In the heat of the 2021 playoffs, NASCAR found itself in the middle of a brewing storm between Chase Elliott and Kevin Harvick. What began as a battle for position turned into a cold war of retaliation and thinly veiled comments. At Charlotte, Harvick wrecked Elliott in what many believed was payback for Bristol, where Elliott had cost him a win. Later in the same race, Harvick drove straight into the wall, crashing out while Elliott loomed in his rearview mirror. NASCAR had seen enough. Before the next race in Texas, officials jumped in.They called both teams, drivers, and manufacturers into a conference and made one thing clear: no more drama. “I commend them for allowing us to race, but I think they’ve had enough. They made that pretty clear,” Elliott’s crew chief Alan Gustafson said. NASCAR had delivered its final warning. The feud didn’t go quietly. Elliott trolled Harvick with a “Merry Offseason and Happy Christmas” message, which soon landed on merchandise. Harvick laughed it off on his podcast, recounting how Elliott fans heckled him from a distance but went quite face-to-face.Fans either loved him or loathed him. There was no middle ground. And in many ways, it reminded everyone why Kevin Harvick had long been NASCAR’s most polarizing figure. But this Elliott episode wasn’t the first time Harvick stirred the pot on the big stage. Long before Elliott, there was Matt Kenseth. And long before 2021, there was 2004. That summer at Pocono, Harvick ignited a firestorm under caution that ended with a $25,000 fine and a new chapter in his villain playbook.The moment that established Kevin Harvick as a NASCAR villain!It was June 13, 2004. Pocono Raceway. The kind of hazy summer Sunday when tempers simmer just beneath the surface. Kevin Harvick and Matt Kenseth were scrapping for 10th place late in the race. The green flag had disappeared behind a caution, but the aggression hadn’t. Harvick’s No. 29 Chevy and Kenseth’s No. 17 Ford were locked in a tight dance. Harvick, fresh out of Turn 4, nudged Kenseth, who slid off into the grass. Under caution.Moments later, Kenseth responded with equal force. He came back and spun Harvick on the backstretch, also under yellow. The Pocono 500 had turned into a demolition derby with both drivers using caution laps to settle the score. NASCAR wasn’t amused. “It boils down to a frustration level between the 17 and the 29 that got played out on the racetrack, under caution, and that’s something we frown on… greatly,” said NASCAR President Mike Helton. Both drivers were summoned immediately.June 13, 2004: A particularly wild race at Pocono ends with Kevin Harvick and Matt Kenseth spinning each other under caution. Both drivers were fined $25,000 pic.twitter.com/2PlCJNhCMu— nascarman (@nascarman_rr) June 13, 2025Their finishing positions were adjusted. Harvick, who crossed the line in 11th, was dropped to 20th. Kenseth, who came in 10th, got moved back to 21st. But that was only the beginning. NASCAR announced both drivers would be fined $25,000 each and placed on probation until August 11. That covered the next seven races. The message was clear: retaliation under caution wouldn’t be tolerated, even if both drivers claimed innocence.However, Harvick didn’t back down in the press. “I don’t know what his deal is. I raced him clean and cleared him, and he got up underneath me and tore my back bumper. Then, under caution, he brake-checked me and spun himself out.” Kenseth didn’t agree. “When you get spun under caution, it’s certainly not a mistake,” he said. “We both could have been more grown-up and settled this thing a long time ago.” The feud spilled into the paddock, the media, and the next week’s garage gossip.Just days later, Harvick walked through the Michigan garage wearing a shirt that read Matter Kenseth, a cheeky nod to the drama. Some thought it was a peace offering. It wasn’t. When asked if the feud was over, Harvick smirked and said Kenseth “tries to be the nice guy” and “is never wrong.” Kenseth, meanwhile, chalked it up to Harvick being unable to accept a good block down the backstretch. Fans loved every second. This wasn’t racing, it was storytelling.Kenseth finished the 2004 season eighth in points. Harvick, four spots behind in 14th. But stats didn’t matter. That Pocono weekend had become part of NASCAR lore. Two drivers. One caution. Fifty thousand dollars in fines. And a warning shot for what NASCAR would and wouldn’t allow on its stage. It was chaos, but it was memorable. And it was the beginning of Harvick’s long ride as the sport’s most reliable agitator.Martinsville Mayhem: Harvick dethrones Dale Jr.The Kevin Harvick story didn’t end there in Pocono. Years later, Harvick would once again find himself in the crosshairs of fan outrage, this time from the most passionate base in NASCAR. In 2011, he upset Junior Nation at Martinsville, and things boiled over once again. After a rocky start, his team had clawed its way into contention. With just four laps to go, Harvick dove under Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s No. 88 and snatched the lead. It was the kind of move that wins races and sparks fan revolts.Harvick became the first repeat winner of the season, but not without making thousands of Junior fans furious. “I hate to be the guy that’s the bad guy here, but we’re in it to win it,” Harvick said in Victory Lane. That single line told the whole story. Junior had led late, fans were on their feet, and it felt like a 99-race winless drought was finally ending. Instead, Harvick crushed the fairytale with one cold, clean pass. Dale Jr. couldn’t hide his disappointment.“I was thinking at the end that I was meant to win that damn race. I’ve got a hell of an opportunity right here… but I just couldn’t do it. I made some mistakes in the corners,” he said. It was a heartbreak finish, and fans didn’t forgive easily. Harvick had touched a nerve. He didn’t wreck Jr. He just outran him. But in NASCAR, sometimes that’s worse. That race sealed his fate with Junior Nation. The boos got louder. The cheers got sharper. But Harvick didn’t flinch. As he always had, he leaned into the chaos.The post NASCAR Iconics: Kevin Harvick Sparks $25K Fine War After Pocono Carnage Under Caution appeared first on EssentiallySports.