Kevin Harvick has been on the other side of the camera for years as a NASCAR Cup Series driver. This year, his first with Fox Sports, the future Hall of Famer has been enjoying his time as an analyst/commentator up in the broadcast booth with Clint Bowyer and Mike Joy. The 48-year-old said as much on his latest “Hour Hour” podcast.
“I’m having fun,” Harvick admitted. “I’ve really enjoyed being in the booth and I never thought that we would have as much fun as we’re having, but we have fun and it’s fun to be able to watch it from a different angle.”
Kevin Harvick Addresses Fan Criticism of Fox’s NASCAR Coverage
While Harvick has been enjoying himself and is solid as a new addition at Fox, the network still has its issues and receives its share of complaints about the broadcast quality. The driver-turned-broadcaster responded to one specific complaint.
“My favorite thing that people don’t understand is they think we can cover every story,” he said. “It’s impossible to cover every story. I promise you. We cover what’s happening in the front a lot.
“I saw somebody mad at us on Twitter because we didn’t show whatever happened at the end (of Martinsville) with Justin Haley and Austin Cindric racing for 25th. And it’s like, ‘Well, we got a pretty prominent car leading the race, won the race, interviews, everything. It happens — bang, bang, bang. Wish we could show everything, but we can’t.”
Kevin Harvick Calls Out Conspiracy Theorists for ‘Dumbest’ Comment
Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer, and Mike Joy regularly sang the praises of Hendrick Motorsports during the April 7 race broadcast from Martinsville. That’s because the winningest organization in NASCAR was celebrating its 40th anniversary on the track where Geoff Bodine won for the first time. More than 1,500 employees attended.
Unsurprisingly, the Hendrick cars were also running well in the race and eventually finished 1-2-3, with William Byron collecting his third win of the 2024 campaign while Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott finished second and third, respectively. It was the first time in the race’s storied history that one organization claimed all three spots on the podium.
All of it was just too much for some fans to believe and they expressed that disbelief on social media, suggesting the race was rigged or scripted. Harvick had something to say about it.
“My favorite is, ‘Oh, we knew Hendrick was going to win from the beginning. They fixed the race,'” he said. “Oh my gosh. How in the world would you ever fix the race? That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”
Life in the broadcast booth might be a shift from life in the race car for Harvick, but he still hears the nonsense from the fans. In fact, it might be even louder.