FOX Sports commentator and NASCAR legend Kevin Harvick has been accused of contradicting himself after claiming the conditions weren’t too bad during the Cook Out Clash exhibition race.
While in the booth during the FOX Sports broadcast, Harvick said it “wasn’t that bad” when he raced in the rain. However, NASCAR reporter John Newby found his previous comments after a brutal Circuit of the Americas race in 2021.
There were several wrecks during the race as rain poured onto the track, and visibility was minimal. Harvick slammed NASCAR’s decision to race in the conditions and claimed that it was one of the most unsafe situations he’d experienced throughout his racing career.
“It’s the most unsafe thing I’ve ever done in a race car by a lot,” Harvick said. “You can’t see anything down the straightaways. These cars were not built to run in the rain.
“It’s unbelievable that we’re out there doing what we’re doing because we’re in race cars that aren’t made to do this, and if you can’t see going down the straightaway, it’s absolutely not safe, not even close.”
The 2026 NASCAR season will officially begin on February 15 at Daytona, but there is already some tension on the track after Suarez clashed with Wallace and Van Gisbergen. While Suarez later confirmed that his frustration toward Wallace was a misunderstanding, he was less apologetic to Van Gisbergen.
During the race, Van Gisbergen picked up on Suarez’s style and said, “Is the 7 (Suarez) beefing with everyone?” Suarez later said over team radio: “I’m going to kick his f—— ass. Tell (SVG) I’m coming for him.”
After the race, Suarez said, “I race people the same way they race me. I love everyone. If they give me love, I give them love. If they give me hate, I give hate.”
When asked about Van Gisbergen specifically, Suarez added: “We know where is the line. He did a couple of things that I didn’t like. I pushed him a couple of times as well, but he did it a couple more than what I did, so that’s part of it.”