After a photo-finish loss to Ryan Blaney last Sunday at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, Harvick’s No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford failed post-race inspection and he was disqualified, leaving him with a last-place finish.
The move left a bad taste after what had been a dramatic down-to-the-wire battle with Blaney for the victory, which would have been Harvick’s first in his final season as a Cup driver.
Harvick was disqualified for a violation of Rule 14.5.6.2 which says windshield fasteners must remain secure for an entire event. Officials discovered the No. 4’s windshield was found unsecure, and the seal broken when they first saw the car in inspection.
Speaking Saturday at the Charlotte Roval, Brad Moran, managing director of the Cup series, described what was found.
“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, he said.
“Unfortunately, with the No. 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 in total.
“It was quite an obvious problem the car had when it went through inspection.”
Moran said the windshield was fastened securely in pre-race inspection and loosened or became loosened at some point afterwards.
“The rule is pretty simple; they must be secure and fastened throughout the entire event,” he 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.”
Moran said considering how Sunday’s race played out, disqualification was the last measure NASCAR wanted to take.
While Sunday’s race featured 70 lead changes among 24 drivers, Harvick patiently waited for his turn out front, not taking the lead for the first time until lap 161.
From there, he remained in contention for career win No. 61, right down to the last few feet.
“We don’t enjoy disqualifying competitors,” Moran said. “We had a great race at Talladega with over 70 lead changes. We would have liked that to be the top story.”
