DOVER, Del. — Kevin Harvick showed he had his teammate’s back by damaging Denny Hamlin’s rear.
Hamlin and Harvick tangled on the track that led to the top-two points leaders getting involved in a heated and profane exchange in the garage, sparking some life into the first practice Saturday at Dover International Speedway.
The dustup came a day after Hamlin blasted Clint Bowyer, saying Harvick’s Richard Childress Racing teammate was making excuses for why his winning car at New Hampshire failed a follow-up inspection.
Harvick appeared to stick up for Bowyer not with words, but with force.
It didn’t surprise Hamlin.
“I had a hint,” Hamlin said.
Hamlin knew he’d be a target when he said Harvick’s crew made sarcastic comments toward him before practice. Hamlin, who said he expected retaliation for his antagonistic criticism, said Harvick also got into the No. 11 Toyota on pit road.
Hamlin and Harvick made contact during the opening laps of practice, with Harvick bumping Hamlin’s No. 11 car and damaging its right rear. Once the drivers returned to the garage, they got into each other’s faces before they were separated. Tempers quickly flared again and they went back to yelling at each other before they were broken up for good.
“Of course, it’s unnecessary because it didn’t help either one of the race teams,” Hamlin said.
Hamlin is in first place and holds a 45-point lead over Harvick in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship points standings. Their stalls and haulers are next to each other in the garage, causing some uncomfortable moments for the crew.
Team owner Richard Childress seemed amused by the damage caused by the incident.
“I don’t know if he backed into Kevin or not,” he said with a smile.
Hamlin, runner-up in New Hampshire, ripped Bowyer’s excuse for failing inspection and bluntly said Friday he had “the fastest legal car.” Hamlin also said there had long been rumors in the garage that Bowyer’s team was pushing the legal limits of the car - something no other driver said they heard.
“I spoke my mind yesterday and I felt like I said a lot of truth, and a lot of times that’s not popular with the teams that are involved,” Hamlin said. “That’s something I’ve always done is speak my mind. It’s not always in my best interests to do that.”
Harvick wasted little time delivering payback. His No. 29 Chevrolet had minor damage. Hamlin’s right rear panel was patched together with tape and sheet metal and spent nearly 30 minutes in the garage during practice.
Asked about Hamlin, Childress said Saturday he’s learned not to get into an argument “with a skunk. And you don’t throw stones if you live in a glass house.”
Harvick had little to say after he finished fifth in the Nationwide race.
Asked if he was upset with Hamlin for his comments, Harvick said, “I don’t know.” He replied “I don’t know” to another question about his actions and refused to address it further.
Hamlin, who was fined earlier this season for critical comments about the sport he made on Twitter, refused to back down.
“Our integrity speaks foritself,” he said. “I think everyone at our team knows that we’re trying to do things the right way. So be it. Whatever they want to do.” Hamlin starts fourth and Harvick is 33rd in today’s race.
AAA 400 lineup After Friday qualifying; race today At Dover International Speedway Dover, Del.
Lap length: 1.0 miles (Car number in parentheses) 1. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 155.736 mph. 2. (43) A J Allmendinger, Ford, 155.642.
3. (56) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 155.353.
4. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 155.32.
5. (42) Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet, 155.052.
6. (16) Greg Biffle, Ford, 155.032.
7. (1) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 155.032.
8. (2) Kurt Busch, Dodge, 154.825.
9. (98) Paul Menard, Ford, 154.765.
10. (99) Carl Edwards, Ford, 154.699.
11. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 154.619.
12. (83) Reed Sorenson, Toyota, 154.619.
13. (39) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 154.593.
14. (17) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 154.533.
15. (24) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 154.52.
16. (9) Kasey Kahne, Ford, 154.414.
17. (00) David Reutimann, Toyota, 154.367.
18. (78) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 154.347.
19. (20) Joey Logano, Toyota, 154.228.
20. (82) Scott Speed, Toyota, 154.123.
21. (77) Sam Hornish Jr., Dodge, 154.083.
22. (19) Elliott Sadler, Ford, 154.037.
23. (47) Marcos Ambrose, Toyota, 154.017.
24. (33) Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet, 153.998.
25. (14) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 153.741.
26. (13) Casey Mears, Toyota, 153.721.
27. (31) Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, 153.682.
28. (87) Joe Nemechek, Toyota, 153.662.
29. (6) David Ragan, Ford, 153.656.
30. (34) Travis Kvapil, Ford, 153.322.
31. (12) Brad Keselowski, Dodge, 153.302.
32. (88) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 153.211.
33. (29) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 153.048.
34. (09) Bobby Labonte, Chevrolet, 152.99.
35. (38) David Gilliland, Ford, 152.957.
36. (81) J.J. Yeley, Dodge, 152.944.
37. (36) Dave Blaney, Chevrolet, 152.562.
38. (55) Mike Bliss, Toyota, 152.433.
39. (71) Landon Cassill, Chevrolet, 152.355.
40. (7) Kevin Conway, Toyota, owner points.
41. (37) Tony Raines, Ford, owner points.
42. (5) Mark Martin, Chevrolet, owner points.
43. (46) Michael McDowell, Dodge, 151.796.
FAILED TO QUALIFY 44. (26) Jeff Green, Ford, 151.675.
45. (64) Josh Wise, Toyota, 150.546.
46. (66) Ted Musgrave, Toyota, 149.483.
Sports, Pages 25 on 09/26/2010