Kevin Harvick put the No. 4 Nascar Ford Mustang in the Cup Series Playoffs by winning at Michigan and then at Richmond just one week later. He took a major hit in the championship, though, when his race car caught fire at Darlington Raceway during the race on Sunday.
Harvick’s No. 4 Ford caught fire on Lap 276, rolling to a stop at the bottom of Turn 1. Harvick was able to safely exit the race car as flames rolled from under the hood and the wheel wells, though he remarked that flames had been coming through the dash as well. The incident relegated him to a 33rd-place finish and dropped him to 16th in Playoffs standings.
Kevin Harvick’s car bursts into flames! #NASCARPlayoffs
📺 : @USA_Network pic.twitter.com/WWW53y2y3d
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) September 5, 2022
Harvick said he noticed no issues with the No. 4 Mustang before the fire broke out, blaming subpar parts for the issue.
“What a disaster for no reason,” he said, frustrated. “We didn’t touch the wall. We didn’t touch a car and here we are in the pits with a burned up car and we can’t finish the race during the playoffs because of crappy parts.”
Harvick wasn’t the only one to suffer a bizarre mechanical issue at Darlington. Martin Truex Jr.’s No. 19 Toyota TRD Camry unexpectedly broke down while leading, followed by Kyle Busch’s No. 18 Camry losing an engine after he took over the lead. Kyle Larson’s No. 5 Chevy Camaro showed signs of engine failure early, Chase Elliott’s No. 9 Camaro broke critical suspension parts in a wreck, and Ross Chastain’s No. 1 Camaro also broke down.
Erik Jones, driver of the No. 43 Camaro, took advantage of his competitors’ misfortune to put the iconic No. 43, owned by Richard Petty, back in Victory Lane at Darlington. Joey Logano’s No. 22 Mustang was the best-finishing Mustang in fifth after starting on the pole.
| Finish | Start | Car Number | Driver | Team | Laps Run | Laps Led | Car |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15 | 43 | Erik Jones | FOCUSfactor Chevrolet | 367 | 23 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 2 | 11 | 11 | Denny Hamlin (P) | Sport Clips Haircuts Toyota | 367 | 6 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 3 | 4 | 8 | Tyler Reddick (P) | Lenovo Chevrolet | 367 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 4 | 1 | 22 | Joey Logano (P) | Shell Pennzoil Ford | 367 | 64 | Ford Mustang |
| 5 | 2 | 20 | Christopher Bell (P) | Yahoo! Toyota | 367 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 6 | 10 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Fr8Auctions.com Ford | 367 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 7 | 25 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | Kohler Generators Ford | 367 | 11 | Ford Mustang |
| 8 | 3 | 24 | William Byron (P) | Valvoline Chevrolet | 367 | 50 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 9 | 8 | 45 | Bubba Wallace (P) | ROOT Insurance Toyota | 367 | 4 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 10 | 16 | 48 | Alex Bowman (P) | Ally Chevrolet | 367 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 11 | 22 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Renegade Insurance Ford | 367 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 12 | 7 | 5 | Kyle Larson (P) | HendrickCars.com Chevrolet | 367 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 13 | 9 | 12 | Ryan Blaney (P) | Menards/Moen Ford | 367 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 14 | 30 | 41 | Cole Custer | Feeding America/Wow Wow Ford | 367 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 15 | 21 | 23 | Ty Gibbs(i) | Monster Energy Toyota | 367 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 16 | 6 | 2 | Austin Cindric # (P) | Discount Tire Ford | 367 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 17 | 13 | 3 | Austin Dillon (P) | BetMGM Chevrolet | 367 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 18 | 36 | 99 | Daniel Suarez (P) | Jockey Chevrolet | 367 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 19 | 14 | 31 | Justin Haley | LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet | 366 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 20 | 12 | 1 | Ross Chastain (P) | Worldwide Express Chevrolet | 366 | 1 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 21 | 28 | 21 | Harrison Burton # | Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford | 366 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 22 | 29 | 42 | Ty Dillon | EG3 Technologies Chevrolet | 366 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 23 | 24 | 16 | Daniel Hemric(i) | AG1 by Athletic Greens Chevrolet | 365 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 24 | 34 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Built.com Chevrolet | 365 | 4 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 25 | 26 | 77 | Landon Cassill(i) | Voyager: Crypto for All Chevrolet | 365 | 1 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 26 | 27 | 17 | Chris Buescher | Fifth Third Bank Ford | 365 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 27 | 19 | 14 | Chase Briscoe (P) | HighPoint.com Lady in Black Ford | 363 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 28 | 31 | 38 | Todd Gilliland # | Southeastern Equipment Ford | 363 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 29 | 35 | 78 | BJ McLeod(i) | Blaster Ford | 361 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 30 | 5 | 18 | Kyle Busch (P) | M&M's Toyota | 345 | 155 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 31 | 17 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Bass Pro Shops Toyota | 336 | 48 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 32 | 32 | 51 | Cody Ware | Nurtec ODT Ford | 331 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 33 | 18 | 4 | Kevin Harvick (P) | Busch Light Retro Ford | 274 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 34 | 33 | 15 | JJ Yeley(i) | Jacob Companies/Parts Plus Ford | 236 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 35 | 20 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Kroger/Irish Spring Chevrolet | 164 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 36 | 23 | 9 | Chase Elliott (P) | NAPA/Children's Chevrolet | 113 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
# – Rookie
i – Points ineligible
* – Part-time driver
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Nascar imitating Real Life as car fires dot the entire USA…..