Harvick Opines on Aggressive Racing, Gragson Penalty – Motorsports Tribune

If there is anyone who knows what Gragson is going through, it’s Kevin Harvick, who has had his fair share of run-ins with other drivers at various points in his career.

On Saturday at Atlanta, Harvick dove head first into the discussion about the incident, giving his thoughts on the increase in aggressive driving that has been seen at all levels of motorsports, changes in officiating, and the penalty that Gragson was eventually served with.

“I don’t know where the black flag has gone in racing in general,” Harvick said. “Like where is the black flag? Is it still up there for something other than a nut falling off your car? I don’t know. You know, I saw the statement of this is what happened, but you know, I think as you look at it all. I asked the same question at the go-kart races yesterday. Like is the black flag still in the bag? Cause I don’t know. You know, I think some of that officiating and kind of in general, I guess in the world, but the rules are sometimes enforced and sometimes not enforced.

“I’ve been parked for stuff like that immediately and suspended. That was a long time ago though. My point is things are just different than they used to be. The best explanation that I heard was it is the Xfinity Series and you hope that the lessons are taken from the situation.

“Noah’s a great kid and drives hard. And does a lot of really good things too. I think in one situation like this, it’s not, you don’t want to pinpoint exactly who he is or what he does as a driver. You gotta kind of just own up to it, realize your mistakes and try to do it better next time.

“I’ve been in those situations. It’s a mess, right? It’s a mess to have to deal with it and answer the questions and do all the things that come with that because it’s a tough spot to be in. But you have to evolve as a person and a driver. Unfortunately, it affected a lot of people and that’s the part that…