Kyle Petty labels Kevin Harvick and Michael McDowell as the ‘biggest losers’ at Darlington

Kevin Harvick finished P19 while McDowell did not finish the race.

Kyle Petty labels Kevin Harvick and Michael McDowell as the ‘biggest losers’ at Darlington

Michael McDowell, Kyle Petty and Kevin Harvick (Via IMAGO)

The Race at Darlington on Sunday was one of the most eventful races this season in the NASCAR Cup Series. The race kicked off the Playoffs in a dramatic fashion. From a pit-speeding penalty for Ricky Stenhouse Jr. to Martin Truex Jr.’s loose wheel, the race had multiple twists and turns, with Kyle Larson finally emerging victorious. Post-race, Kyle Petty specified two drivers he thought were the biggest losers of the race.

Petty said that Kevin Harvick and Michael McDowell were the biggest let-downs of the race for him. While he admitted that Harvick’s poor result was due to his bad luck, he claimed that McDowell and his team would find it hard to recover from the race.

YouTube video

McDowell’s race was cut short due to the wreck caused by Kyle Busch, which had nothing to do with McDowell. As for Kevin Harvick, he seemed to dominate for the better part of the race, but an unlucky pit stop during which a caution came out forced him to get stuck in the pits, after which he finished P19.

FS Video

“Big losers for me, Kevin Harvick. Had a great run going. Just bad timing. Misfortune. Came down pit road as the caution came out, and caught him behind, Michael McDowell. I don’t think they’ll recover from that. So there were winners. There were losers. But the playoffs are on,” Petty told NBC (H&T: Pro Talk)

In case you missed it: Ex-NASCAR driver Danica Patrick escapes the Black Rock desert Burning Man Festival ‘swamp’

Kevin Harvick’s disaster pit-stop at Darlington turned out to be a blessing for Kyle Larson

Kyle Larson
Kyle Larson (Credits: Autoweek)

Kevin Harvick was handed the short straw at Darlington. Looking to be the race winner, things took a turn for the worse after he decided to pit just 56 laps before the end. He was about to be followed by Tyler Reddick into the pits as well, but he abruptly decided to stay out, which caused Ryan Newman to spin out of control to avoid contact with Reddick. This brought out a caution, trapping Harvick in the pits.

After the race, Kyle Larson revealed that he would initially go into the pits after Harvick. However, just in time, he saw Newman spinning, which made him decide not to follow Harvick into the pits. This decision turned out to be perfect for Larson since he turned out to win the race while Harvick finished a low P19.

“I was going to follow them… Then as I was pulling down, I saw, I think, Newman spinning, so I was like, I think I need to stay out, so I stayed out… Thankfully it worked out,” said Larson.

Keep reading: