BLOG: Happy Makes RC See Red

Kevin Harvick has always been one of those guys who just says what he thinks, and damn the consequences. There’s not a lot of heat to it at first, but as it ramps up, it’s like the anger and spite and venom just come dripping out of him.

On Saturday, it dripped all over Richard Childress.

RC is about as old-school as it gets in NASCAR these days. Oh, I don’t mean he’s still using a plumb bob and twine to work on his cars, but you get the point. He’s one of the guys who made this sport what it is, and he has remained true to his values: family, sportsmanship and defending what’s yours.

When Harvick started lipping off about Ty Dillon during the Truck race on Saturday at Martinsville, it made Childress see red.

You don’t get where RC is without being able to stand up for what you believe, and when someone crosses the line—ask the Busch brothers what happens when you do—it’s to the knife right then.

Harvick owes his NASCAR career to one Richard Childress. Maybe he forgot that in the heat-of-the-moment sniping he is so good at, but it’s true. Maybe someone should ask Kevin if he feels like his career was handed to him, since he was the only choice for Childress moving forward after the death of Dale Earnhardt.

It would have been a couple of years at least before Harvick saw a top-flight Cup ride had it not been for that unfortunate happening. Childress could have tapped a veteran for the seat; he didn’t. He chose Harvick.

Is he a talented driver? Yes, he is. Is he a contrary son-of-a-gun? You bet. That he’s going to Stewart-Haas Racing at the end of the season is a fact, but he might want to consider the whole brain-mouth thing before he gets popped in the chops by a guy who has been there and done that and has six championship rings on his mantle.

That’s six more than Harvick himself has.