As the dust slowly settled down on the notorious track of Bristol, the eyes turned moist for most of the audience viewing the final race of the Round of 16. This was the final time that Kevin Harvick would be driving and competing for the championship on the World’s Fastest Half-Mile. However, the hopes failed to come to fruition, as Kevin Harvick failed to recover from his lapped position and eventually fell below the cutline of elimination.

However, the question that arises at this juncture is who is to blame for the fateful outing of the No. 4 Ford team and what possibly went wrong that resulted in such an outcome. Well, the answer lies in the words of Harvick’s close confidant.

Kevin Harvick’s team member heaves his disappointment

There is no denying the fact that Stewart-Haas Racing has been one of the only Ford teams that has struggled to find traction and momentum throughout the season. While Team Penske and RFK Racing had been dominant forces under the banner of the Blue Oval in the ongoing season, underdog teams like Front Row Motorsports made sure they didn’t stagger far behind. On the contrary, Tony Stewart’s team, which accounts for more than 25% of the manufacturer’s representation, failed to claim a single victory.

Nevertheless, 2014 Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick made sure that he was able to compete in the post-season in his final year of professional racing, but his aspirations were short-lived. The elimination race on the track in Bristol turned out to be the last blow for the Stewart-Haas Racing team. The driver was seen struggling to find momentum and get a grip on the handling of the car. Harvick eventually fell back in laps before falling short in points and ultimately being eliminated from the playoffs.

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Owing to this Kevin Harvick’s crew chief Rodney Childers lashed out revealing the reasons behind the disappointing results of the team. In his interview with Frontstretch Media, Childers expressed, “It [the No.4 car] needed everything. I don’t know we have always been really good here and for some reason, it just seems like something messed up. My guys are freaking awesome and we don’t ever have things messed up.”

With Kevin Harvick eliminated from the playoffs, it was Martin Truex Jr and Bubba Wallace who entered the next stage of Round 12.

Retiring driver Kevin Harvick fails to contend for the championship

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Nonetheless, no one was as disappointed as Kevin Harvick was. His final shot at earning a victory and perhaps a championship ended early in the playoffs.

In his post-race interview, Harvick exclaimed, “I mean we have been just like that all year and we have been hit or miss. Tonight we just missed by a mile. I mean I have had some good days and bad days but that’s definitely the the worst one I’ve had with Fenders on to. and coming out of here, missing out of here, missing the playoffs.”

“I really didn’t have many expectations with this up and down that the year has been, so it is what it is, probably what we deserve.”

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With that being said as the first round of playoffs comes to a culmination, it will be interesting to see how the top 12 drivers perform and give their best shot in claiming the championship title. It will be a race that is marked with high-octane drama.