CONCORD, N.C. — Kevin Harvick’s disqualification from the YellaWood 500 last Sunday at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway was explained by NASCAR Cup Series Managing Director Brad Moran Saturday morning at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway.
Speaking to a small group of reporters that included SPEED SPORT, Moran said three of the four locknut bolts were missing and seven of the eight bolts that secure the windshield to the A-post were loose.
According to NASCAR Rule 14.5.6.2, if one of the bolts is loosened and discovered in post-race technical inspection, it’s a disqualification.
“We don’t enjoy doing penalties,” Moran said. “We don’t enjoy disqualifying competitors. We had a great race at Talladega with over 70 lead changes. We would have liked that to be the top story. Unfortunately, when it comes to post-race inspections, we do have a process. We check these vehicles, and everybody must comply to the rules.
“With the No. 4 car, we had loose fasteners and missing fasteners on the windshield. Our rule that the infraction is pretty clear and pretty clean that windshield fasteners must remain secure for the entire event. It’s Rule 14.5.6.2 — straight-forward rule.
“Unfortunately, with the 4 vehicle, we have photos because we didn’t take any of the parts because it was fasteners. There were three bolts along the windshield that were missing. The windshield seal blew out. Seven of the eight fasteners along the top were loose or missing. There are eight total.
“It was quite an obvious problem the car had when it went through inspection.”
Harvick is retiring at the end of this season. He is one of the greatest drivers of his era with 60 wins in the NASCAR Cup Series including the 2007 Daytona 500, three wins at the Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the 2014 NASCAR Cup Series championship.
He finished second to Ryan Blaney at Talladega by just .012-of-a-second.
He was later disqualified and credited with a last-place finish.
Moran brought a sample of an A-post with the locknuts in place to explain the security of each bolt and how they cannot come loose by hand.
“I put one bolt in there and you tighten it, and it has a locking nut plate that can come out and be replaced,” Moran explained. “They are even better than a nylon lock nut. For safety reasons and security reasons, these are a better locking nut plate. For me to get that out and anybody can try this, you have to line this thing with force all the way out.
“Try to loosen that with your fingers. I don’t think anybody here in the garage can loosen that with their fingers. That is the design of the part and the piece. These will not vibrate; they will not come out. Even when they are loose, you cannot loosen that part off.
“These locking nuts can be replaced. They can come out and be replaced if they are worn or used. It’s basically like a lock nut, but it’s a better quality, and that is why they are there. That is all the way around the windshield. The entire windshield — top, bottom and the A Post.”
Moran indicated the penalty is black-and-white with no room for interpretation.
“The rule is pretty simple, they must be secure and fastened throughout the entire event,” Moran said. “How they come loose, that’s not up to us to decide. It’s almost impossible for them to come loose with the parts and pieces that are supplied to the car.
“I can’t say how they come loose, where they come loose or when, it’s per our rule they need to be tight. The windshields need to be tight for obvious reasons — aero and safety and they were not. That led us to the unfortunate decision we had to do what we had to do.”
Moran said NASCAR inspectors check all glass on the cars before and after a race including side windows, windshield, and rear windows. It is even more important at a superspeedway because of aerodynamic and competitive purposes.
“I don’t want to get in the aero side of it, but we try to control cars leaking air,” he said. “In this case, you can clearly see they were missing, they were off, the seal was out, the windshield was not secure, and the fasteners weren’t tight and three weren’t there and seven of the eight were loose or missing.”
When asked if there was clear intent by the team, Moran indicated only Stewart-Haas Racing can answer that.
“If the parts were used correctly, it would be pretty hard for this to come loose,” Moran said. “You cannot loosen this off with your hands. To have them go missing, something went wrong. It’s not up to us to determine what went wrong; it just definitely was incorrect when we did our inspection post-race.
“You could see it when it rolled into pit lane. The bolts are missing, the seal was missing, it was really obvious. You can talk to different aero people; they will give you different reasons. There are trips, there are changes to the air flow and pressure to the car. Every engineer will give you their own story.
“But we want the windshields to be tight the way they are supposed to be.”
According to Moran, the lock nuts used are “best quality, aircraft material.”
He also said the condition of the seal and strip coming loose on Harvick’s No. 4 Ford would have been obvious to the casual observer on pit lane after the race.
“Our rules are pretty straightforward,” Moran said. “If you fail an inspection post-race, it’s a disqualification. If it is post-race, there are no options but to be DQed from your finishing position.
“It was an assembly problem and nothing more than that. If we found something beyond that that concerned us, the car would have gone back with us and if we found anything that led to a bigger penalty, that would have been an option for us.”
On Oct. 2, Stewart-Haas Chief Competition Officer Greg Zipadelli spoke on the penalty.
“At the completion of the race, not all of our windshield fasteners were secure, as we had bolts that hold the windshield in place back out over the course of the 500 miles,” Zipadelli said. “We are in the process of diagnosing why this happened and how to prevent it moving forward.
“We are disappointed in NASCAR’s decision to disqualify our race car and the hard-earned finish by our driver and team, but we will not appeal. Our complete focus is on the remaining races on this year’s schedule.”
Harvick appeared at his scheduled media availability Saturday morning at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway before practice and qualifications and was asked his thoughts on the DQ.
“Obviously, you don’t want to be in the middle of those situations, but I don’t really have an opinion one way or the other,” Harvick said. “I can see it both ways. I did my job. I don’t know any other way to say that. I did my job and the rest of it is open for debate as to who did what and the rule is good or bad.
“I don’t know. I don’t know all the scenarios from either side, so I hear it from both sides and can see it from both sides in some way, shape or form, but I didn’t dig deep into whether it was just or unjust. I just went home and heard the news like everybody else and I went on with my week.