Former NASCAR champion Kevin Harvick didn’t hold back when discussing Denny Hamlin’s controversial finish at Kansas Speedway. During his appearance on NASCAR on FOX’s “Happy Hour” podcast, Harvick accused the three-time Daytona 500 winner of breaking one of racing’s most fundamental unwritten rules.

The incident cost both Toyota teams a potential victory and handed Chase Elliott an unexpected win. Denny Hamlin suffered a power steering failure in the closing laps of the 2025 Hollywood Casino 400 race at Kansas Speedway, with the issue beginning about 50 laps from the scheduled finish. Despite this major handicap, Hamlin impressively led a race-high 159 of the event’s 273 laps before ultimately finishing second after making contact with Bubba Wallace while battling for the lead and losing out to Chase Elliott by just 0.069 seconds.

Wallace, who drives for 23XI Racing, the team Hamlin co-owns with Michael Jordan, had just taken the lead and was trying to hold off his boss when the contact occurred. Both Toyota drivers hit trouble, allowing Elliott to sweep past for his second win of 2025.

What’s Kevin Harvick’s Take?

Harvick was crystal clear about what Hamlin did wrong. “The only rule that he broke is one of you better win. Now both teams are out of contention, and they handed a gimme to Chase Elliott when they had everything under control,” he explained during the podcast with Kaitlyn Vincie and Mamba Smith.

The veteran driver, who won 60 Cup Series races in his career, emphasized that this rule is sacred in NASCAR. “If you’re going to bang doors with your teammate and you’re going to do all those things, you better make sure one of you wins the race,” Harvick said.

While Hamlin and Wallace aren’t technically teammates, Hamlin’s ownership of 23XI Racing creates the same expectation that any aggressive racing between them should result in a Toyota victory, not hand it to another manufacturer.

Harvick knows this situation all too well. He shared a story from Montreal in 2007 when he wrecked two of his own cars but still managed to win the race. His team owner wasn’t pleased.

“I get to Victory Lane and I’m like, ‘Hey, there’s DeLana and Josh sitting over there and yep, they’re still sitting over there. I wonder why.’ I’m like, ‘Come on.’ And they’re like happy. And she’s like, ‘Flip me the bird,’” Harvick recalled.

Nobody spoke to him on the flight home, but he stood by his actions because he had won the race and done his job as a driver.

The Kansas incident was particularly costly for Wallace, who dropped to 10th in the standings, 26 points behind the cutoff line. Instead of securing an automatic playoff advancement, he now faces potential elimination.

Hamlin defended himself on his podcast, stating that on Sundays, he’s the driver of the 11 car, not the owner of the 23 car, making his primary team the priority.