Harvick, Logano bang fenders, exchange words in 2015 opener
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) Kevin Harvick's car was a mangled mess - and some of the damage came after NASCAR's first race.
Harvick and Joey Logano slammed into each other on pit road following the Sprint Unlimited and then exchanged words outside their cars a few minutes later Saturday night, providing a little extra drama to a crash-filled race.
Logano was yanked away by one of his crew members to keep the verbal spat from into potentially escalating into a physical one.
''I was just trying to help, really,'' Logano said. ''We had a run and we kept pushing. Apparently his car was tight. I was doing the same thing with (Martin Truex, Jr.) all night, and it was working.''
Harvick did not appreciate the move. Logano forced Harvick up the track and into the wall, the No. 4 limping to an 11th-place finish with a flat tire and heavy damage. Logano was sixth. Matt Kenseth won the race.
''You know where you can push and how you can push and how far you can push, and you can't push them all the way into the corner and against the fence,'' Harvick said. ''It was a hell of a race. Just really dumb driving there at the end. You've got to be aggressive, but you've still got to use your head. You can't just detach it and lay it on the floorboard.''
Harvick and Logano have had issues in the past, with Logano once saying Harvick's wife, DeLana, ''wears the fire suit in the family.'' Harvick also poked at Logano during last season's championship kickoff news conference. Harvick and Logano were among the four drivers running for the championship in the finale.
Harvick also feuded with Logano's Penske Racing teammate, Brad Keselowski, during the season.
Harvick and Logano rekindled their grudge in the exhibition race - with no points on the line.
''I was trying to help out and trying to get to the front and trying to win this thing,'' Logano said. ''There are no points or anything like that; you go for a win. Second place, third place, fourth place doesn't mean anything.''
