Breaking down Chase Elliott, Kevin Harvick’s Bristol feud and the ‘chicken-[expletive] move’ in the middle

It’s Chase Elliott vs. Kevin Harvick in the latest NASCAR Feud of the Week.

Welcome to FTW’s NASCAR Feud of the Week, where we provide a detailed breakdown of the latest absurd, funny and sometimes legitimate controversies and issues within the racing world.

If you watched Saturday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway, you know what this one is about. Tension was high and tempers were animated between Chase Elliott and Kevin Harvick — who, in no uncertain terms, expressed their extreme displeasure with each other during and after the race.

Kyle Larson won the first playoff elimination race and his sixth checkered flag of the season, but Elliott and Harvick were the main story out of the weekend and into this week after both advanced to the next playoff round.

The two playoff drivers got into each other, literally, on the track, had multiple confrontations once they exited their cars and might seek out retribution as they get deeper into the postseason. Let’s break it down.

What happened on track between Chase Elliott and Kevin Harvick at Bristol?

Elliott led 129 of 500 total laps at Bristol on Saturday night, and while out front, Harvick made a move to pass the No. 9 Chevrolet driver for the lead. The two made contact with 35 laps to go, and as a result, one of Elliott’s tires was cut, forcing him to pit and go down by three laps.

As Larson was chasing down Harvick for the lead — Harvick led 71 total laps at Bristol — Elliott returned to the track and raced Harvick hard to get one of his laps back. Once Elliott passed the No. 4 Ford driver, he grabbed Harvick’s line at the top of the track, remained in front of him and hindered his progress, aiding Larson’s push to get out front.

On Lap 497, Larson eventually passed Harvick — who was racing for his first win of the 2021 season. Seemingly furious with the Hendrick Motorsports drivers, Harvick hit Larson’s rear bumper, but Larson was able to maintain control and eventually took the checkered flag.

Harvick finished second, while Elliott finished 25th and three laps down.

Elliott and Harvick’s heated confrontation on pit road

Unsurprisingly after all that, Elliott and Harvick were both pretty upset with each other. Harvick parked his No. 4 car right on the back bumper of Elliott’s No. 9 car, and they then exchanged some intense words on pit road.

What did Elliott and Harvick say afterward?

A lot.

(Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

Both drivers were fuming with each other and had different takes on what exactly happened. Harvick said Elliott made a “chicken-[expletive] move” taking his line away until he lost the lead, while Elliott said Harvick runs into drivers’ left sides all the time at other tracks.

As fans booed, Harvick said during a pit road interview:

“I just told him it was kind of a chicken-[expletive] move that he did there at the end. We’re racing for the freaking win at Bristol. We’re three wide in the middle, and he throws a temper tantrum. I was just trying to get the lead and racing hard.

“Then he pulls up in front of me and just sits there until I lose the whole lead. Just hate it for our Subway Ford Mustang team to be able to lose a race like that. … They can boo all they want; I don’t care.”

“Goddamn, I’m ready to rip somebody’s freaking head off,” Harvick added.

Elliott, obviously, had a different perspective on how the pair raced each other and what happened at the end. And the fans at Bristol did too, cheering for the defending champion and reigning most popular driver.

Elliott said:

“It’s something he does all the time. He runs into your left side constantly at other tracks, and sometimes it does cut down your left side. Other times it doesn’t.

“Did it to me at Darlington a few weeks ago because he was tired of racing with me. And whether he did it on purpose, it doesn’t matter. At some point you’ve got to draw the line. So I don’t care who he is or how long he’s been doing it. I’m going to stand up for myself and my team, and we’ll go on down the road.”

More from Elliott, via NBC Sports:

“I couldn’t hear him,” Elliott said when asked what was said. “He had his helmet on and stuff. I’m 25 and I at least took my helmet off to have a conversation with him and he’s 40-however years old. Nothing new.”

(Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

But their confrontation didn’t end on pit road. Afterward, Harvick smashed his helmet on the roof of his car, and he and Elliott met up again — this time near the haulers. And as NBC Sports reported, the pair went into the No. 9 hauler together for at least 10 more minutes.

An intense ending to the NASCAR playoffs Round of 16 for sure, and fans will have to wait and see if these two get into each other again on or off the track.

The Round of 12 opens Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, followed by races at Talladega Superspeedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway’s Roval. After that, four more drivers will be eliminated from championship contention, and Harvick enters the next round in 12th place and below the cutoff, while Elliott is sixth in the standings.

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