Kevin Harvick recently issued an apology following a public exchange of words with driver Denny Hamlin. The exchange began after Harvick called out Hamlin for claiming he wasn’t “mentally engaged” after the Kansas race.

After an eighth-place finish at the Kansas race, Hamlin revealed his frustration with his pit crew, citing them as a reason for his setbacks despite driving a fast car. He explained, as previously reported by Newsweek Sports:

“We should have won the race. We had the fastest car, but every time we get into the top three the caution comes out and we start 15th, 20th again. I can’t show how fast your car is when you are behind the pack.

“All you can do is keep going up again and again and again and again, and eventually you run out of rounds and someone else wins.

“I’m not there mentally, I can tell you that. There are a lot of crossed wires and loose bolts right now. But what can you do? I’ll just do my best to drive the car and do my job .” part.”

Following this, Harvick commented during his podcast, Harvick Happy Hour:

“I give up. Why the hell would you say that? Why the hell would you get out of the car and say that? Part of what you do as a race car driver is you have to be a player of poker.

“When you wear that driver’s suit, you have to play the game and you can’t open your mouth to put yourself in a worse situation than you already are.

“Even if you think so, don’t say that. It blows my mind that you would say you’re not mentally interested after the race and just say…I just couldn’t imagine saying that. Never point point your finger at something like that, even if you’re not mentally interested in it.”

The exchange between Harvick and Hamlin intensified when Hamlin referenced a past criticism Harvick made about his own pit crew in 2016. However, Harvick dismissed that comparison, insisting that he focused on the mental aspect. He has now explained in the latest episode of his podcast:

“Anyway, the dunk hit the rim and the ball is at midcourt because listen, buddy. We had no business talking about your pit crew or anything like that.

“We were talking about your comments and our mental focus. I love you, man, I love the way you drive the race car. I don’t like the things you said after the race, and that is my job. I’m sorry.

“I don’t like the comments about mental weakness. It has nothing to do with your pit crew. I appreciate the attempt to divert the comment in a different direction, but you said it. I don’t like it. I didn’t.”