Kevin Harvick calls on NASCAR for schedule change after Iowa, blasts Next Gen car

Kevin Harvick is never shy to call out NASCAR when the time calls for it. That’s exactly what he did after he believed this past weekend’s race at Iowa Speedway was less than stellar. 

During the latest episode of Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour, the former Cup Series champion explained the problems he has with NASCAR’s schedule, and what it means for Iowa in the future. He’s satisfied with that turnout from fans, but the racing has to improve next time around.

“I don’t think Kansas is a two-race town. I think Kansas is a one-race town. There’s just some of those markets that are one-race (markets). Michigan, Pocono, Richmond. I think that it’s okay to not go there every once in a while, too. I think that going back to those places adds that mystique of, ‘Oh, what’s it going to be like with this car?’ It’s all those things that you haven’t done in a while. Old becomes new again,” Harvick stated. 

“If you skipped Richmond a year, I think everybody would be okay with that. Or if you skipped somewhere that had two races and moved that race for a year and saw how the crowd went, just like with Pocono. Have one race, pack it out, and you can go somewhere else. Iowa has always been a great place to race. I think that seeing the crowd and everything stacked around the outside. The ARCA crowd was good, the Xfinity crowd was good.”

Of course, with such awesome support from fans in Iowa, Harvick wants to see NASCAR put on the best show possible. He just doesn’t know if that’s possible with the current car the circuit has. 

“The car sucks. It’s not fun to see the car not be able to pass like it needs to be,” Harvick added. “It turned into a fuel mileage, track-position race. That part I don’t like. Doesn’t seem like we’re making any ground on making it better. 

“I think that Goodyear has done a good job in making the tires a little bit better. It wound up being exciting because it was edgy. Cars were hard to drive. The track is rough. The track’s got everything that it needs. But man, it’s tough to watch a fuel mileage race on a short track.”

It’s tough to argue with Harvick’s sentiment. He’s also far from the only driver who’s thinking like this. Others, such as Denny Hamlin, panned the Iowa race as a whole, wishing for changes in the future. 

Time will tell if anything comes to fruition from a disappointing weekend in Iowa. Kevin Harvick will be watching with a keen eye as the Cup Series moves to Watkins Glen, hoping for some more entertaining NASCAR action in Upstate New York.