Kevin Harvick slams NASCAR for ‘unsafe’ COTA track conditions after racing in the rain

“It’s the most unsafe thing I’ve ever done in a race car by a lot,” Kevin Harvick said about racing in the rain at COTA.

Racing in the rain can be fun, but only up to a certain point because the track conditions can become very dangerous.

NASCAR had several scary moments in the first half of Sunday’s EchoPark Automotive Texas Grand Prix at Circuit of The Americas, leading Kevin Harvick to slam NASCAR for what he called the most “unsafe” situation of his career.

It was raining in the beginning the Cup Series’ inaugural race at the Austin road course, so teams were racing with their rain tires. But that doesn’t do much for visibility — which was a huge and menacing problem for several drivers, including Harvick — and the windshield wipers can only help so much when there’s an abundance of standing water on the track.

Early in the second stage of the 68-lap race around the 3.41-mile long course, 20-turn course, Harvick’s No. 4 Ford suffered significant damage after getting rear-ended amid the low visibility, and he was unable to continue racing after 19 laps.

Per FOX Sports’ Jeff Gordon, Harvick’s spotter told him to slow down because of an incident ahead of him — Christopher Bell rear-ended a slower Ryan Blaney — and then Bubba Wallace rear-ended Harvick.

Judging by Harvick’s in-car video, it looked impossible to see more than a foot or two down the track, and that’s understandably frightening. So when Harvick’s day was done after the crash, he candidly shared his perspective with NBC Sports’ Dustin Long.

Harvick said:

“We don’t have any business being out in the rain, period. So, you know, all I can say is this is the worst decision that we’ve ever made in our sport that I’ve been a part of, and I’ve never felt more unsafe in my whole racing career. Period. …

“It’s the most unsafe thing I’ve ever done in a race car by a lot. You can’t see anything down the straightaways. These cars were not built to run in the rain, and when you can’t see, my spotter said, ‘Check up, check up,’ because he thought he saw two cars wrecking.

“I let off, and the guy behind me hit me wide-open because he never saw me. So it’s unbelievable that we’re out there doing what we’re doing because we’re in race cars that aren’t meant to do this, and if you can’t see going down the straightaway, it’s absolutely not safe, not even close.”

And Harvick wasn’t the only driver to complain about the visibility — though he appeared to be the most furious about it.

On Lap 24, Martin Truex Jr. slammed into the back of Michael McDowell’s car, and a few seconds later, Cole Custer then rear-ended Truex, sending the No. 19 Toyota in the air while Custer’s No. 41 Ford smashed into the track barrier. The incident triggered a red flag on Lap 26.

Thankfully, both Truex and Custer are OK, but they were obviously unable to continue racing.

Speaking with FOX Sports’ Jamie Little afterward, they both aired their grievances about the dangers of not being able to see in front of them on the track.

Custer told FOX Sports:

“It didn’t hurt as much as I thought it was going to be but it’s just you can’t see anything. It’s pretty bad. You can’t see a foot in front of your car. I was just rolling down the backstretch … [and] you can’t see anything by the time I got to [Truex]. Yeah, it just sucks. I’m just so frustrated about having our day end like this.”

And then Truex echoed Custer’s frustrations. When asked to describe what happened from his perspective, Truex said:

“The only way to describe it is you can’t see anything, so you’re just mashing the gas and going through the gears on the backstretch praying that nobody’s gonna be there. And all of a sudden, I seen the taillight flash, and I was already in through him. So it happens that fast, going that fast.

“And then my first thought was once I hit [McDowell], just stay on the gas and try to keep going because I knew they were coming from behind. And literally, next thing I know, I get drilled. There’s just nothing you can do in those situations. … Man, it’s dangerous.”

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