Kevin Harvick reacts to 'interesting' timing surrounding Jusan Hamilton exit as NASCAR race director

Kevin Harvick believes that Jusan Hamilton’s exit as NASCAR’s race director won’t be the only big move that happens in the organization. On Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour, Harvick reacted to Hamlin leaving the position.

“Well, I think the timing of it’s interesting,” Kevin Harvick said. ” I think that when you look at everything that’s going on in NASCAR right now, Chip Wile, we saw, he’s been at NASCAR for a time as a longtime executive on the NASCAR side, ran Daytona, Darlington, been in the sport for a long time from the bottom to the top.”

Harvick added, “Those probably aren’t the last changes. I think NASCAR needs to be pretty aggressive and how they realign themselves as to whatever their plan is, but it needs to be pretty aggressive as far as whether it’s calling the races or changing the rules with the car, personnel, people, uh, you know, it appears to be time for a reboot from the bottom to the top.”

NASCAR confirmed last week that Jusan Hamilton is no longer with the company. According to Bob Pockrass of Fox Sports, NASCAR did not share details as to why he’s no longer the race director, but the decision is not performance related.

More on Jusan Hamilton and his NASCAR career

Hamilton, who has been involved in NASAR race operations since 2016, became the first Black race director of the Daytona 500 in 2022. At the time, it was believed that Hamilton was the youngest race director to call the Daytona 500 at 31 years old.

“It’s a huge accomplishment for me, and I hope the biggest thing that comes from that is when there are young African-American kids from upstate New York or in an area where NASCAR isn’t necessarily the popular thing or on everyone’s radar, I hope that I am setting the example,” Hamilton told NBC Sports at the time. “Instead of getting the questions I’d typically get of, ‘Why are you interested in this? Is this really for you?’, I hope the next generation of those kids see motorsports and racing as something they have a passion for and a desire to be a part of, and that is an easier thing for them to achieve.”

Hamilton first joined NASCAR in 2012, serving as a Racing Operations and Integrated Marketing Communications Intern. He returned to the company in July 2013 as an Account Executive of Integrated Marketing Communications. Hamilton held multiple positions over the years before he was named Senior Director of Racing Operations and Event Management in July 2016. He took over the role of Managing Director of Competition Operations in September 2022.