The Cup playoffs will commence nine weeks of intensive racing between the fiercest drivers of this season. The teams only have a limited window to unwind before the tussle for the championship begins. Being the only driver from his team who was able to crack the playoffs, Kevin Harvick is also set to participate in the upcoming round at Darlington Raceway. To make the most of this short breather, Kevin Harvick and the rest of the Stewart-Haas Racing team got together to indulge in a game of word associations.

Interestingly, it was the last word prompt that made him ponder the most.

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The first few cues were harmless enough with Harvick, along with #10 Aric Almirola, #14 Chase Briscoe and #41 Ryan Preece talking about the word ‘NASCAR’. For Harvick, it is simply “Stock Car Racing, that really sums it up”. Whereas, for Almirola, NASCAR signifies “greatest racers”. Next, Harvick was asked about his best teammate in all these years of racing.

Harvick referred to his former teammate at Richard Childress Racing. “Oh man, I think that the best teammate that I’ve probably ever had was probably Jeb Burton.” 

In a heartwarming display of team loyalty, the other three racers declared Harvick as the best teammate for them. However, this was just a start. The prompt got trickier when the question of “rivalry” arose.

Almirola and Preece had a hard time coming up with names as they were not involved in any recent disputes. On the other hand, it was amusing to see Harvick attempting to avoid naming any of the multiple altercations he has had over the years. Instead, he settled for admitting that it would be hard to define one since he has had several.

“Rivalry is a word that I would, that could be used in a number of different ways. At any given time, it could be a new guy. Rivalry, I’ve had quite a few of those over the years.”

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This revelation wouldn’t really come as a surprise for anyone following his NASCAR journey. From Joey Logano at Pocono to Ty Dillon at Martinsville, Harvick has not shied away from public disagreements. But there was one in particular that forced NASCAR to actually step in and stop things from getting worse.

The Kevin Harvick-Chase Elliott rivalry that spanned from Bristol to Charlotte

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Kevin Harvick and Chase Elliott are exceptional racers with 78 Cup race wins between them. Coming to the most prominent things that bind them together. A widely publicized feud in 2021, carried through the playoff races that year. It started at the Bass Pro Shops Night, where Harvick made contact with Elliott’s #9 Chevrolet. Elliott countered after a pit stop by blocking Harvick, resulting in his second-place finish. The two of them entangled in a heated argument after the race.

Harvick said during a pit road interview, “I just told him you know that it’s kind of a chicken s*** move that he did there at the end. We’re racing for a win at Bristol…and he throws a temper tantrum. I was trying to get the lead and racing hard, then he pulls up in front of me and just sits there till I lose the whole lead.”

The incident with Harvick had left the usually calm Elliott disgruntled in the post-race interview.

“He gets tired of racing with you and he runs into your left side…it’s a move he pulls often…and enough was enough and I’m not going to put up with it anymore…it certainly pissed me off.”

The animosity carried over to the Bank of America Roval 400, where Harvick bumped his car with Elliott’s Chevy. Despite the move, it was Elliott who finished 12th while Harvick got caught up in a wreck and could not finish. The issue further escalated when Elliott wished a much senior Harvick “Merry Offseason and Happy Christmas” once the race ended. Tired of their squabble, NASCAR intervened through a conference call. They asked both parties to end the dispute before their next playoff race at Texas Motor Speedway.

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Elliott couldn’t qualify for the Playoffs this year, but Harvick is about to compete in his last playoffs before retirement. Do you think this playoff season will remain ‘tantrum’ free?