CONCORD, N.C. — NASCAR has levied a heavy penalty against Kevin Harvick — one of the Cup Series' most outspoken drivers about safety concerns with the Next Gen car — after the sanctioning body said it found illegal modifications on the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 Ford used at Talladega Superspeedway.
In penalties announced Wednesday, three days after the race at the Alabama track, NASCAR docked both Harvick and SHR 100 points each, fined crew chief Rodney Childers $100,000 and suspended Childers for the next four races. NASCAR said the penalties were for "modification of a single source supplied part."
The discovery was made after Harvick's car was selected by to be taken from Talladega to its North Carolina R&D Center for a deeper inspection.
Harvick, the 2014 Cup Series champion who ranted about Next Gen safety as recently as last week, wrote this on Twitter minutes before the penalty was announced: "Seems strange..."
NASCAR maintains its picking of cars for inspection at the R&D Center is done randomly. Competitors believe there's nothing random about the process.
"Shocking," Childers sarcastically replied to NASCAR's tweet announcing the penalty.
Steve Phelps, NASCAR's president, spoke Wednesday at a women in motorsports panel at Charlotte Motor Speedway, which will host a playoff elimination race Sunday on its Roval course. Afterward, he said there was nothing punitive in the penalty to the No. 4 team.
"I would say that's ridiculous. No one has a vendetta against Kevin Harvick or Rodney, at all, or anyone at Stewart-Haas Racing," Phelps said. "Our guys are very good. They are going to look at (an infraction). Look at it again. Look at it a third time to make sure there's a penalty and the penalty is right. If the 4 team thinks that's not right, they will file an appeal."
Phelps said he did know what part SHR allegedly modified. Asked if it was possible that Childers, who marked his 600th Cup Series race as a crew chief, modified the stiff rear clip under scrutiny in an attempt to soften it, Phelps said that was not the part in question.
The Next Gen has been under increased scrutiny the since the playoffs began in September with four consecutive races in which the car had problems. From car fires (including Harvick's in the playoff opener), parts failures and tire failures, the Next Gen struggled to hold up in playoff competition.
But the bigger issue was the stiffness in the rear of the car, which has contributed to concussions for both Alex Bowman of Hendrick Motorsports and Kurt Busch of 23XI Racing. Bowman is out for a second consecutive week and Busch will miss his 12th straight race Sunday. Cody Shane Ware, the son of team owner Rick Ware, also will sit out the race on the Charlotte Roval because of a broken foot that occurred in a crash two races ago.
It's the first time three drivers will miss a race because of injuries for the first time in at least two decades.
Chase Elliott, NASCAR's most popular driver, has accused the sanctioning body of taking a step backward in safety with the stiffness of the car. Because one of the goals of the Next Gen was to reduce costs, the new car is extremely stiff in order to withstand crashes and reduce the size of the fleets that teams need for a 38-race season.
NASCAR was scheduled Wednesday to crash-test computer models of changes that potentially can be made to the rear of the car to help redistribute the energy away from the driver during a crash. However, any solutions won't be implemented until next season, and there are five races remaining this year including Sunday at Charlotte.
With the suspension, Childers would likely be permitted to work only the season finale. Harvick, after back-to-back wins late in the regular season, was eliminated after the first round in the playoffs, largely because of car problems.
Phelps and NASCAR senior leadership are due to meet with the drivers Saturday before practice. Phelps acknowledged communication with the drivers can be improved, and he said NASCAR is open to suggestions on modifications on the car from teams.
"We need to do everything we can to make our drivers feel safe in the vehicles," Phelps said. "We certainly care about their safety. We're working on things ... to make sure we have a plan moving forward so that gaining trust can be better. Our goal is obviously to be the safest motorsport on the planet."