DAYTONA BEACH, FL - JUNE 30: (L-R) Jamie McMurray, driver of the #1 McDonald's $1 Any Size Soft Drink Chevrolet, Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Jimmy John's Ford, and Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe's Chevrolet, talk on the grid during qualifying for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series 59th Annual Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway on June 30, 2017 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

Former champion rips NASCAR's new limitations on Xfinity races


Advertisement

NASCAR officials have decided to limit how many races Cup drivers can participate in for the Xfinity and Truck races next year, and Kevin Harvick isn't a fan of the new rule.

Cup drivers with more than five years of experience are limited to only seven Xfinity races--down from 10--and five Truck races, which is down from seven. Cup drivers also cannot participate in the last eight races of the season for either series, which includes the season finale and the postseason.

"Just let them race," Harvick said on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. "Who cares? Why not just let them race. I don't understand it. That's what we do. We race cars, we race trucks, we race late models. That's what we did all our life, we raced. I don't know why all of a sudden it's become a problem."

Related: NASCAR plans to limit Cup drivers in Xfinity and Truck racing

Advertisement

Harvick did say he was biased because he and his wife did own a team in the Truck Series from 2002-11, and he said he agrees with Cup drivers not racing in the playoffs. But he said limiting Cup drivers will hurt sponsorships in the other two series.

"I know there are going to be a lot of people that disagree with me, but it's hard when you're trying to build a business and you're trying to sell sponsorship, you have no tool greater than yourself when you're in a situation like Brad (Keselowski), myself or Kyle (Busch)," Harvick said.

"It seems you're just getting your balls chopped off every time you try to go out and sell sponsorship to try to keep your team funded because of the fact you can't run enough races, so you can't tie it to enough things. To me, it's not the right thing to do."

Harvick thinks it will hurt the other two series and younger drivers in the long run. It's easy to see where he's coming from, but the majority of the winners in the Xfinity Series races this season have been Cup drivers.

Advertisement

If the new rule change ends up hurting the other two series, NASCAR officials can always change the rule back. Harvick's frustration is understandable, but it's not like Cup drivers are being cut out of the other races altogether.

(h/t NBC Sports)