NASCAR playoffs contender Kevin Harvick spun while battling Austin Dillon for position during today’s race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Harvick lit up his rear tires trying to stay out of the wall, but the cloud of smoke from his big burnout kept other drivers from being able to see what was in front of him and caused a pile-up anyway.
The smokiest pile-up of the race happened with just two laps to go in Stage 2, collecting eight drivers in the mess, including unlucky last-season fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. as well as five contenders in NASCAR’s playoffs.
Harvick and Kurt Busch had to retire immediately, as their cars were hooked together and had to be pulled apart by the wreckers. Any external help with your car on track means you can’t continue under this year’s rules.
Another video of the big one shows just how intense the smokescreen was behind Harvick’s car.
At first, commentators expected this to rekindle the hilarious and seemingly perpetual spat between Austin Dillon and Kevin Harvick, but Harvick later told the NBC broadcast team that he did not believe his initial spin was due to contact.
The race was red-flagged for cleanup due to the size of the mess. Kyle Busch was able to thread the needle through on the high side of the wreck and went on to win Stage 2.
