Kevin Harvick has ‘zero sympathy’ for Natalie | Sports News

Kevin Harvick has informed Natalie Decker that he has “zero sympathy” for her following her seismic breakdown during her current Truck Series look at Dover International Speedway.

Decker, 28, drove the No. 22 for Team Reaume a second consecutive weekend. However, her outing was marred with a spectacular meltdown – simply a few months after sparking controversy on the season-opening Daytona 500 weekend. Decker posed shirtless with comic Bert Kreischer at Daytona International Speedway.

The Eagle River-born racing driver’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race then resulted in a crash. She returned to Talladega for a clean run earlier than taking a short break and switching to the Truck Series for Watkins Glen and Dover. However, final Friday’s race ended with Decker having a huge breakdown and quitting, drawing “zero sympathy” from NASCAR legend Harvick.

After being hit with a penalty from NASCAR for altering lanes earlier than the beginning—and later warned for failing to keep up minimal pace—Decker turned visibly annoyed over crew radio. In the emotional exchange, she questioned whether or not she might proceed, criticized race control, and sounded more and more distressed because the state of affairs unfolded.

Her crew tried to regular her, reminding her she might return to the pits if mandatory. Decker finally retired after finishing 81 of the 200 laps, unable to fulfill the required tempo. In the aftermath, the incident drew widespread criticism.

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In the newest episode of SPEED with Will Buxton and Kevin Harvick, the latter sounded off on Decker, accusing her of making a “mockery” out of NASCAR. “I’m in the zero sympathy category,” stated Harvick.

“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 take a look at what Danica Patrick did, and also you take a look at Katherine Legge, and a lot of the females which have executed such a great job, and I hate to see all of the work for a Jade Avedisian, Isabella Robusto, that’s coming up by way of 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 (Decker) 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.”

Co-host Buxton suggested that Decker sounded “scared” and “terrified,” nevertheless it wasn’t enough to sway Harvick. “I feel while you’re terrified, you do not need to be on the race observe,” replied Harvick. “I feel it is each. I feel she sounded terrified, and I feel unprepared to be on the stage of the racing that you simply need to be at.

“There are no shortcuts on this — male or feminine. You should undergo the method to do it proper. And that is the half that I do not like. I do not like the truth that you will get to the place you wish to be as a result of of male or feminine.

“And I think that when you look at the female side of things, it’s so touchy, but we have so many good ones that are coming up through the ranks, putting in the time time, trying to make sure they are prepared when they get to the level that they need to be. You go back and look — it’s not easy.

“You can go back and look at Hailie Deegan. She is on the path to getting to where she needs to be. Makes a couple of missteps, gets in the wrong situation, and then you’re going to Indy NXT and you’re going to do the things that are different.

“And now she’s basically starting over on the NASCAR side on the west coast to try and get back into that progression of the steps that you have to take to properly be competitive.

“If you are going to do that at a high stage, a low stage, a mid stage — no matter that’s, it’s important to take the right steps to be aggressive. A, so you are not scared to death, and B, so that you’re aggressive as a way to run fast enough on the race observe to not be a hindrance, and be any individual who’s harmful for the opposite opponents to be round.

“At some level, it’s important to take duty for your self as a way to be what you need to be on the stage that you simply’re racing. I hate what this does to the ladies who’re making an attempt to do that accurately, and get the expertise and current themselves correctly to the remainder of the world, and can have the ability to do it identical to Danica Patrick did.”