Newly-minted NASCAR Hall of Famer Kevin Harvick has given his take on a polarizing moment from this weekend's racing at Dover.
Part-time driver Natalie Decker went viral online for a radio meltdown after a string of penalties in Friday's Truck Series racing, getting pinged for changing lanes at the start and subsequently speeding on pit road, before being black flagged for driving too slowly.
That black flag for driving slowly – the second time in as many weeks it was shown to Decker before the race's halfway point – ended her day after 81 of the scheduled 200 laps.
The bulk of the 28-year-old's ire appeared to be aimed at the Truck Series' director ('There’s just so many sh***y things that I could say right now, and I’m just trying to keep it together, about the f****** of the series'), with Harvick's 'SPEED with Will Buxton and Kevin Harvick' co-host noting that to him, she sounded 'scared' and 'terrified'.
Harvick acknowledged the sympathy many have expressed for Decker after her clear emotion on the radio, admitting it was 'quite difficult to listen to', but admitted that he didn't entirely share that sentiment.
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Harvick: Zero sympathy for Decker situation
Speaking on the show, Harvick said of the incident: "I'm in the zero sympathy category. I think that racing is something – either you're good at it or you're not, and I don't like to see a mockery made out of what our sport is. And we have so many great up-and-coming female drivers.
"You look at what Danica Patrick did, and you look at Katherine Legge, and a lot of the females that have done such a great job, and I hate to see all of the work for a Jade Avedisian, Isabella Robusto, that is coming up through the ranks. All of the females that are trying to do it the right way by being good at their craft.
"Seeing the rage quit that she went through this weekend, I have zero sympathy for throwing a temper tantrum and blaming it on a series director, and all the things that she said over the radio, and all the things that have happened before this. I don't have a lot of sympathy for this one."
O'Reilly Series start at Talladega ended poorly
Dover was not the first time this year that Decker's radio comments have gone viral, raging at Talladega after arriving to the scene of a wreck a full 15 seconds after it began and managing to hit Sam Mayer's wrecked car at some speed as it rolled helplessly up the track.
Harvick added: "If you're going to do this at a high level, a low level, a mid level – whatever that is, you have to take the proper steps to be competitive. A, so you're not scared to death, and B, so you're competitive in order to run fast enough on the race track to not be a hindrance, and be somebody who is dangerous for the other competitors to be around.
"At some point, you have to take responsibility for yourself in order to be what you need to be at the level that you're racing. I hate what this does to the women who are trying to do this correctly, and get the experience and present themselves properly to the rest of the world, and will be able to do it just like Danica Patrick did."
Decker responds to Dover controversy
Decker revealed her own thoughts after the race, writing on her Facebook page: "I got a penalty at the drop of the green flag, I pulled out of line before the finish line, when serving that penalty I got another one for speeding on pit road.
"I am not going to lie I am really disappointed in myself because after all those penalties mentally I never recovered. I know there is going to be a lot of hate around my last to weekends racing and nothing you can say is worse then how hard I am on myself right now.
"But I am going to push myself to get through this and control what I can control moving forward and show up to my next race with a smile on my face and fire in me to keep doing what I love."
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