INDIANAPOLIS — Kevin Harvick revealed Saturday that he suffered “busted ribs” earlier this summer after a fall down a flight of steps.
Harvick said the fall happened while he was in Italy with son Keelan, who was racing go-karts there at the time.
Harvick said the Cup races at Nashville and Chicago the following weekends were rough but he had mostly healed by Atlanta.
MORE: Details for Sunday’s Cup race on NBC
Although he is winless this season, Harvick can clinch a spot in the playoffs after Sunday’s Cup race (2:30 p.m. ET on NBC).
“It’s been an interesting year as far as how things have worked out,” Harvick said at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. “I feel like we’ve performed OK with what we have.
“The guys have done a good job in making something out of it, put ourselves in position to have a chance to win a couple of races. Had some bad ones and some good ones, kind of fought … and scraped and worked through an injury after the break.”
Harvick, who has 11 top-10 finishes and six finishes of 20th or worse this year, said of this season: “We just have fought one battle after another. It’s been typical (No.) 4 car stuff that we’ve worked through. Just keep grinding away for 13 more (races).”
Harvick enters Sunday’s race having scored four consecutive top-10 finishes, including fourth-place results at New Hampshire and Pocono. It will be challenging to match those results, though. Harvick starts 38th in the 39-car field.
Harvick, who is in his final full-time Cup season, made clear Saturday that he wouldn’t come back next year if this event is moved to the oval as is expected.
He has been critical of the track moving its race to the road course, but he knows he will leave this sport having won his final two starts on the Indy oval. He has three total wins on the Indy oval.
