NASCAR’s 2026 season is a reset for many reasons, and the December charter lawsuit’s closure is surely one of them. Though it ended in a settlement, ultimately, the plaintiff teams 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports benefited from it with permanent charters. And like most, Kevin Harvick is happy too, and that’s because he sees the outcome as a win for NASCAR too, and not just the teams.
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Harvick evaluates the lawsuit consequences for NASCAR and teams
On his Happy Hour, Kevin Harvick viewed the entire situation optimistically and first perceived the situation from NASCAR’s side.
“From a NASCAR side, I believe they have an opportunity to really look at themselves and say, ‘Okay, what did we learn through all this and how can we reshape our company. Is this a good opportunity to reshape things and the internal structure of how it all happened?'”
There’s no point in sulking over the loss. Harvick’s point makes sense, where NASCAR can use this experience to self-introspect in every way. This is because the lawsuit didn’t just address the core issue. Throughout the entire process, a lot of collateral damage and other problematic aspects came out, be it NASCAR’s fear of competition from other series or the leaked text scandal that involved insults towards veterans like Richard Childress. Harvick commented on the implications of that too.
“Obviously, Steve Phelps, he stepped down after this was all said and done. We know that the comments that he made about Richard Childress and what he said in those texts became public. I think we all talk about our friends, here and there. You might text some things that you probably don’t mean. In the end, they came out in a court of law and it became public information.
“Steve has done a lot of great things in our sport, but I don’t think that from a fan’s perspective, they could overcome the fact that he said these things about one of the most iconic figures in the sport. They had to save face, so somebody was going to have to take the fall in the end.”
But apart from this, Harvick also addressed a unique problem that was solved for the plaintiff teams with the lawsuit’s closure. The ongoing lawsuit had collateral damage on teams in the sense that drivers would think twice before joining them, knowing their uncertain future.
“When you look at trying to hire employees and doing all the things that they were trying to do. I think there were still a lot of question marks of, ‘Okay, is this team actually still going to be here? When this all gets done. If they lose, I don’t want to go to work there right now.’ So I think there are still things, that from a team standpoint, 23XI is going to have to build back up. I feel like they probably missed out the opportunity of hiring some employees along the line because of the fight that they were in.”
Overall, Harvick sees the lawsuit’s end as a turning point for everyone, and not just one party. It’s a chance for NASCAR to reassess its structure and for the teams to finally have that stability they wanted with a secure future.
Meanwhile, the season’s start is still in jeopardy with the weather situation in North Carolina for the Clash, and Harvick took a dig at it.
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Harvick slyly points to a sunny location
Mother Nature has been particularly uncooperative ahead of the Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium. As per the latest update, the event’s shifted to Wednesday, February 4. Plus, it’s not just the event, but the entire journey to Winston-Salem is also risky. Officials and crew are doing their best, but still nothing can be said about what happens on the day.
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Bowman Gray Stadium (via NASCAR.com)
Amid this, Kevin Harvick drew attention to Kern Raceway.
“65* and sunny @KernRaceway today. 😎”
It’s just the second year that the Clash is happening at Bowman Gray. Before that, the exhibition race was held at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, California.
The consequences of changing that venue can truly be felt now, as the forecasts are hinting at double-digit snow figures. Let’s hope the weather has a change of mood by Wednesday.
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