Kevin Harvick Gets Candid as Jimmie Johnson’s Harsh NASCAR Next Gen Struggles Hit Hard

It was 1997. Jimmie Johnson wasn’t the 7-time Cup Series Champion we’ve come to love today. He was just a 21-year-old off-road racer from California looking for his next big break. That’s when he arrived at Camp Hornaday, and more importantly, when he met Kevin Harvick, sleeping on air mattresses and playing at the pool table. The duo has come a long way since then. While Harvick has retired, Johnson still feeds his NASCAR bug, and after his 700th start coming at the Coca-Cola 600 this year and the subsequent result, Harvick isn’t happy to see his old friend suffer in the Next-Gen era.

What was supposed to be a meaningful 25th Coca-Cola 600 appearance for Johnson quickly turned sour. Starting from the 37th position, the No. 84 Legacy Motor Club car never really found its rhythm. On lap 75, he had taken to Turn 2 and slapped the wall. The team patched the car up, but the momentum was already broken.

By lap 103, Johnson had to bring the car behind the wall again. Just eight laps later, things got worse. Coming off Turn 4, he lost control again, this time collecting Connor Zilisch and Cole Custer with him. While they managed to continue, Johnson’s car was too damaged.

Kevin Harvick, on Happy Hour, summed it up pretty bluntly. He pointed out how unforgiving the next GEN car has been—not just to Johnson, but to many drivers trying to feel their way through it. “We saw Kyle Larson do this. We saw Tyler Reddick do this. And you know, this was, this was early in the race. But you know, you look at that, the traffic in front of him, and just the situation that you’re in with this car and how it is easy to step over the edge. Jimmy’s one of those guys that always drove on the edge with the old car; you could drive over the edge, as we’ve talked about many times with Kyle Busch and we see Kyle’s been out a lot in this car as well. But they’re all—they’re two of those guys that drove over the edge in the old car and you just can’t—it’s so easy to get over that limit all of a sudden and not do anything different and it just steps out on you and crashes, and being ahead of that is really difficult to do. So Jimmy’s in a worst-case scenario. More power to him for giving it a whirl. But it’s still tough for me to watch, you know, seven time champion. ” Harvick said, noting how easily drivers step over the limit.

Well, Harvick was referring to the moment we saw Johnson snap his steering and lose control. Remember last season at Atlanta when Kyle Larson suddenly seemed to wobble in his car and then wrecked into the wall? Johnson’s car showed something similar. But there may be something deeper to it, and Harvick thinks the struggles are linked to the Next-Gen car.

He wouldn’t be wrong. Both Johnson and Busch drove the Gen-6 car for a major chunk of their careers, and neither has able to find success in the Next-Gen car. In the current era, Kyle Busch has 17 DNFs and Johnson, in the 14 races he’s driven, has 5 DNFs. Clearly, there’s a struggle with the car. Could it be the downforce? Well, Johnson admitted to the problem last year. “Easy in, first one back to the gas – that mentality worked with the old-generation car. It’s not the case with this car. It’s a much different approach with corner entry, with a whole lot of throttle controlling the car in. Slowly getting the hang of that. It’s pretty amazing how sensitive your right foot is to control that. The traffic situations, they’re just different with this car, and my instincts, I just kind of reacted in a way that I shouldn’t have, and once I realized it was too late.”

And after the race, the mistake was reflected in Johnson’s words. “I think I just made kind of a rookie mistake in one of these cars, the way I let out of the throttle going into the turn. I knew right when I let off the throttle I came off a bit abruptly and the car was a little sideways,” a very frustrated Johnson remarked.

But, for a NASCAR legend like Harvick, to see a 7-time Cup winner like Johnson settle for low finishes and getting data for the team stings. “I know he’s trying to help the team and trying to put himself in a position to learn about the cars, and it doesn’t seem to really affect him. He gets in it and hopefully the feedback and things that he’s gathering and the knowledge and things that he gets from the simulator helping his team, because I just I view it as I’d rather not be in it at all personally, just because of how I envision Jimmy Johnson.

For Harvick, it’s about paying back all those times Johnson helped him. Back in 2014, he reflected on Johnson’s importance in his life. “Jimmie was in my trailer as much as many of my teammates, and calling me and on the phone – doing all the things that it takes to tell me what I needed to do today. We slept on those same couches at [Ron] Hornaday’s house, adjacent to each other in the game room. He’d go race his ASA cars, and I’d go race the trucks for the Spears bunch, so we spent a lot of time together as friends and have grown to be better friends as we’ve gone past the last few years for sure.”

Johnson once visited Harvick’s trailer at every race, trying to help him improve. Perhaps Harvick might return the favor with Johnson’s Next-Gen struggles. For now, let’s see what Johnson’s team has been up to.

LMC’s rise through the ranks is making waves

After an extremely grueling and challenging 2024, LMC has had a phenomenal season so far. At the Daytona 500, LMC achieved a historic performance with John finishing third, John Hunter Nemechek securing fifth, and Eric Jones placing 12th. This marked the first time the team had two cars in the top five at Daytona, and NASCAR insiders are taking notice.

Brett McMillan, speaking about the change, went on to say, “One team I see, Pete, that seems to be rising and looking pretty good on these intermediate tracks is Legacy Motor Club. You know, especially John Hunter Nemechek. They – I think it’s kind of quiet—they’re rising through the field.” The overall impact was clear. Nemechek’s positive string of performances and Erik Jones’ improvements were visible.

His partner, Pete Pistone, added, “It’s funny that you said that because this is kinda what a lot of people thought we would get last year from Legacy Motor Club. When they made all those changes in the offseason, and know by their own admission that just did not work out. They’re kinda where I thought they would be, maybe a year ago, where you’re seeing good finishes. You’re seeing John Hunter up there, and he’s been pretty impressive.”

Looking ahead, Johnson remains extremely positive about LMC’s trajectory. He continues to lead the team with a focus on development and competitiveness as he takes on the 2025 season with great charge.

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