Harvick not going to "throw stones" at fellow drivers who criticized him

Several drivers, most who failed to advance to the third round of Chase for the Sprint Cup, accused Harvick of purposely wrecking on the final restart of Sunday’s race, claiming he knew it would ensure his spot in the Chase once the field was frozen under caution.

You can’t quit. You can’t roll over and be done with it and say, ‘Well, we tried our best’ because you didn’t

Kevin Harvick 

Late in the race Harvick’s No. 4 Chevrolet developed engine problems which kept him from completely getting up to speed on restarts.

Harvick responds to criticism

“'They can look at it 100 different ways, but you can’t quit. You can’t roll over and be done with it and say, ‘Well, we tried our best’ because you didn’t,” Harvick said Tuesday during Chase Media Day at the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

“'From their perspective, I can understand their frustration of not being in the Chase, or whatever the circumstances may be. I am not going to throw stones because I don't believe that's probably the right thing to do.

Those guys have been throwing stones all year, so you just go on with it.

Kevin Harvick on accusations from other drivers

“Look, I didn’t cause the first wreck. And I don’t believe I (intentionally) caused the second wreck, either. I did the best I could on the restarts to get going and I got out of the way, and I never even really saw (Trevor Bayne) until he was by me.”

NASCAR clears the No. 4 of wrongdoing

Also on Tuesday, NASCAR issued a statement reasserting what NASCAR Vice Chairman Mike Helton said immediately after Sunday’s race – that the sanctioning body found no evidence of any wrongdoing.

“NASCAR has worked to review an extensive amount of material from Sunday’s race in Talladega including video, team radio transmissions and downloadable data,” said David Higdon, vice president of NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications.

“Based on that review, the race results are considered official as we prepare for the upcoming 2015 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Eliminator Round starting Sunday at Martinsville Speedway.”

Harvick doesn't feel the need to defend himself

When asked about the accusations from other drivers and if he was concerned about them, Harvick said he didn’t need to defend himself.

“Look, here’s the deal, if those guys were in the same situation and their car would still function – just like a football player whose knee blows up while he’s in the Super Bowl, he’s going to play as long as he can. We maintained speed under caution,” he said.

“If the circumstances would have been different, there might have been a different outcome. Those guys have been throwing stones all year, so you just go on with it.”

Harvick also said he never personally spoke to any NASCAR officials in regard to his actions in Sunday’s race.

“I try to control the things that I can control,” he said. “I’ve been at this for a long time. There’s going to be good situations and bad and you navigate through them the best you can.