Kevin Harvick's epic postrace sermon

HoneyBadger

HoneyBadger

I love short track racing (Taylor's Version)
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I liked it so much I decided to publish it on my website.

http://race22.online/harvick-feels-nascar-tracks-should-invest-more-in-short-track-racing/

“It's important to keep that type of racing healthy for our sport because I believe the grassroots, hardcore fans live at those racetracks,” Harvick elaborated. “Those are the hardcore fans that we talk about losing. In order to do that, in order to keep them enthused, we have to build it from the bottom up, from the late models, K&N, to get them to come out. The guys and gals that go watch the races in Tucson, we need to get them to come here and watch the races in Phoenix.
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“I feel like it’s important for our sport to keep those regional series healthy,” Harvick said in response to question about his upcoming K&N appearance from veteran reporter Chris Knight. “To have the season opener out there, have some buzz around it, and this will only help that buzz. We need those series to be healthy because, in my opinion, all those hardcore NASCAR fans that we talk about losing, a lot of that starts at the grassroots level.”
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“I don't remember who I had this conversation with,” Harvick explained. “I think that needs to be a part of our initiative. A guy like Chase Elliott would love to go run late model races at any late model track in the country, instead of going to do an appearance. That's what pushes his buttons. A guy like Jimmie Johnson has no real interest in running any extra races, like a guy like Jeff Gordon didn't. If we could find that niche. I would love to build the K&N West Series back to what it needs to be, that enthusiasm, get to the right racetracks, help those kids.

For me it was an eye‑opener last year when I went to Sonoma and saw the impact that running that race had on the competitors, the series. The fans will sometimes say, You're cherry picking. I would tell you, nobody would know who Will Rodgers is unless it was for us running that race, having him on the radio show, bringing him to the pit box the next day, these guys take him in. If we can shed some light on those particular series, really build them back to where they need to be. I have so many thoughts on this. That's just for a different conversation, so… Building everything from the grassroots up, I love that part of our sport. This guy has been a part of grassroots racing from the Sprint cars and midgets.”
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“I've been mad at Sperber here for a couple years now because he won't have the K&N cars come race here because it doesn't help his budget,” Harvick continued. “In the end, without those grassroots fans, those grassroots people, coming and being able to race here, whether it fits your budget or not, 10 years from now you better hope you have your ass some people that will sit in the stands up here and wanting to watch these races at your short tracks because those are your hardcore fans, those are your grassroots fans. One of the best things that happened for racing, it's not just about NASCAR, was when we had the Copper Classic here. We had midgets, Sprint cars. Didn't matter how many people sat in the grandstands. As competitors, those guys, this was their Daytona. On the West Coast, this is what we thought our Daytona 500 was. This is where everybody wanted to race. It's kicking those guys low on the K&N West Series that they don't get to come and race at this particular racetrack because of the fact there's a little bit of a pissing contest between a budget, what is right, what is wrong from a sanctioning fee side on Trucks and Xfinity.
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*passes collection jar*
 
Kevin, I like your words. Keep saying them.
 
Nice work Andy.
 
like it is Nascar's responsibility to save the short tracks. Eh maybe have a nascar all star team for them to try to beat. Listen to their fans rail on the cuppers taking prize money away.
 
Nice of Kevin to open his big mouth and throw Jimmy and Jeff under the bus. Kevin's bus must be pretty big. He's put Dale Jr., Jimmy, and Jeff under it.
 
StandOnIt said:
like it is Nascar's responsibility to save the short tracks. Eh maybe have a nascar all star team for them to try to beat. Listen to their fans rail on the cuppers taking prize money away.
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The responsibility to assist short tracks survive is part and parcel of sanctioning series to run on those tracks. It's in the best interest of every sport to assist the systems that develop upcoming talent, even when there's no direct financial or administrative connection.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
The responsibility to assist short tracks survive is part and parcel of sanctioning series to run on those tracks. It's in the best interest of every sport to assist the systems that develop upcoming talent, even when there's no direct financial or administrative connection.
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you got any examples of this? news to me. As it is, the big teams run in Xfinity and the trucks and catch hell for it
 
Towmater said:
Nice of Kevin to open his big mouth and throw Jimmy and Jeff under the bus. Kevin's bus must be pretty big. He's put Dale Jr., Jimmy, and Jeff under it.
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He really didnt throw anyone under the bus. Jeff and Jimmie chose not to run extra races and have 11 championships and nearly 200 wins between them.

To each their own.
 
StandOnIt said:
you got any examples of this? news to me. As it is, the big teams run in Xfinity and the trucks and catch hell for it
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I don't know about S&B sports but I do know NHL hockey is invested in the minor leagues.
They can't put players under contract like they did in the old days but it sure helps keeping the sport alive. Besides those fans pay up to $800 for a ticket and those aren't suits.
 
Team Penske said:
I don't know about S&B sports but I do know NHL hockey is invested in the minor leagues.
They can't put players under contract like they did in the old days but it sure helps keeping the sport alive. Besides those fans pay up to $800 for a ticket and those aren't suits.
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hockey is a stick n ball sport btw. Can't say much, but the funding is way different.
 
yeah well you fellers can talk about how great stick n ball is on other threads IMO. Guess who is going to be in the season opener K&N at Bakersfield? Why that would be the sermonizer , Kevin Harvick
 
StandOnIt said:
yeah well you fellers can talk about how great stick n ball is on other threads IMO. Guess who is going to be in the season opener K&N at Bakersfield? Why that would be the sermonizer , Kevin Harvick
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We're just pointing out how similar minor league racing is to the minor leagues of other sports.
 
The minor league teams in my general area are aggressive and intentional about marketing and tie ins with affiliated major league clubs. You see a lot of very young kids at these games and often time there are bus trips, company functions and other promotions involved. In terms of any type of auto racing I hear nothing from any short tracks (other than they are closing) and nothing from any tracks that hold Nascar sanctioned events.
 
The Nature Boy said:
We're just pointing out how similar minor league racing is to the minor leagues of other sports.
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I am not sure Nascar and the tracks ever had to work to get the requisite amount of fans in the seats so now they are in a world of hurt they don't know what to do. The Laissez-faire plan doesn't seem to be working.
 
I've seen way too many short tracks close in the past decade. would be nice to see some nascar support again. maybe quit coupling xfinity and trucks on mencs weekends and send them to different regions.

some here may not enjoy local track racing, but my fandom began there long before I cared about nascar.
 
ChexOrWrex said:
He really didnt throw anyone under the bus. Jeff and Jimmie chose not to run extra races and have 11 championships and nearly 200 wins between them.

To each their own.
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To point out that they don't or did not wish to run races and hold Chase up as someone who does is throwing Jimmy and Jeff under the bus. There wasn't a need to even bring them up to get his point across.
 
klemmabyna said:
I've seen way too many short tracks close in the past decade. would be nice to see some nascar support again. maybe quit coupling xfinity and trucks on mencs weekends and send them to different regions.

some here may not enjoy local track racing, but my fandom began there long before I cared about nascar.
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There is a reason that the average Nascar fan is almost 60 and that is because they pissed off a lot of the older fan base that would have introduced the series to children and other youngsters Offering free tickets to kids for X races is a nice gesture but the horse was out of the barn long before that was implemented.
 
The Nature Boy said:
We're just pointing out how similar minor league racing is to the minor leagues of other sports.
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The hard part is that NASCAR has XFINITY and Trucks, which is the AAA and AA for NASCAR. And K&N which is Single-A in a way.

For dirt racing, the World of Outlaws or Lucas Oil Series is the pinnacle, but not for asphalt. A lot of drivers are lucky just to get a shot in K&N.
 
StandOnIt said:
you got any examples of this? news to me. As it is, the big teams run in Xfinity and the trucks and catch hell for it
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Before I respond, I want to make sure I understand your question. Are you asking for examples of how other sports support their developmental series? If not, what are you asking for examples of?
 
Charlie Spencer said:
Before I respond, I want to make sure I understand your question. Are you asking for examples of how other sports support their developmental series? If not, what are you asking for examples of?
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most of the short tracks in this country don't have sanctioning series was my point. They are independently owned
 
Nascar has challenges as kids are exposed to different sports in school and while not everyone plays them or watches them they are at least familiar with them. Obviously you can't play auto racing before school opens up or during PE class and with no one at home paying attention to auto racing and less and less youngsters being interested in the automobile it causes headaches.

I wouldn't say it is Nascar's duty to make race fans but it certainly is in their best interest to do so. They may have minor leagues and minor minor leagues but clearly those things are not moving the needle in terms of adding fans. In some quarters Nascar is being referred to as a niche sport (always has been and always will be is how it goes) which is really just a polite saying that Nascar is racing from irrelevancy to complete irrelevancy in terms of interest. The thinking is that the smaller Nascar gets the better the racing will be and going to the track is great because you can stretch out due to all the unsold seats.

For whatever reason it doesn't seem to be a priority for Nascar and the tracks to promote or improve the product except for Charlotte which is at least getting rid of a cookie cutter for something that is hopefully better. Nascar leadership tells us most of the fans live in California and that the racing has never been better than today and when a change is made it is because it is something the fans have been asking for like the chase and stage racing.
 
Mispeedway15 said:
The reason I became a Kyle Larson fan and have became so big on NASCAR in the last few years again is because he races every year in Ohio Sprint Speedweeks. So yes Harvick is definitely right
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Harvick, Elliott, Larson, Hamlin, Busch, Stewart, Kenseth, Kahne, Stenhouse, are some who race or who own teams who do race. Harvick seems to be more peeved that K&N's promoter isn't holding a race at Phoenix
 
I don't see a shot at jeff and jimmie, what I do see is the sponsor demands on the racers.

“I don’t remember who I had this conversation with,” Harvick explained. “I think that needs to be a part of our initiative. A guy like Chase Elliott would love to go run late model races at any late model track in the country, instead of going to do an appearance."
 
StandOnIt said:
most of the short tracks in this country don't have sanctioning series was my point. They are independently owned
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Thanks for the clarification. I see those tracks as equivalent to semi-pro leagues. I agree that NASCAR doesn't have responsibility for EVERY short track in three countries, any more than MLB owes anything to the Tri-County Wannabees who play for 10 weeks of American Legion ball in the summer

Harvick referred to specific NASCAR feeder series. NASCAR does owe support to the tracks those series run on.
 
klemmabyna said:
I don't see a shot at jeff and jimmie, what I do see is the sponsor demands on the racers.

“I don’t remember who I had this conversation with,” Harvick explained. “I think that needs to be a part of our initiative. A guy like Chase Elliott would love to go run late model races at any late model track in the country, instead of going to do an appearance."
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Yeah I would think Harvick and the others would rather be racing that doing things like this. But they have to help pay the bills
 
While I don't necessarily disagree, one thing about the appearances he's talking about, most of them are sponsor driven. Sponsors want a bang for their buck, and to many of them that means appearances, not necessarily their name on the car at some late model race. Maybe some of us fans should let some of those sponsors know that we'd rather see their name on a car at a short track with the top-level driver in it than see the driver at some sponsor event.
 
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