Kevin Harvick reacts to Denny Hamlin Bristol penalty, questions whether championship run is threatened

Kevin Harvick knows that Denny Hamlin and his No. 11 team are in a tough spot after losing a tire at Bristol on Saturday night. On Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour, Harvick reacted to the incident, which will lead to the suspension of two of Hamlin’s crew members.

“I think it will be interesting to see how they fill that depth with the tire changer and whoever gets a vacation here,” Kevin Harvick said. “Definitely the wrong time of year to have that scenario happen because of the fact that you’re starting a new round of he playoffs.

“I think as you go to New Hampshire next week, you expect [Hamlin] to be one of those favorites. So, you know that they’re going to be in a position with some pressure on them with somebody different up in that right front area. Not ideal.”

Harvick then asked if the pending penalty ould impact his chance to win a NASCAR Cup Series championship. “Is this the moment that could affect Denny Hamlin’s championship run?” he said. That’s really what you have to ask. Most of them are going to come down to track position, pit strategy, executing on pit road. You’re not going to win those races unless you have all that go your way.”

Denny Hamlin reacts to losing tire at Bristol

When a wheel comes off under green flag conditions on the track, it’s a two-lap penalty for the driver. NASCAR will then issue a two-race suspension for the jackman and whichever tire changer put that wheel on.

The lost wheel led to Hamlin finishing 31st at Bristol. It didn’t matter where Hamlin finished since he clinched a spot in the Round of 12 of the playoffs after winning at Gateway last week. If Hamlin loses two crew members, they will miss the races at New Hampshire and Kansas. They will be eligible to return for the Charlotte Roval race, the most challenging track of the round for the No. 11 team.

“All I know is I went into Turn 3, I felt something kind of weird off of Turn 2 where I felt like I turned the wheel, and the thing was hanging,” Denny Hamlin said on the Actions Detrimental podcast. . “I was like, ‘What the hell? Am I having another major tight moment?’ …It was only a couple of laps into that run. I just went in Turn 3, the car went straight, wiped out AJ [Allmendinger]. I don’t know who else got in it, but then I was riding on three tires.”