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Harvick tells Edwards 'be careful who you want to pick a fight with' after clash
CONCORD, N.C. -- Kevin Harvick said he simply was "protecting our turf'' when he got into a physical confrontation with Carl Edwards on Thursday at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
Edwards stopped by Harvick's garage stall in the Nationwide Series garage to discuss what he considered unnecessary comments that Harvick made after he triggered a multi-car accident in Sunday's Sprint Cup race at Talladega Superspeedway.
When Harvick turned to walk away witnesses said Edwards grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him around. That led to a shoving match that sent Edwards onto the hood of Harvick's No. 33 Nationwide car.
"You've just got to be careful who you want to pick a fight with,'' Harvick said after qualifying for Friday night's Nationwide Race. "If you want to pick a fight with the wrong person sometimes it turns around and bites you, no matter how big and tough you think you are.''
Reminded that Edwards is in the thick of the Cup race, trailing two-time defending Cup champion Jimmie Johnson by 72 points, Harvick responded, "So are we.''
After a brief pause, Harvick, who is 171 points out of first, added, "I could give two s---- about who Carl Edwards is and what he's in the race for.''
Edwards, who pulled up behind Harvick on pit road after knocking Harvick out of the top three in qualifying, refused to get into the war of words.
"It doesn't matter,'' he said. "The truth, it just doesn't matter. I am what I am, he is what he is. If those things are different, that's fine. It doesn't bother me.''
Edwards said he's not concerned about racing around Harvick in any series.
"I don't think so,'' he said. "No matter what we think of each other personally, one of the best races I ever had in my life was Phoenix [2005] with him. It was one of the neatest races I've ever been a part of. He's always been like that, one of those guys you can race literally an inch from, and it's awesome. I hope that doesn't change.''
Neither wanted to be around the other at Talladega after Edwards triggered a crash on lap 174 of 188 that took out Roush Fenway Racing teammate Greg Biffle, Harvick and several other Chase contenders.
"I know that his fans won't be very proud of him sitting back there riding around like a pansy,'' Harvick said of Edwards after the incident. "If he had been racing all day, maybe he would have known how long the front of his car was."
Edwards then left a note on the seat of Harvick's airplane that reportedly said, "I was really trying to screw up everyone's day. Love, Carl.''
Harvick said the whole situation could have been handled differently, adding he hadn't been a part of such a situation since the fifth grade.
Reminded that Edwards got into a physical confrontation with teammate Matt Kenseth after a race last season, he said, "Obviously, there's a common denominator.''
Edwards, who apologized last season for that incident, said sometimes things like this make you more focused on driving.
"I felt better today in a car than I have in a long time,'' he said. "The one thing that's definite is it makes me realize how great I've got it. Nobody likes to deal with that stuff. It's not as much fun as the racing.''
CONCORD, N.C. -- Kevin Harvick said he simply was "protecting our turf'' when he got into a physical confrontation with Carl Edwards on Thursday at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
Edwards stopped by Harvick's garage stall in the Nationwide Series garage to discuss what he considered unnecessary comments that Harvick made after he triggered a multi-car accident in Sunday's Sprint Cup race at Talladega Superspeedway.
When Harvick turned to walk away witnesses said Edwards grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him around. That led to a shoving match that sent Edwards onto the hood of Harvick's No. 33 Nationwide car.
"You've just got to be careful who you want to pick a fight with,'' Harvick said after qualifying for Friday night's Nationwide Race. "If you want to pick a fight with the wrong person sometimes it turns around and bites you, no matter how big and tough you think you are.''
Reminded that Edwards is in the thick of the Cup race, trailing two-time defending Cup champion Jimmie Johnson by 72 points, Harvick responded, "So are we.''
After a brief pause, Harvick, who is 171 points out of first, added, "I could give two s---- about who Carl Edwards is and what he's in the race for.''
Edwards, who pulled up behind Harvick on pit road after knocking Harvick out of the top three in qualifying, refused to get into the war of words.
"It doesn't matter,'' he said. "The truth, it just doesn't matter. I am what I am, he is what he is. If those things are different, that's fine. It doesn't bother me.''
Edwards said he's not concerned about racing around Harvick in any series.
"I don't think so,'' he said. "No matter what we think of each other personally, one of the best races I ever had in my life was Phoenix [2005] with him. It was one of the neatest races I've ever been a part of. He's always been like that, one of those guys you can race literally an inch from, and it's awesome. I hope that doesn't change.''
Neither wanted to be around the other at Talladega after Edwards triggered a crash on lap 174 of 188 that took out Roush Fenway Racing teammate Greg Biffle, Harvick and several other Chase contenders.
"I know that his fans won't be very proud of him sitting back there riding around like a pansy,'' Harvick said of Edwards after the incident. "If he had been racing all day, maybe he would have known how long the front of his car was."
Edwards then left a note on the seat of Harvick's airplane that reportedly said, "I was really trying to screw up everyone's day. Love, Carl.''
Harvick said the whole situation could have been handled differently, adding he hadn't been a part of such a situation since the fifth grade.
Reminded that Edwards got into a physical confrontation with teammate Matt Kenseth after a race last season, he said, "Obviously, there's a common denominator.''
Edwards, who apologized last season for that incident, said sometimes things like this make you more focused on driving.
"I felt better today in a car than I have in a long time,'' he said. "The one thing that's definite is it makes me realize how great I've got it. Nobody likes to deal with that stuff. It's not as much fun as the racing.''
