers collided during the process, and Elliott was left with a flat left-front tire, forcing him to pit under green and knocking him out of contention for the win.
Harvick moved out to a sizeable lead but as the race neared its conclusion, Elliott ended up ahead of Harvick, one lap down. With five laps to remaining, Harvick attempted to pass Elliott as Kyle Larson, who was running second, closed in on him.
Larson ultimately went inside of Harvick and passed him for the lead with three laps remaining, and he held on for the win.
Harvick was incensed, and as the two drivers approached pit road after the checkered flag, Harvick hit Elliott’s No. 9 Chevrolet.
Harvick exited his No. 4 Ford and swiftly came over to Elliott to confront him, and the two ended up parked next to each other. The verbal brawl turned into a pushing match, which was quickly broken up by NASCAR officials.
Asked about his conversation with Elliott, Harvick said, “I told him it was kind of a chicken (expletive) move that he did there at the end. We’re racing for the frickin win at Bristol. We’re three-wide in the middle and he throws a temper tantrum, like I was just trying to get the lead and race him hard.
“Then he pulls up in front of me and just sits there until I lose the whole lead, so I just hate it for our team to be able to lose a race like that. I watched him let (William Byron) go by and then anytime you run into him, it’s a problem.”
Asked about his run-in with Harvick, Elliott said, “It’s something he does all the time. He runs into your left side constantly at other tracks. Sometimes it does cut down your left side, other times it doesn’t. Did it to me in Darlington a few weeks ago because he was tired of racing me.
“Whether he did it on purpose doesn’t matter. At some point, you have to draw a line. I don’t care who he is or how long he’s been doing it, I’m going to stand up for myself and my team and we’re going down the road.”
Elliott and Harvick were caught by TV cameras having another animated conversation in the garage few minutes after the pit road interviews.
Harvick and Elliott both entered Elliott’s team trucks for an extended talk when Harvick discovered members of the media were listening in.
As he exited the hauler, an angry Harvick slammed the door shut and declined to be interviewed more about the incident.
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